Babymoon

I’m writing this blog entry sitting on a comfy couch in our 14th-floor penthouse condo, overlooking the beautiful Florida beaches of Perdido Key. This is one of our favorite destinations, and it started in college when I used to venture to this quiet part of the Florida Panhandle with my girlfriends. Bronce and I made the drive here for our 5th wedding anniversary a few years ago and we knew it would be the perfect place for our Babymoon trip.

What’s a Babymoon, you ask? Yeah, we think it sounds kinda ridiculous, too. It’s supposed to be a cutesy play on the term “Honeymoon” – but a honeymoon takes place after the wedding and a Babymoon is the last trip a couple takes before baby arrives… so really the moniker doesn’t work. But either way, when we knew we’d have a few days off for my Fall Break this week we were certain that we needed to vacation to a place with sun, quiet nights, and few things to do. And, other than a quick trip out yesterday to a local t-shirt shop, we’ve stayed in the condo and only left for groceries.

 

Look closely and you can see the baby bump peeking out from my maternity bathing suit!

We left Wednesday after school (much to the chagrin of our ob-gyn who was concerned about the combination of my 6+ month pregnancy and the long drive!) and stopped every two hours for me to walk around and stretch. We arrived in Perdido at 1:30am Central time and after some issues with the lockbox for the condo (oh, that was a nightmare… I’m not even going there) we spent a restless night anxious for the morning and the beach.

 

This is how we spent the majority of our days – relaxing in the sun or under the umbrella, reading our books and soaking up some rays with the Beach Colony tower behind us.

Thursday…Friday…Saturday… all three days have looked about the same. Wake up late… relax on the couch with some breakfast and morning tv (we don’t have cable at home so this is always a fun perk for us!)… Bathingsuits and hours on the beach… Reading books, snacking on unhealthy beach snacks, a few beers for Bronce… And at night we’re back in the condo to cook a simple meal and relax on the couches until we fall asleep. Sometimes that “fall asleep” thing happens earlier than we anticipated. I promised Bronce I wouldn’t mention exactly how early he fell asleep the first day of our trip… I’ll just say it might be the earliest he’s ever gone to sleep in our marriage! Hah!

Throughout the trip we’ve taken some pictures on the balcony. In my last blog entry I promised an updated belly picture so here you go!

And one of our family of three:

*In case you’re wondering, I’m 27 weeks pregnant, a little over 6 months!

Past-due Baby Update – 27 weeks!

I wonder if that will be the only time I type the words “past-due baby”? I’m referring to the fact that I haven’t blogged about the bub in 6 weeks. I’m such a slacker! The little dude (dudette?) seems pretty comfy in my tummy so I wonder if he’ll come early or just settle in for the long haul. We’re still waaaaay too early to be sure, so I guess that’s a matter of time.

Since it’s been… well… honestly 6 weeks since I did an update… I should probably hit all the basics. At this point I’m nearly 27 weeks pregnant. It’s hard to believe, because I still feel incredible and have little to no complaints! My back pain is still present but I’m finding ways to manage it with minimal doses of Tylenol and less complaining (Bronce may disagree with that last part!).

Birth Plan

Right now we’re working on our birth plan. I’m not sure how in-depth I’ve been on the blog before about our plan, but the goal is a full natural delivery – no drugs, full mobility in the delivery room, etc. I’m still doing some research about the specific decisions that entails, and we’re starting by hiring a doula to be our partner and advocate in the delivery room. She comes with high, high recommendations from multiple friends and the UT Medical Center prenatal department, so we’re feeling really good about that. Ironically, Coleen was the head of Fulton’s PTSO last year when her 5th child graduated from my school.

We’ll begin the childbirth and breastfeeding classes at UT in November and thankfully they’ll be led by our doula! Coleen is one of the ladies they have do the classes and we’re excited that we’ll be getting her perspective throughout the remainder of our pregnancy journey.

Baby Position

We had our last doctor appointment this past Monday and found out a few concerning things about the baby’s positioning. First off, I have an “anterior placenta” which the What to Expect website explains as follows:

It means your baby is taking a backseat to the placenta. The term "anterior placenta" refers to the location of the placenta within your uterus. Most of the time, a fertilized egg will situate itself in the posterior uterus — the part closest to your spine, which is where the placenta eventually develops, too. Sometimes, though, the egg implants on the opposite side of the uterus, closest to your abdomen. When the placenta develops, it grows on the front (or anterior) side of your uterus, with the baby behind it.

that’s from http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ask-heidi/anterior-placenta.aspx

In and of itself, it’s not concerning… I’ve read a lot about it and it seems many women can’t feel the baby’s kicks very well with this placenta placement, but I’m not having that problem at all! The baby’s kicking regularly and I can feel (and sometimes see!) the sharp punches and kicks. Bronce has felt her moving around a bunch, too, though normally when I call out “come feel these kicks!,” by the time he gets nearby the baby goes still.

At our last appointment we also found out the baby is in breech position. As my doctor explained, nearly 80% of babies have turned to a normal head-down position by this point in pregnancy. He said another 10% will turn naturally between now and 32 weeks so we’re praying we’re in that small group of women. I know there are some exercises I can do to assist the baby’s repositioning which I’ll gladly do, though I’m hoping she’ll turn on her own.

Getting this news of breech position was surprising to me… the baby seems to be moving so much I assumed she wasn’t in a set position yet but might have been actually flipping around some. Turns out she’s upright and located mostly on my left side, facing the right. So the sharp kicks I feel on my right abdomen are truly foot kicks and the lighter movements on the left side of my stomach would be the punches or shoulders moving around. When I lay flat we can actually press on my belly and feel the baby’s head on my upper left side near my ribcage – something totally surreal!

We’re hoping the baby turns and that the anterior placenta shifts (which is common) so we have no added complications for the natural delivery.

Body Changes

Well, I’m 100% in maternity clothes by now (of course) though I’m not nearly as uncomfortable as I expected I’d be by now. My weight is still very much under control – only up 9 pounds right now and that’s mostly belly-weight. I’m writing this email from the beach (more on that in another post!) and I’ll probably have Bronce take a picture of me if I decide to brush my hair in the next few days, so hopefully I’ll have a new Facebook profile pic and something to put here on the blog to show my weight gain for all you thin people who want to laugh at my giant belly. :)

Okay, enough typing. I’m going to put on my awkward maternity bathing suit and head out to the beach to soak up some rays!

[This post was written Friday morning, October 15th, but is not set to upload until Sunday morning – to keep the creepy stalkers from knowing we’re not home!]

Expectations

Sometimes I feel strange when I reflect on being pregnant. At this point it's hard to remember what I thought it would be like. Well, it's hard to remember a lot of things, but that's another conversation... Anyway, I think I had this image that pregnancy would be all sweetness and cute clothes and the tenderness of growing a baby inside me and the glow that comes from the joy of all those things. The reality, however, has been far different.

Now don't get me wrong... I'm thrilled to be pregnant. I know so many women who have longed for this very thing and I'm not taking it for granted. But it's just not that happy and glowy and sweet all the time.
I spend a large part of my mornings getting frustrated with fourteen year olds who complain because they spent their last 6 minute class change talking with friends and didn't get time to use the restroom. I spent those 6 minutes sitting down to rest my back and aching feet and it's not until the late bell rings that I recognize that dull ache is coming from my bladder's desperate cries for help. So when they complain about needing to pee... well, I'm not proud of this... but I laugh. It's really the only way I can keep from going crazy as I begin crossing my legs in a desperate hope that the 45 minutes won't drag out too long and I'll get some rest at the next break.

And why was I resting my back? Because this thing called "sciatica" that so many women have referred to... well it finally reared its' ugly head. HOLY CRAP. The lower right part of my back aches from 8:25 till 4:00. I find myself perching on empty desks, leaning on the marker rail on my white board, and occasionally coming up with activities that allow me to teach the students from a seated position at the computer in the front of my room - all for a second of rest from the throbbing pain.

And the glow I was expecting? The best I've gotten was this comment two weeks ago after I huffed and puffed up 4 flights of stairs to my classroom: "Mrs Rodgers, you have that pregnancy glow!" Um, no. That's sweat. And I'd clarify if I could catch my breath and correct you. No glow here.

Oh, but at least pregnancy clothes are cute, right? Let me just put it this way... Bronce was with me when I did some maternity shopping a few weeks ago and he remarked "Why do all those outfits look like they were made for a 45-year-old?" He's so right! Where are these strange homely middle-age pregnant ladies? Aren't most pregnant women in my exact (or even younger!) demographic? Why is it so hard to find affordable, cute pregnancy clothes? It's baffling.

The upside is that I know there's a little person growing and changing in me. I can feel the kicks more constantly now and I'm getting a sense of her (his?) sleep cycle and awake cycle (she's punching my internal organs as I type this!). One of the pregnancy trackers mentioned that the baby would get into more of a 12-14-hour sleep cycle and I think one of the big "awake" times is mid-afternoon. It's precious to be sitting in my classroom and feeling that life moving around. I wonder if the last jab was a hand? Or maybe a foot stretching out? Or is he turning around to get more comfy? Last time we got an ultrasound (at 21 weeks) she was in a breech position and I wonder if that's still true. It's a pretty incredible thing.
Sciatica or no, I'm grateful for the blessing. But there are moments I wish I could waddle my big butt back to my comfy teacher desk chair and put my feet up for the duration of class! Or take a nap. Oh... naps...

It’s Football Time in Tennessee!

I know, it’s the second game of the season, not the first… But we had company in town last weekend over Labor Day so for us, this is the first official home game.

UT’s first match ever with Oregon… unfortunately it had to be the year Oregon was ranked 7 and we hardly had a chance against them. It was bad. 48-to-13 bad. But we had fun.

About 10 minutes into the game the players left the field and the announcer informed the crowd that “inclement weather including lightening” was within 6 miles of the stadium. We tried to wait it out as the clouds formed overhead, but ultimately ended up escaping to the exit ramps for some shelter during the worst of the storm.

I snapped this picture of the stadium moments before we went into hiding from the rain.

This was Baby Rodgers first time at a UT football game. Normally in the early evening I feel lots of kicks and jabs, but tonight there was nothing. I remarked to my mother-in-law “I think she’s scared by all the noise!” The fans were incredibly loud and excited about the game and there was a great energy in the stadium, but it didn’t seem like the little kid wanted to participate just yet.

Here’s the four of us enjoying the game before the rain began falling.

 

Next week… UT vs Florida! Bring it, Gators!