On the Monday after the half marathon last weekend, Chris and I took our first childbirth class. I had spent awhile trying to choose between Bradley, Lamaze, and a whole host of other options. Ultimately I’m really happy with what we picked – the six week complete series through Conscious Birthing Austin, based on the book Birthing from Within. The class came highly recommended by Brielle (my midwife) and my masseuse who is also a midwife. Brielle actually had a copy of Birthing from Within that she was able to lend us and it has been invaluable so far. It’s easy to follow and Chris has been reading it to me and the belly. There’s so much great stuff in the book that no amount of internet research could ever substitute. And reading it together has made it so much easier for me and Chris to get on the same page in terms of our expectations. Just a word of caution if you buy the book – don’t get too hung up on the cheesy parts! We had to skip a few sections, but the majority of the book is packed with good advice. Also, the class itself has been wonderful and informative so far, I think the combination of these resources will set us up very well for January.
The rest of the week started off well but then took a turn. On Tuesday, Chris and I went to dinner with some friends at Bombay Bistro to celebrate Diwali, but I needed to hurry out to make it to a prenatal massage on time. The next day, we went to Home Slice with his family for our first free pizza with Chad. Yiayia and Papou (Chris’s dad’s parents – “grandmother” and “grandfather” in Greek) were also able to join us as they had just flown in from Denver. Things were great but that night, Chris got really sick. He had the symptoms of really bad food poisoning and must have vomited at least six times in the night. We had no idea where he picked it up since we ate the same exact things. We briefly wondered if it could have been the Indian food since I had left before the entrees came out, but none of our friends were affected as far as I know. He spent Thursday in bed and had a hard time working on Friday. Then Friday evening, I started getting queasy. Soon enough I was the one that needed taking care of and by Saturday morning I had a fever and couldn’t keep any food down. Chris stayed in constant contact with Brielle to help me through the day and after half a dose of Tylenol (first time taking a drug this pregnancy), my fever broke in the afternoon. I had trouble deciding whether or not to cancel dancing that evening, but ultimately I recovered enough energy to change into my belly dance costume and the show at Carousel went just fine. I was really reluctant to bail since we knew so many people were planning to see me perform that night and it’s not every day that Chris’s grandparents are in town. Thankfully everything went smoothly and Chris assured me that I didn’t look sick! As soon as we finished up and took some pictures, Chris helped me undo my hair, makeup, costuming, and jewelry. I was back in bed before 10 pm as if the whole night hadn’t happened.
Sunday morning, I was still fatigued and nauseous, but luckily the fever was still gone. We headed to Chris’s parents’ home in Spicewood for the baby shower, but before getting there, we stopped at the Hill Country Galleria to browse the only Old Navy in town with a maternity section. I made my first ever maternity purchases and now have some reasonable clothes that actually fit properly. Also, between a coupon and a sale, we managed to cut the bill in half which was a definite plus. Had it been summer I probably could have made do with my current clothes, but now that it’s getting chillier out, I really needed some warm pieces that could offer the appropriate coverage!
Once we got settled in at Chris’s parents’ house, the baby shower itself was a blast. Although I was really lacking my usual amount of energy, I still managed to have a good time. The gorgeous weather allowed for us all to chat with friends on the deck while overlooking the cliffs and hill country. And we even got to play our non-traditional baby games outside. The first was a round of “pin the sperm on the egg” in which people got to pick a girl or boy sperm and then blindly stick it to an egg drawing on the front of Chris’s parents’ house. Richard won with a girl sperm and his prize was quite fitting – a pregnancy test!
After opening gifts, we then had a beer chugging contest out of baby bottles. Surprisingly enough, our contestants had an extremely difficult time with it. They each had to finish 4 ounces of liquid but it seemed pretty painstaking for some of them – I think the spectators had the most fun with this since it provided pretty solid amusement. With all the dribbling and drool it was pretty clear that we should have provided bibs… next time! Chad and Lauren ended up finishing first within neck and neck of each other, and Chris’s dad was close behind. We were thoroughly entertained and it was a great way to wrap up the afternoon before going back home for more sleep.
The next morning, I called in sick to work and slept for the majority of the day. I think it was just what I needed to get functioning again. That afternoon Chris and I went to see Brielle and then went to Casa de Luz for dinner before our childbirth class. It was the first time all weekend I was able to keep down an entire meal so I was relieved to be on the path to feeling normal again.
And as of yesterday I was back to feeling better – or at least as good as one can feel when 30 weeks pregnant. It seems like the baby knew it hit some sort of milestone because all of its movements managed to intensify between last week and this week. I thought everything I had been feeling before was pretty well defined but now there’s a whole new level of rolling around in there. Brielle thinks baby is head down at the moment, but she couldn’t get a solid hold so we’ll need to confirm at the next appointment. A couple weeks ago, the baby was obviously transverse but I listened to a Hypnobabies CD pretty continuously and practiced visualizing baby head down whenever I could. I guess positive energy goes a long way!
The rest of the week started off well but then took a turn. On Tuesday, Chris and I went to dinner with some friends at Bombay Bistro to celebrate Diwali, but I needed to hurry out to make it to a prenatal massage on time. The next day, we went to Home Slice with his family for our first free pizza with Chad. Yiayia and Papou (Chris’s dad’s parents – “grandmother” and “grandfather” in Greek) were also able to join us as they had just flown in from Denver. Things were great but that night, Chris got really sick. He had the symptoms of really bad food poisoning and must have vomited at least six times in the night. We had no idea where he picked it up since we ate the same exact things. We briefly wondered if it could have been the Indian food since I had left before the entrees came out, but none of our friends were affected as far as I know. He spent Thursday in bed and had a hard time working on Friday. Then Friday evening, I started getting queasy. Soon enough I was the one that needed taking care of and by Saturday morning I had a fever and couldn’t keep any food down. Chris stayed in constant contact with Brielle to help me through the day and after half a dose of Tylenol (first time taking a drug this pregnancy), my fever broke in the afternoon. I had trouble deciding whether or not to cancel dancing that evening, but ultimately I recovered enough energy to change into my belly dance costume and the show at Carousel went just fine. I was really reluctant to bail since we knew so many people were planning to see me perform that night and it’s not every day that Chris’s grandparents are in town. Thankfully everything went smoothly and Chris assured me that I didn’t look sick! As soon as we finished up and took some pictures, Chris helped me undo my hair, makeup, costuming, and jewelry. I was back in bed before 10 pm as if the whole night hadn’t happened.
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| Duet Partners! |
Sunday morning, I was still fatigued and nauseous, but luckily the fever was still gone. We headed to Chris’s parents’ home in Spicewood for the baby shower, but before getting there, we stopped at the Hill Country Galleria to browse the only Old Navy in town with a maternity section. I made my first ever maternity purchases and now have some reasonable clothes that actually fit properly. Also, between a coupon and a sale, we managed to cut the bill in half which was a definite plus. Had it been summer I probably could have made do with my current clothes, but now that it’s getting chillier out, I really needed some warm pieces that could offer the appropriate coverage!
Once we got settled in at Chris’s parents’ house, the baby shower itself was a blast. Although I was really lacking my usual amount of energy, I still managed to have a good time. The gorgeous weather allowed for us all to chat with friends on the deck while overlooking the cliffs and hill country. And we even got to play our non-traditional baby games outside. The first was a round of “pin the sperm on the egg” in which people got to pick a girl or boy sperm and then blindly stick it to an egg drawing on the front of Chris’s parents’ house. Richard won with a girl sperm and his prize was quite fitting – a pregnancy test!
After opening gifts, we then had a beer chugging contest out of baby bottles. Surprisingly enough, our contestants had an extremely difficult time with it. They each had to finish 4 ounces of liquid but it seemed pretty painstaking for some of them – I think the spectators had the most fun with this since it provided pretty solid amusement. With all the dribbling and drool it was pretty clear that we should have provided bibs… next time! Chad and Lauren ended up finishing first within neck and neck of each other, and Chris’s dad was close behind. We were thoroughly entertained and it was a great way to wrap up the afternoon before going back home for more sleep.
The next morning, I called in sick to work and slept for the majority of the day. I think it was just what I needed to get functioning again. That afternoon Chris and I went to see Brielle and then went to Casa de Luz for dinner before our childbirth class. It was the first time all weekend I was able to keep down an entire meal so I was relieved to be on the path to feeling normal again.
And as of yesterday I was back to feeling better – or at least as good as one can feel when 30 weeks pregnant. It seems like the baby knew it hit some sort of milestone because all of its movements managed to intensify between last week and this week. I thought everything I had been feeling before was pretty well defined but now there’s a whole new level of rolling around in there. Brielle thinks baby is head down at the moment, but she couldn’t get a solid hold so we’ll need to confirm at the next appointment. A couple weeks ago, the baby was obviously transverse but I listened to a Hypnobabies CD pretty continuously and practiced visualizing baby head down whenever I could. I guess positive energy goes a long way!
And now it's time to start some serious cooking. Happy Thanksgiving!
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