Adventures in Pumping

I just pumped in an airplane bathroom.  Yep.  And I'm afraid it's not going to be the last time.  I'll get to that in a minute....

This is my first real work trip away from Owen.  I'm headed out to California until Thursday and I'm hoping the week goes by fast because I miss the little nugget already.  Leaving him and Brian this morning was not easy. :( 

In preparation for the trip, I scoured the working and breast feeding mom blogs to devise a plan since I am going to be pumping and taking all of the milk home with me.  I also went onto ATL and LAX airport websites to see if they had a place for nursing moms to pump.  It's going to be A LOT of milk...probably about 30-35 ounces each day, so I wanted to make sure I was ready.  

I ended up bringing a collapsible cooler with about 7 ice packs.  It consumes about one third of my giant suitcase, leaving just enough room for my clothes and other essentials.  This is the first time I've checked a suitcase for a business trip in years.  Last time I did that they lost my bag and the airline gave me a toothbrush and oversized t-shirt to hold me over until I was reunited with my belongings.  Thanks Delta.

Going through security wasn't too bad.  The TSA screener was a woman and when the pump went through the x-ray machine, she very discreetly asked me if it was a breast pump.  No hassle.  Much appreciated.

It wasn't until this morning that I realized I was going to have to pump on the airplane.  I have two friends who have done this.  One pumped right in her seat.  I'm not that talented yet.  And the other used the bathroom.  There doesn't appear to be another option, so I went with option B.  About two hours into the flight, after my mid-morning nap, I tapped the sleeping guy next to me on the shoulder to request my freedom from the window seat.  He was not thrilled to be woken and I don't think he brushed his teeth this morning.  Note to self - no more window seats.  I like to come and go as I please. 

There are 3 bathrooms in the back for 156 people and I would need one for 20 minutes.  I thought about informing the flight attendants of my intentions so they wouldn't worry, but one of them was a guy and they just get all awkward, so I decided not to.  

As I was scrunched up in that teeny tiny bathroom and about 5 minutes into pumping, I thought "I hope the flight attendants don't think I'm rigging up a bomb or something in here.  Dang.  Should have told them I was going to be in here for awhile."  I have no idea how long I was in there, but it felt like an eternity and I'm sure the guys in my row think I was stinking up the place.  But that's not possible because girls don't poop.  

Once I was done, I packed everything up and opened the door to see the unsuspicious flight attendant eating a bowl of cheerios.  I still think I might tell them next time...

Now that that's over, I'm equipped to face any pumping challenge.  I am not however excited to wake up stinky sleeping beauty again because I just drank a liter of water.  Ugh.  Maybe I can make it one more hour....

Yep, I'm still pregnant (40 weeks)

We had our 40 week appointment Friday and no changes to report.  I'm still not dilated, so we went ahead and scheduled an appointment for induction.  I have a regular doctors appointment Thursday morning where they'll do an ultrasound and then Thursday night we'll check into the hospital to start the induction process.  The doctor said they'll try a few things and if the induction is not successful then they'll offer me a c-section on Saturday.  So...we should have this bambino out of his cozy little cocoon by next Saturday night at the latest. 

In the mean time, we're just making the most of the time we have left alone together and spending time with friends as well.

Since I don't have much to update, I figured I'd document some of the details of my pregnancy by answering these pregnancy blog questions I found online:

Total weight gain: 34 pounds (I barely made it within the doc's recommendation of 25-35 lbs)

Maternity clothes: I started wearing my maternity jeans at 16 weeks.  I probably didn't need them then, but they were SOOO much more comfortable than regular jeans.  Being pregnant in summer was nice because I was able to wear maxi dresses for most of my pregnancy. 

Stretch marks: I didn't get any stretch marks on my belly, thankfully.  And I wasn't religous about putting cocoa butter on my belly either.  Thankful for good genes.  :)

Sleep: I'm a back sleeper, so adjusting to sleeping on my side was rough on my hips.  I probably change sides about 10+ times a night just to give each hip a rest.  And of course I have 4 pillows of my own to help make sleeping easier.  I'm sure Brian is looking forward to those disappearing once Owen gets here.

Miss anything: Right now I'm really missing running.  I ran up to about 37 weeks, but REALLY slow and had to walk in between my little bursts of running.  Looking forward to the day I'm cleared by my doctor so I can run Owen in the baby jogger by the river!

Movement: I started feeling him move around 22 weeks on my way home from the airport one night.  Coolest thing ever.  He's the most active at night. 

Food cravings: Fish tacos, waffles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and ANYTHING SWEET.  I think if it weren't for my sweet tooth I could have spared gaining a few of those 34 lbs. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I got nausea a few times in the first trimester, but was never sick and it went away like magic right when the second trimester started.

Labor signs: I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions around 32 weeks.  I WISH I had some labor signs to report now.  No such luck.

Belly button in or out: It's out!  I thought it would bother me when it started showing through clothes, but it is what it is.  I'm just glad it's not too huge. :)

Wedding rings on or off: My wedding rings still fit. 

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy 95% of the time.  I have had a couple emotional breakdowns, but nothing that lasted more than 10 minutes.  Haha.

Since this is my last pregnant week, I made a collage of the bump pictures (including the one for 40 weeks)

That's it!  I'll be back with the delivery story and baby Owen updates once I'm up to blogging again. :)

xoxo Jennelle & B

We're going to jump this baby out! (39 weeks)

So, as you may notice (since I'm here), the egglplant parm was a bust.  It was quite the experience though.  As you walk into the restaurant, you're greeted by 3 walls covered in baby photos.  These are babies that were allegedly born with 48 hours of their moms having the "magical" dish.  Baby Owen's picture will not be joining the wall.  If anything though, the experience made Brian realize that I'm a pretty pleasant pregnant person.  He mentioned to me that every other pregnant woman in there (and we counted 6) was noticably miserable.  

I had my 39 week appointment last Friday and the mid-wife ordered another ultrasound - for two reasons.  She said my belly was measuring small again and she wasn't sure if what she was feeling at the bottom of my belly was the baby's head or bottom.  In other words, she thought the baby might be breech.  Eek.  So, as I sat in the waiting room for my ultrasound, a million thoughts ran through my head.  I figured since this was the same lady (and only one ever) that ordered an ultrasound before because my belly was small, she must have a measuring problem.  So, I wasn't concerned about that.  My concern was about the breech part.  Up until this point I had been reassured week after week that he was head down.  How could he have possibly flipped in there?  There's no room!  I started thinking about the fact that I might have to have a c-section and although I would prefer to have the baby naturally, I got excited for a minute that IF we did have to have a c-section we'd be able to schedule it and BAM - there was a light at the end of this pregnancy tunnel.  Then I started thinking about how many of my friends have had c-sections recently and the pain they described, not to mention the prolonged recovery time and began re-thinking my excitement. 

The ultrasound went well.  Baby is not breech and everything looked good!  His new estimated weight was 7lbs 10oz based on the measurements during the ultrasound.  I know it's just an estimate, but if he's gaining 0.5 lbs every week, we need to get him out of there!  My next appointment is this Friday (40 weeks) and if baby doesn't come before then, we'll schedule some appointments to start inducing labor.  I was assured that I will not go over 41 weeks.  I would of course prefer labor to start naturally, but I'm not opposed to an intervention if it comes down to it. 

My friend Erin suggested borrowing her mini trampoline to help this process along.  Apparently jumping the baby out worked for her and while we were at dinner tonight, our friend Dana re-planted the idea in my head.  There's actually a trampoline "park" in Roswell where you can pay $14/hour to jump.  I thought that surely they have to have some liability policy stating that pregnant women aren't allowed in there, right?  Wrong.  I called them to let them know I was 40 weeks pregnant and wanted to jump the baby out and she told me to come on in!  So, guess what we're doing when Brian gets home from work tomorrow? :)  If it doesn't work, at least it's something fun to do while we're waiting for the little guy to arrive. 

That's all I have this week.  Here's my 39 week bump picture.  Hopefully I won't have a 40 week update. :)

 

xoxo - J&B

Ok...I'm ready. (38 weeks)

I think I'm about ready for this little bugger to come.  We still have 11 days, but I'm giving him a new due date of this weekend.  "They" say that about 50% of women go past their due date with their first baby, so I'm not holding my breath, but it sure would be nice.  I've been doing my own research and of the 9 women I've surveyed, only 1 went past their due date.  Hardly a scientific study, but it gives me hope. :)  My mom was part of my survey - she claims that I was born right on my due date and my brother was 3 weeks early.

If I can't go early, I'd at least like to go on time, PLEASE!!  I've been scouring the interwebs for advice on how to naturally induce labor and here's what I found:

• Drink 3 cups/day of Raspberry leaf tea - CHECK
• Go for a daily walk or run - CHECK
• Take 2000 mg of Evening Primrose Oil daily - CHECK (just got back from CVS with this stuff)
• Castor oil - not happening
• Eat pineapple, mango, or papaya - CHECK (we've gone through 3 pineapples in 2 weeks)
• Eggplant Parmesean from Scalini's Restaurant in Smyrna - date night scheduled for Saturday
• Dance - also not happening.  I don't have much rhythm and I think I'd feel like a fool dancing in my living room by myself.
• Go for a bumpy car ride - Really?!? Where does one find these bumps you speak of?

Here's to hoping these old wives tales are true!

I had my 38 week doctor's appointment last Friday.  I actually saw MY doctor for the first time since I've been pregnant.  Weird, huh?  He's definitely my favorite one in the entire practice and if I was guaranteed that he would deliver, I would have made all of my appointments with him.  Since we're being delivered by a mid-wife, I wanted to make sure we met all of them.  To be honest, I don't really care who delivers the baby, as long as they get him out safely. 

Anyway, back to the doctor's appointment.  Owen's heart rate was 130 bpm, which is normal and he's still head down.  He said I'm starting to dilate, but he can't officially call it 1cm yet  He also said that my body is doing what it needs to be doing - whatever that means.  I think he was just trying to make me feel better.  I asked him if he could estimate the weight of the baby and after feeling around my belly he confidently said "I'm feeling about 6 lbs and a few ounces.  You'll probably have a 7 pounder."  That measurement technique seems about as accurate as the technique they use to determine how dilated you are. 

In other news, a friend of mine came out to do maternity pictures for me two weeks ago.  I really love how the photos turned out and we had so much fun.  We went to the Chanel counter at the mall to have my makeup done that morning, did some shooting at the house that afternoon and the rest of the shots at the Roswell Mill when Brian got home.  Brian was a little cranky when he first got home from work, but he warmed up after a few photos.  Here are a couple pics that I didn't already put on facebook.  I promised Brian I wouldn't publish the bare belly pic on facebook, but I think it's hilarious, so I had to put it on here.  So, you picture grabbers (you know who you are)...no copying and pasting that one anywhere. :)

Not much left on the baby to-do list this week - I started packing the hospital bag, so I just need to finish that up.  And I may make a couple meals to freeze so we have them the first week or so when we're home from the hospital and probably won't feel like cooking.  I was in super nesting mode last week.  I cleaned the entire house, did all of the laundry, and cleaned out the fridge, freezer, and pantry.  The only thing left to do is clean the base boards.

That's it for this week.  I'll be back next week with another update!

xoxo, Jennelle and B

Aren't you just miserable? (37 weeks)

Now that I'm in my last month of pregnancy, I'm noticing an increase in comments like - "aren't you just miserable?", "I'm sure you're getting no sleep at night", and my favorite - "how much weight have you gained?"  I almost feel guilty telling people that I feel great and I'm sleeping well at night.  It seems like once you've experienced the miracle of growing a baby in your belly, you're in this elite club and you have the right to tell pregnant women how difficult pregnancy and child rearing is going to be.  I know every pregnancy is different and I can only hope that I'm as lucky with the next one.

The weight gain has probably been the most difficult part for me.  As women we feel pressure to keep our weight in check our entire lives, so I've felt a little out of control the past 9 months.  I just have to keep reminding myself that in only a few short weeks I can start working at getting my body back.  The funniest thing has been when complete strangers inquire about my weight gain.  It's happened more than I expected and I actually had a man ask me once.  He's one of the trainers at the gym so maybe he thinks because of his profession it's ok to ask a hormonal woman how fat they've become.  When he told me that his wife only gained 14 lbs with her first child, I chose to keep my mouth shut because the only response that came to mind was "your wife is a b*$&%".  Not very nice, Jennelle.  I guess if you only gained 14 lbs, you should have bragging rights, but as someone who gained a lot more than 14, I don't want to hear about it.  Haha.

So, we're finally considered full term!  That means that all of Baby O's organs are fully developed and ready for the outside world.  Only 19 more days until our due date and the days are going by pretty quickly.  I keep saying I'm ready, but I still have a couple more things to do.  It just occurred to me this past week that I haven't really come up with a plan for who is going to take on my work responsibilities while I'm out.  That's kind of a big thing that I need to figure out this week.  And my mid-wife told me to pack my hospital bag, so that's on the to-do list this week as well.

Other than that, I'm just getting super excited for fall.  It's starting to annoy Brian a bit because it's still hot outside and I'm starting to prepare fall-type dinners.  I can't help myself.  I think fall is my favorite time of year.  Baby O is going to be a pumpkin for Halloween this year.  Given that he will be 4 weeks old and unable to trick or treat or consume candy for that matter, we have plans to sit in the driveway, drink beers, and hand out candy with our neighbors, Dana and Ben. 

Well, that's all I have this week!  I'll post a bump picture next week.

xo J and B

It's Baby Mac Month! (36 weeks)

We had a nice Labor Day weekend, but I'm not going to lie...it would have been nice if it was my labor day weekend. :)  I'm ready for this little nugget to get here.  I probably need to stop thinking about it though because with my luck he'll be making his appearance fashionably late.  I really can't complain too much because i've had a fairly easy pregnancy.

Now that we're 36 weeks along, we'll start having doctor's appointments every week.  Our appointment last Friday went well.  Baby O is still head down and his heart rate was right around 140 bpm, which is normal, so we're in good shape.  Our next appointment is this Friday.

We've been staying busy around here.  My hiatus from travel has been nice - it's allowed me to get into a better eating / exercising routine and I think since I've been home Brian's consumption of pizza has decreased.  I've been able to get back to my barre classes which has been great because all of the stretching and strengthening has really helped reduce my lower back pain and the swelling in my feet and ankles.  Not to mention my arms feel less blubbery. 

I'll probably be taking the next week or so off of running because I sprain my ankle somehow.  Ok...I think I know how.  Brian and I took the dogs down to the river for a walk this past weekend and since it was hot, I was trying to get Trixie close to the water to see if she would go in.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice how muddy the bank was, but I kept on toward the water anyway.  My feet slipped from under me, I fell on my back and slid a good 5 feet.  In. The. Mud.  Brian had to make the 1 mile walk of shame back to the car with his muddy pregnant wife.  Other than my ankle, baby and I are fine - the mud cushioned my fall.   :)

My friend, Linda, is doing maternity photos for me this week, so I'm super excited about that.  It would have been smart to maybe do them a little earlier when I didn't feel so huge.  I told her that she may have to photoshop a leg or arm here or there.  Hopefully I'll have a couple to post in next week's blog.

That's all I have this week.  Brian and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last Friday, so here's my fancy 36 week bump picture before we went out to eat.

Love,
B and J

5 more to go! (35 weeks)

It's crazy to think that in about 5 weeks this little guy will be here.  I went to Minneapolis to visit my friend Heather and her new baby a couple weeks ago and the visit made me realize how much our life is going to change.  I think the biggest realization I had was that it's not easy to just pick up and go when you have a little one.  Don't get me wrong, of course I'm looking forward to it, but at the same time I want to make sure Brian and I are enjoying every moment we have together alone the next few weeks because it won't be long until we're a family of 3!

We got some more stuff checked off the list last week.  We interviewed pediatricians and found one that we like.  I've been doing a lot of reading and research on vaccinating and based on what I've found we'll probably end up opting out of some vaccines and following a delayed schedule vs. the one the CDC recommends and maybe not vaccinating at all - we're not 100% sure yet.  So, vaccinations was one of our main discussion points during our interviews with the pediatricians.  I feel good that we've found a practice that will support whatever decision we make.

Brian's work had a surprise baby shower for him last Friday (so cool, huh?).  I guess that's one of the perks of working for a company that makes kid stuff.  Our friend Katie called me the Wednesday before to invite me, so it was nice to be able to go.  And surprisingly enough, I was able to keep the secret.  I'm glad she didn't give me anymore than a 2 day notice. :)  We received a few more things from our registry and a gift card to Babies R Us which we used to get the car seat.  I think we have all the essentials!  Now we just need a baby.  Here's a picture of B opening presents at his man shower.

No big plans for the weekend.  We're running a 5K with the dogs tomorrow morning and then heading to the farmer's market to get some local fruits and veggies.  Then I plan to put my swollen feet up and relax for the rest of the weekend. :)

Here is a 34 week bump picture.  I haven't taken the 35 week one yet, so I'll post it next week! 

Oh..and i thought I'd share this product I happened upon while I was shopping for baby stuff.  What a brilliant idea!  We're definitely going to be investing in some of these to avoid being peed on while changing diapers.  Haha.

Have a great weekend!  xoxo

Jennelle and Brian