The End of the Second Trimester

I'm nearing the end of my second trimester, and so far things are going really well. I'm still feeling pretty good, though I'm just starting to experience some of the discomforts that mark the second half of pregnancy. My hands and feet have started swelling a bit. In fact, I've had to take my wedding rings off or else they'd get stuck. They don't fit back on anymore. So now I wear them on a chain around my neck.

It's also getting more difficult for me to find comfortable positions to sleep. I have a very intricate system of extra pillows set up that prop me up in all kinds of ways. And I'm waking up several times a night to go to pee. I guess it's a good thing that I sleep on the side of the bed closest to the bathroom! And heartburn is becoming more and more frequent.

In the grand scheme of things, though, these are all pretty minor. If these are my biggest complaints in pregnancy, then I'm doing pretty well.

At my last OB appointment, I had to take the glucose tolerance test, which screens for gestational diabetes. This involves drinking a really sweet solution (that tastes remarkably like orange soda), then having blood drawn an hour later to see how my body reacted to the glucose. This test came back abnormal, requiring me to do a second more sensitive test. From what we read, 85% off the initial screenings which come back abnormal are actually false positives, and show no sign of gestational diabetes from the second test. But I was still a little nervous.

The second test required an initial blood draw, drinking a more concentrated glucose solution, and then having blood drawn once an hour for 3 hours. It is also a fasting test, so I wasn't allowed to eat before hand, not easy for a pregnant woman!! So one morning, I packed up a book, some knitting, and some puzzles, prepared for my 3+ hour trip to the lab at the doctors office. Though it was a pain in the butt, I was quite relieved to hear that everything was normal, and there is no sign of gestational diabetes.

So things continue to go quite smoothly. The baby is very active and kicks around a lot, reminding me that he's in there and healthy! It's a great feeling!

New (and final) due date

We went in for another doctor's visit last week. This was the first visit after Sara's doctor received the sonogram information. And, based on the report, she decided to go ahead and move the due date again. But this time, it should stay put (or so we think!). So the new "official" due date is August 2, 2008. As for when our baby boy will actually choose to arrive, I guess we'll all have to wait and see :-)

Nursery Updates

You may have noticed that the posts on our blog have slowed down recently. I've been spending most of my spare time painting the nursery for the past few weeks. The good news is that the paint is pretty much all done!
The next steps are to put some furniture in that room. So far, it looks like we'll be sticking to our original floor plan idea, and we will probably start purchasing the larger furniture pieces over the next month or so. In fact, we just ordered an area rug that should arrive sometime next week. The carpet is from Interface Flor and will add some yellow to the room to complement the green that's already there.

The one catch is that we are still working on fixing the leak. I just got tired of putting off the rest of the room while we figured out that problem. So, while working on the painting, I have also been caulking various places outside the house, and then waiting for the next rain to see if I got it. Once the leak is fixed, we will be able to replace the molding around the second window (see picture below).
So that's the news from this end. I expect to get back to blogging a little more frequently now that this large chunk of work is completed. So stay tuned!

Our Hospital Tour

On Thursday, Bryan and I took a tour of the Maternity Center at Emory Crawford Long Hospital, where I will be delivering. We were both very impressed with the facilities and the people. They walked us through the procedure for checking in and what will happen once I'm admitted. After a basic evaluation, they will take us to a labor and delivery room. These rooms are very comfortable and cozy, with almost more of a homey feel than a medical feel. Each labor and delivery room has a baby evaluation station right next to the delivery bed, so that the baby can be cleaned, evaluated, etc. without ever having to leave mom's side! Within minutes, I'll be able to hold our baby boy and initiate nursing. The room also has a pull out couch, so if needed, Bryan can get a chance to nap in a relatively comfortable place. They will bring us birthing balls or labor bars (which aids in relieving pain associated with back labor, as well as easily achieving different birthing positions) if we would like them.

The hospital's default policy is that mother and baby stay together as much as possible once the baby is born. The baby is only removed to the nursery if there is a medical reason to do so (either for mother or baby). In fact, during the tour, there was only one baby in the nursery. All the other babies were in the room with their families.

Once I have delivered the baby and the doctors and nurses have determined that we are both stable and healthy, we will be moved to the mother baby suite. These rooms are also homey and comfortable, and provide a pull out couch for dads. In fact, the hospital encourages dads to spend as much time with mom and baby as possible, and have made every accommodation to make them comfortable and at home. In addition to the pull out sofa, there are private bathrooms for each room, so he will have a place to shower, and we even found out that all the rooms are equipped with wireless internet!

The hospital also has several IBLCE lactation consultants on staff to aid in any questions or problems arise regarding nursing. And all the nurses as well are trained in aiding and supporting the initiation of breast feeding as well. It makes me feel great to know that there is so much support in place to help the baby and I (and Bryan) get off to a great start!