Relax? Are You Kidding?

When something the size of a watermelon comes out something the size of a bagel...how in the world can you remember to breathe?

You have to have someone remind you - in my case, my husband.

We have been in a Lamaze class for the past two weeks where we are learning not only about labor and delivery, but how to recognize contractions and when to call the hospital. Most importantly, we're learning breathing and relaxation techniques.

I plan to try to put them to use on the 45 minute drive from our house to the hospital.

I'm a stressed-out person by nature. As much as a try to relax with massages, facials, pedicures and manicures ... I am a type-A worrywart planner. There is so little I can control once I go into labor (outside of the lights and music), that I feel the only other thing in my control is the pain management. And while I inherited a pretty good pain tolerance level from my father - why push it?

During the last Lamaze class, the teacher made an imaginary line indicating how we felt about epidurals. One side of the line was: "no drugs, ever, don't even mention it." The other end of the spectrum was "drugs from the minute I come in to the hospital."

She then had the husbands position themselves on the line based on what they felt their wives would want. Then she asked the wives to position themselves and see if the husbands got it right. Adam had it spot on: Drugs from the minute I come in to the hospital. We then joked if the line extended out it he would have stood there representing: Drugs for the last five weeks of pregnancy.

We have two more classes left, including one on Valentine's Day. I will do everything possible in these next five weeks to keep my stress and blood pressure levels down and my relaxation up. History dictates otherwise....

Like I Care - Part 2

Previously, I blogged about the day care issue and what we would do since my work day care isn't an option.

The good news is I made some inquiries and - thanks to Google - found a day care center not too far from where we live (and really close to Adam's office).

On a Friday afternoon, we toured Tutor Time and had a chance to meet with the director and see the infant room. Unfortunatly, there were no infants there - but the room set up was very warm and safe (booties over shoes are requires), with each child having his or her own crib (parents would supply sheets, diapers, change of clothes and any toys). They feed and change and play with the children - with the ratio being one teacher for four infants under 1 (when they reach 1, they go to a different room). It means I can leave some bottles of breastmilk and they will make sure she is not only fed and changed, but they write it all down so we know every day what she did and when.

Also, the cost per week was far less than getting a nanny and stayed within our budget. The hours - we could have her there until 6:30 p.m. - was also very appealing.

We really liked what we saw, but wanted to see how it would look with kids in it. Since we were both off on MLK day, we came back and - lo and behold - four children were there. The boys were sleeping, the girls were eating. All were older than matzo ball would be when she starts, but they all looked happy, healthy and clean. Pop music was playing on the radio.

We filled out a form and gave a $100 deposit to hold our place for June.

The whole thing is kind of exciting - and I really hope she likes it!

Pregnant at Epcot - An Experiemental Trip

In early December, I spent a crazy 2 1/2 days at Walt Disney World for the opening of the New Fantasyland. As a result of that trip - I ended up writing five pieces of content (a dessert gallery, a multi-page feature on Fantasyland, a sectional on Disney Parks, and an article on the new Senses Spa) ... which in retrospect is insane.

Yesterday, the last one was published as part of the Blog on Disney Baby - and it is one I'm the most proud of because it is very me.

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it:

http://www.disneybaby.com/blog/pregnant-at-epcot-a-guide-for-moms-to-be/

Editor's Note - As of 1/25 - the article has 269 likes and 4 comments. So thank you to anyone who has liked or shared it.

Like I Care!

So today - being the diligent mommy-to-be that I am - I called the daycare at my office to set up a tour. We have been on the waiting list since I was six weeks pregnant.

I was told:

1) They don't give tours unless you get accepted

2) The odds of me getting into the daycare were slim as they only had 18 slots for infants and they've been totally full since they opened. But that's OK because, the Disney Day Care Center is nothing like "it's a small world" nursery. My kid can get a more immersive Disney experience at home than at Disney Day Care - that's pathetic.

3) There was a Disney resource called LifeCare that would help me find other options.

So I contacted LifeCare and their people are finding me day care resources near the office and near the house. I'll have a full list next week - not bad.

This is tough - I found two Tutor Times that take infants (yay!) that are near the house. La Petite Academy doesn't take them until 2 years. I'm hoping to take her to TAE three days a week for preschool when she turns two.

I'm hoping we can tour soon them soon and find out what they cost- but this is so hard. Do I take my kid somewhere? Do I hire a nanny?

I've checked out nannies on care.com (I'm hoping we can do a daily rate and not an hourly rate or 1/2 my salary could go to this person).  I do need a babysitter for evenings, but a few hours at night a few days a week is not the same as 40-50 a week. And then there is the taxes/IRS thing.

And I thought childbirth was a pain in the butt.

Her Royal Highnesses Bedroom

We aren't getting any furniture delivered to the house until the mtzo ball is born. However, we treked out to Buy Buy Baby today and for our dream nursery:

The color is cherry and the knobs are square (it matches our bedroom set).

We also found a fabulous glider...

I hope the little princess likes it. :)

Naptime for Grown-Ups

I haven't always been a fan of naps. My father once got a call when I was in kindergarten that, instead of napping, I was reading to the other children. He didn't see why that was a problem.

I think the first time I learned to love naps was in college. I'd have super-early classes that would require me to wake up at 6:15 a.m. so I would have time to get breakfast in the dining hall and walk across campus to probably the farthest spot from my dorm. I would come back and take a cat nap after lunch prior to my afternoon class.

When you hit "the real world" naps don't happen as much. I try to nap on the weekends, and I am one of those people that falls asleep in the car and on planes during takeoffs and landings.

But never have I enjoyed naps as much as I have since this pregnancy.

I wake up at 7-something for work - and usually go to sleep around midnight (without coffee this is kind of an incredible thing). But this week, while working from home because of the holidays, I've been able to sneak in a cat nap each day - and it feels amazing.

I was so sleepy when I was in Walt Disney World earlier this month that I actually fell asleep on the Universe of Energy - it was all I needed to keep going for the day at Epcot after taking the redeye from Los Angeles to Orlando.

I've heard that once the baby comes, everyone says that mom should sleep when baby sleeps. Not sure if I can sleep on command, though. The nice part about naps is that your body tells you when it is tired - not the other way around.

And, of course, I would give anything for a mocha. :)

Top of the Third

For Black Friday, I treated myself to an ipod Touch (gen 5). I hed out as long as I could, but it had a better camera than my phone, plus Facetime (so I can talk to family in Chicago).

It also allowed me to download several baby-centric apps - including a kick count meter, a "How Big Is Baby" tracker and a "How Much Longer Do I Have?" tracker.

Not sure if the pregnancy has gone fast or slow at this point. Adding in the IUI time at the beginning, I feel like I've been pregnant since late May.

Today I hit a milestone: I have reached my third trimester! One app tells me there are 13 weeks remaining. Another breaks it down for me: Two months, 27 days, 21 hours, 7 minutes and 40 seconds (otherwise known as 89 days).

On the radio the other day, they were giving away concert tickets to an event on March 19. I heard that and smiled. And in my head I thought about where I would be on March 19.....