Birthing Class - Informative but too long!

Just like our breastfeeding class, our birthing class - which we took part 1 of 2 this past weekend - was informative but just a day too long. If you know me, you know that I like to be prepared for things, so I am finding these pre-baby classes to be helpful in understanding what is about to happen to my body in the next three weeks! But I also find that these classes could be 1/2 as long as they are scheduled, to really walk away with the key nuggets of information you need. But nonetheless, Tim and I will go to the second half of this class next week and be as prepared as we can be for the day our baby comes!

We took our birthing class at Birth and Beyond in Santa Monica and overall I like the teacher and the class. A few key things I took away from this past weekend were: 1. If you start to go into labor or your water breaks, you may not need to go to the hospital quite yet if your contractions are not close together. They don't really want you hanging in the bed at the hospital all day waiting for movement to happen. 2. It is better to stay active to bring on labor versus laying in bed. 3. The Doctor does not really come in to the room until you are ready to pop that baby out. 4. It is best that the baby is looking at your back with his/her back up to your stomach on the way out, helps decrease back pain and other potential issues. 5. I learned the difference between dialated, effaced, position and station. 6. You really don't want to get the epidural until you are 4 CM dialated if you can help it.

No matter what happens, I will be able to ask questions when it comes down to it!

37 at 37 Weeks, that has a nice ring to it!

I am 37 Weeks this week! Down to 3 weeks left in this crazy journey they call pregnancy! Oh yes, it has been a crazy journey and I am more than happy to get off of it and start the next one with baby in tow!

Baby Duffy is over 6 pounds and close to 19 inches long (in average baby size and the size of a swiss chard). She is also considered Full Term! Wow, that is just crazy! A full term baby in my belly!

I don't know what else to say except, Holy Cow, I cannot believe it is finally here! I mean, it was such a long road and to be this close to meeting Baby Duffy and not being pregnant...I am ecstatic!

Bags are just about packed and nursery is just about done, but my baby daddy is out of town on business for the week, so I am hoping baby stays nice and snug until we get to the final week! In the meantime, I continue to work (which is keeping me so busy), run last minute errands for things I still need, pre-natal massage, continue to finish house projects and put my feet up when I can. She will be here before we know it!

Heat and pregnancy do not mix!

So, I have been riding along free as a bird with the lower than normal temperatures that LA experienced this summer and it has been great! Outside of some hot trips to Chicago, St. Louis and Cabo, I have remained relatively comfortable in LA - where the Beach and temperatures have been unusually cool and somewhat cloudy! And I enjoyed it! Because as I learned after a week in Chicago, being pregnant in the Hot summer weather is not fun!

Well, LA has decided to give me a little taste of that medicine during my final 3 weeks of pregnancy. This week - specifically today- we hit record temperatures across LA land, including 103 in Malibu. That is crazy - if you know anything about the LA area, the beaches are the cooler place to be, staying mild and comfortable around the 70's and 80's when it gets really warm. I heard Marina Del Rey hit over the 100 degree mark, which means it was close to that here at my condo. Where I don't have air conditioning (normally you don't need it by the beach). So today, I got a real dose of what it means to be pregnant and hot....I am tired, mushy brained, have no physical energy and my body just feels overheated! Thankfully we got a breeze in the afternoon, but even now at 6:30 I am warm!!!

I will be retreating to my bedroom where we have a little R2D2 air conditioner to attempt to cool down. And hopefully this weather goes away real quick.

I sympathize with anyone who dealt with this heat all summer long!

Breastfeeding class...bring your husband.

Last night, Tim and I ventured out to our first pre-baby class, this one on Breastfeeding (yes, they do have classes on this and yes they made me bring my husband). I actually had every intension of not bringing him, but the people at the Pump Station in Santa Monica where I signed up for my class scared me into thinking I would be the only person there without a husband, so Tim came with me in full support and with little pushback. I was very proud that he would come so willingly.

The class was three hours - yes 3 hours - which in my mind could have been dwindled down to about 90 minutes, but I am in PR and I believe in the quick pitch versus a 3 hour class where I am getting about an hours worth of information. Not to mention that you are asking pregnant women who are within a month or two of giving birth to sit in uncomfortable chairs, in the evening which for some of us is following a long day of work, for three hours to talk about how to breast feed. So, I had an issue with the length of the class, but overall I am glad we went. I think there were some general helpful nuggets that we were able to take away from the class that will help us with this potentially difficult process. I will tell you, the class kind of scared me a bit, I mean breastfeeding sounds like a lot of work...but then again, having a baby is a lot of work so I need to start mentally preparing myself for this! I have been so focused on having her get here that I have not been thinking through the actual day in and day out work that I will be doing (I should say what Tim and I will be doing as he plans to be as involved as possible). I know it will all be worth it, but the class did leave me feeling a bit nervous and adding several more items to my list of more baby accessories to buy.

A few key things we took away from the class - we bought the right pump, the Medela Freestyle that offers a handsfree attachment, we should not start introducing the bottle until about 2 weeks after baby is born (Tim has 2 weeks off basically), you need some accessories to take care of any potential "issues" you might encounter during the process and we got to see a video on how the baby basically feeds off of you. Interesting and informative for sure.

I can say that I do like the Pump Station in Santa Monica for their overall commitment to helping moms before and after baby arrives, the great merchandise they sell and the teacher was in general informative. Just cut the class in half next time, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Next up, a birthing class.

Toys are fun for a pregnant lady

For my first anniversary present, my husband surprised me with an iPad. I had been contemplating getting one for a while, it would be easier to travel with, the reader/email/web browser/tv capability would be great for the hospital time coming up and I had heard it was an awesome time killer while breast feading.....but I was skeptical. Thankfully, my hubby thought outside the box, got it for me and now, I am typing up this blog from my new favorite gadget....my iPad. I am in love! I have not stopped playing with it since I got it....it is light, sleek, easy to use, has a great big, colorful screen and I can slip it in my purse wherever I go. I am even getting used to typing on the keypad. Now I just got to get me one of the hot new iPad cases coming from case-mate (who also happens to be a client of mine). I am in love with their new line coming out for Nordstrom including a gold and pink number I have my eye on....so, I will keep u updated on how well this thing works for my upcoming mommy duties, but for now I can say pregnant Monica loves it.

Blonde moment from Tim?

I am often accused of having my share of blonde moments - which is fine, i admit I have them occasionally. But rarely do I hear one come from my dark blonde husband. Last night a question came out of his mouth that had me almost choking on my bread, it was so funny! After a stressful week at work and weekend of nursery work, I needed this hearty laugh...one that had my crying at the table

We were talking about breast feeding and he asked, "Where does the milk come from? Do you have to drink a lot of milk to produce milk?"

Well, I don't know the answer to that question and it may be a viable question, but I thought it was pretty damn funny. I am pretty sure drinking milk does not make milk.

I am taking my breast feeding class Wednesday, so I will make sure to find out for you Timmy!

36 Weeks - It's The Final Countdown...

Ah, I am hearing The Final Countdown going on in my head right now!

Yes, here we are, down to the final month - just 4 more weeks and Baby Duffy will be entering this World and our lives in full force.

As you can imagine, we are just so excited! I asked Tim last night during our anniversary dinner at Mozza (where I ate way too much but it was so good) if he was nervous to become a dad, and he said no. He is so relaxed and excited about this, so much more than I had imagined. My husband likes to joke and be sarcastic, but underneath it all, he is a real softy. It is really fun to see his reaction to all of this!

Yesterday, we spent the whole day working on the nursery, moving things around our 1200 sq foot condo to fit everything. It was exhausting but we are very happy with the results. Almost there....nursery pix will be up in early October.

Baby is one week away from being full term, and on average is weighing close to 6 pounds and is 18.5 inches long (the size of the Crenshaw Melon). That is big and I can feel her in there all over my belly!!!

Oh yeah, it's the Final Countdown, da da da dada....

Is that a foot in my ribs?

So the past few days I started experiencing some rib pain on my right side. I originally thought it was from sleeping on my side but after further evaluation I think it is from my baby's foot going up and inside of my ribs. Holy cow! As I write this, I am feeling something jut out of my far right stomach while at the same time I feel something else jutting out on my top middle. I mean, I don't know if she is doing the splits in there or what, but she is getting bigger and she is spreading her wings as much as possible.

This is crazy, I wish I could capture it for you all to see!

PS: this is a famous pix that no one can tell if it is real or not, my guess no!

35 Week Ultrasound - Yep, there is a baby in there

Yesterday I had an ultrasound at 35 weeks at my Doctor's office. This was a basic ultrasound, not the high tech 3D/4D one I received at the specialist office at 20 weeks. But nonetheless, I got to see what Baby Duffy is looking like at 35 weeks and let me know tell you, she looks like a baby. A fully formed head, leg, spine - I even got to see her face for a minute. It was crazy, and exciting! Like wow, there really is a fully formed baby in there just currently putting on enough weight to make it in this World. My Doctor - Dr. Pushkin BTW - was very happy with how good she looked and how she was measuring. I was surprised and happy to hear that she was already weighing about 5.5 pounds. Her head was definitely down and her leg was moving around so it was hard for the Doctor to get her measurement, but she did it!

I mean wow, I am going to have a baby in 5 weeks! Life sure is crazy!

Pregnancy Symptoms - They are not done

So, I think this baby is giving me a few last minute reminders of what our journey has been like together for the last 9 months. I have been going through some lovely symptoms over the last few days that I thought were long gone (or at least in hibernation). I wanted to share them with you!

1. The waterworks are back: I have been pretty proud of myself for not being a total emotional wreck during this pregnancy. I have been surprisingly laid back and calm (for the most part), I think Tim is even shocked. But today, I had Oprah on while I was working and she had all of these surprises on her season premiere including surprising this group of women who were on a road trip to see the show by having their drive them right on stage, when they thought they were going to their hotel to freshen up. The surprise was so wow to me that I started crying immediately...again balling, not just a wimper but a deep down emotional outburst where I just cried and cried. Oh boy...I had no clue what had come over me, and I was so emotional I thought I was going to push myself into labor right at that moment. It continued as she kept surprising more guests including the teacher and the Australia giveaway....I am still crying as I write this! Coco thinks I am crazy!

2. Nausea: You may remember that I went through some horrible nausea during the first trimester of this pregnancy. It was debilitating and not fun! Well, lately, at night, I am finding the nausea is coming back....not in the same way and manner as the first trimester, but it is uncomfortable and in general I just feel yuck. For some reason, anything I eat is making me feel ill and I really don't want to eat much (except for surprise, surprise - sweets). I am hoping this is just a short term problem that will go away this week!

3. Crazy girl: Well, as I mentioned in number 1, I feel pretty proud that I have not been super crazy this pregnancy, but yesterday I lost it while trying to organize the nursery. I think Tim was afraid! I just cannot get myself happy and satisfied with the decor - and yes, I know this is so little in the grand scheme of things, but I feel obsessed about it! These are the moments when I could use a drink!

Oh. 4 weeks and 6 days left! But what will the non-pregnancy life with baby be like? We will explore that then! Hopefully I make it through this next month!

35 Weeks - A Letter to Baby Duffy!

Dear Baby Duffy -

I hope you are enjoying your cozy home inside of my belly. You are now 35 weeks and I hope that you decide you need that extra 5 weeks to continue to build your resistance to the outside World so that your mom and dad can get everything finished for your arrival. Right now, your baby nursery is kind of a mess and we don't even have your cars seat in the car! So, if you can come around your due date, that would be spectacular....a few days early would not be bad!

From the Babycenter website, you are about over 18 inches long and around 5 1/4 pounds (about the size of a honeydew). I really have a feeling you are a little smaller than that. It also says that you don't have much room left in there, so I hope you are OK being smooshed inside of me. I do feel your foot and/or hands punching my stomach often. And your daily hiccups are starting to make me worry a little, I hope you are doing Ok. Mom and dad are off today to buy some final things for you, I think you have everything possible under the sun that a baby should need!

We are so excited to meet you and if we were more organized and I knew you would be OK now, I would love for you to come any time! But I know better, so grow as big as you can and we will be here waiting for you whenever you are ready!

PS. Please don't hurt mommy on the way out!

Love, Mom and Dad

CRAZY Nester!

Well, I think I have reached my nesting stage! I am PSYCHO About getting the house organized. I even yelled at my cleaners when they did not show up twice this week!

I need to remind myself to chill and stop scaring people!

Now this is what we want!

Even though I feel large and in charge, I received this awesome Birthday gift from my good friend Joanne Pavin today! What more could a pregnant girl ask for then a box of a dozen Sprinkles cupcakes! Oh boy, I better watch myself!

It takes a lot to prepare for Baby!

Just a passing thought...it takes a lot to prepare for a baby! Thankfully, you have 9 months to do it (although we all know how I feel about 9 months...too long)!

Anyway, as we finalize preparations for Baby Duffy, we are getting the remainder of items we need. Tim - who loves Amazon - ordered a lot of glass bottles, diapers and wipes, all in bulk! I can say we are definitely prepared. We chose to go with the Pampers Swaddler diapers (we got both regular and sensitive just in case), and Evenflo glass bottles (to save the World and be good to the Baby). We literally got almost everything on our baby registry except for a Breast Pump, which I figured I would buy anyway! Off to do that this weekend and a few other odds and ends!

Baby nursery has a nice accent wall in Lilac now and we are just waiting on the Glider and bed sheets to arrive!

I think by the end of September we should be ready to go!

More to come!

34 Weeks and finally grounded!

I started my 34th week of being pregnant this week and time is already flying as it is Thursday and I am now just getting around to updating my blog!

This has been a busy week. I spent the weekend in Sonoma, CA for my brother-in-laws wedding (that was my final plane ride until after baby, so now I am grounded for the remainder of my pregnancy). It was fantastic, even for a pregnant lady. I am not going to lie though, I was sniffing and craving wine like it was my job and I so wanted to just enjoy an amazing glass of something about every other minute! But I survived and had a great time. I also felt like a BIG WHALE. While I am happy with some of my wardrobe choices, I still think I looked big and showed way too much back fat for the World to see!

But oh well, I guess that is what happens when you are pregnant.

So Baby Duffy is growing a lot...I swear her movements are literally like a person is trying to escape out of my body! I worry she has very little room in there to do much. On average, she should be around 4 3/4 pounds and around 18 inches long (around the size of a cantaloupe)! I did have a woman guess today that I was due in January. I was proud to say - Nope, in October!

As September keeps me very busy prepping for this baby and keeping clients happy, I can really feel the time flying. In just a few days I will be down to 5 weeks! WOW! So exciting!