Well, we've been to 2/3 of our baby classes. These classes are supposed to cover the basics (Essentials) of Childbirth and Baby Cares. So, Monday's class was all about the birthing process. We watched the actual birthing videos, saw epidural needles, and inspected some forceps. I thought the point of these classes were to put the parents-to-be at ease by telling them what's in store for them?!? Don't worry, I'm not completely freaking out or anything, but I think I'm more "worried" about the actual birth now than I was before the classes.
I have always thought of myself as someone who likes to be prepared and plan everything, but now that I have a general idea of what's going to happen I'm wondering if I was better off not knowing. I don't think it's the pain or needles or anything that's freaking me out so much. I figure if I can keep myself (or Craig can keep me) relatively calm, I can handle all of that. I think it's how long everything takes "on average" for a first-time mom. 12-24 hours seems like an eternity to me! 2 hours of pushing...seriously! Being overdue by a week-10 days...really! I like to think of myself as a patient person, but I'm pretty sure in this circumstance I will be far from patient. Believe me I know these are averages, and I actually know people that have been exceptions to these rules, but come on.
It probably doesn't help that the emotions and fatigue of the first trimester are back in full force here in the third trimester all of a sudden. I'm averaging about 2 naps a day now and have serious struggles getting out of bed in the mornings. The last couple days making it through the morning just to stay awake until lunch (when I try to squeeze in a nap) has been a really battle. So, then the nurse tells me the labor process takes 12-24 hours, and I think to myself, "I can't stay awake for 3 hours before I'm exhausted!) I sure hope adrenaline kicks in when I need it!
I probably sound crazy, and my reasonable side keeps telling me that women do this every day and everything turns out fine. Maybe I just needed to vent a little! I am looking forward to next week's class, it's all about taking care of newborns! That should be interesting!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Baby Names
So, we are sort of struggling with the baby name project all of a sudden. Maybe struggling isn't the word, but we aren't really making progress either. We had narrowed it down to about 4 names for each (boy or girl), but now we seem to be adding a few more and not absolutely loving any of them. So, while we're in the last 3 month stretch, I thought we'd see what you thought. Leave us a comment and let us know your suggestions. Remember we need a girl name & a boy name. We will consider all suggestions! Thanks so much!
Oh, and a funny story from Saturday morning. Craig has this new habit of putting his ear to my belly to listen to the little monkey inside. He was doing just this on Saturday morning, and that little monkey got a little feisty and kicked him right in the side of the head. We had a good belly laugh! Now, daddy thinks we may have a soccer champ or NFL punter growing in there! We'll see!
Oh, and a funny story from Saturday morning. Craig has this new habit of putting his ear to my belly to listen to the little monkey inside. He was doing just this on Saturday morning, and that little monkey got a little feisty and kicked him right in the side of the head. We had a good belly laugh! Now, daddy thinks we may have a soccer champ or NFL punter growing in there! We'll see!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
27 Weeks
Ok, technically we will be 27 weeks along tomorrow, but why wait? We had our monthly appointment yesterday. Everything is good with me and baby! I passed my glucose test for gestational diabetes, so I am very grateful for that! Baby is measuring right on track, and has a good strong heartbeat. We go another 4 weeks before our next appointment, then we will start going every 2 weeks. Yikes! Sounds like we are running out of time!
We started our baby class on Monday night! It was very informative. I hope I'm able to recall some of these things when the time comes! I also got a great back massage out of Craig during the class, so that was awesome! We got to take a tour of the labor & delivery floor as well as the postpartum rooms. Everything is sooo nice! It looks more like a hotel than a hospital! I know we will feel totally comfortable when we are there. We obviously didn't tour the NICU, but to know it's right there waiting for us if needed is very comforting.
Our brand new king size bed was delivered on Saturday! It is huge and soooo great! I don't know how we waiting so long to upgrade! I've had a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings this week! The new recliner for the nursery came too! I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't spend a few nights in it before the baby gets here. It's getting harder and harder to be comfortable at night. Oh well, it will all be worth it in the end, right?
The biggest news of the past week is the addition to the Reinhart family! Baby Reed David was born yesterday! He's a few weeks early, but he's perfect. Mom, dad, and baby are all doing well. Reed weighed in at 6lbs 7oz. He's tiny! We made a trip up to Omaha to see them all last night after our doctor's appointment! He's adorable, and Amanda looked great! The whole thing made me even more excited (if that was possible) for our little one's impending arrival!
Speaking of impending arrivals, we have quite a few more births coming up here soon before us! My cousin Scott & his wife Sarah are having their second son February 5th. Ryan & Jill will be right behind them in mid-February for their little boy. And, Craig's cousin Amie & Jeff will be right before us in mid-March! Please pray for all these families as they near the end of their journeys!
We started our baby class on Monday night! It was very informative. I hope I'm able to recall some of these things when the time comes! I also got a great back massage out of Craig during the class, so that was awesome! We got to take a tour of the labor & delivery floor as well as the postpartum rooms. Everything is sooo nice! It looks more like a hotel than a hospital! I know we will feel totally comfortable when we are there. We obviously didn't tour the NICU, but to know it's right there waiting for us if needed is very comforting.
Our brand new king size bed was delivered on Saturday! It is huge and soooo great! I don't know how we waiting so long to upgrade! I've had a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings this week! The new recliner for the nursery came too! I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't spend a few nights in it before the baby gets here. It's getting harder and harder to be comfortable at night. Oh well, it will all be worth it in the end, right?
The biggest news of the past week is the addition to the Reinhart family! Baby Reed David was born yesterday! He's a few weeks early, but he's perfect. Mom, dad, and baby are all doing well. Reed weighed in at 6lbs 7oz. He's tiny! We made a trip up to Omaha to see them all last night after our doctor's appointment! He's adorable, and Amanda looked great! The whole thing made me even more excited (if that was possible) for our little one's impending arrival!
Speaking of impending arrivals, we have quite a few more births coming up here soon before us! My cousin Scott & his wife Sarah are having their second son February 5th. Ryan & Jill will be right behind them in mid-February for their little boy. And, Craig's cousin Amie & Jeff will be right before us in mid-March! Please pray for all these families as they near the end of their journeys!
Monday, January 4, 2010
We Survived!!!
We are back in Lincoln having survived all the holidays and the big wedding! It was all a lot of fun, but it does feel nice to be home and getting back to "normal" life. The Christmas blizzard wasn't much fun. Luckily, we made it up to Tekamah before it hit. This meant some extra quality time with my family which was great, but it also meant no Mencke/Wortman family Christmas which was sad. It was a good thing we were there too because Craig's truck was the only vehicle in the Bryant family that was able to get around town for a couple days. He even managed to get it stuck on Christmas in Tekamah, but they got it dug out pretty quick!
We didn't get to celebrate Christmas with all of our extended families like we had planned, but I'm very grateful for what we were able to do. It sounds like we were one of the few families that still had a Christmas dinner and celebration on Christmas. Many families in the area were snowed in without power. No fun!
After Christmas came and went, we geared up for Jess & Nick's wedding. Last week was a whirlwind of activities. It was a lot of fun to spend time with everyone for such an exciting occasion. Their wedding day was all but perfect! Jess looked absolutely gorgeous, and they still had a great turnout considering the crazy weather conditions. The only downside of the day was Jess's nervous stomach getting the best of her for most of the reception. All and all, it was still a great party, and everyone there had a blast! Craig was no exception. I heard from one family of party-goers that they rated him among the top 5 drunkest! If they would have seen him at 1:30 a.m. when we got to the hotel with Jess & Nick...I think he would have jumped up a few spots! Crazy!
After a day of rest and recovery on Friday, we made a trip to the Nebraska Furniture Mart with Craig's parents. We finally bought the king-size bed we've been thinking/dreaming about for months. It will be delivered this Saturday, and I cannot wait. We should have done this years ago! We also found a Lay-Z-Boy recliner for the nursery that I'm super excited about. Everything's starting to come together! I'm excited to see the room start to look more and more like a nursery.
January is shaping up to be another busy month, with lots of baby-related activities. We have meetings this week with a potential pediatrician and another potential daycare provider. Wish us luck...both are important decisions, that I would like to have made sooner rather than later. I also have my first baby shower this weekend with my best friend Amanda. She's down to 4 weeks, so keep her in your thoughts as she gets closer and closer to the end. Our next doctor's appointment is next week with the big glucose screening! Then, next weekend we have another family wedding...my cousin Joe and his fiance Erin are getting married up in Omaha. It should be another fun evening!
We didn't get to celebrate Christmas with all of our extended families like we had planned, but I'm very grateful for what we were able to do. It sounds like we were one of the few families that still had a Christmas dinner and celebration on Christmas. Many families in the area were snowed in without power. No fun!
After Christmas came and went, we geared up for Jess & Nick's wedding. Last week was a whirlwind of activities. It was a lot of fun to spend time with everyone for such an exciting occasion. Their wedding day was all but perfect! Jess looked absolutely gorgeous, and they still had a great turnout considering the crazy weather conditions. The only downside of the day was Jess's nervous stomach getting the best of her for most of the reception. All and all, it was still a great party, and everyone there had a blast! Craig was no exception. I heard from one family of party-goers that they rated him among the top 5 drunkest! If they would have seen him at 1:30 a.m. when we got to the hotel with Jess & Nick...I think he would have jumped up a few spots! Crazy!
After a day of rest and recovery on Friday, we made a trip to the Nebraska Furniture Mart with Craig's parents. We finally bought the king-size bed we've been thinking/dreaming about for months. It will be delivered this Saturday, and I cannot wait. We should have done this years ago! We also found a Lay-Z-Boy recliner for the nursery that I'm super excited about. Everything's starting to come together! I'm excited to see the room start to look more and more like a nursery.
January is shaping up to be another busy month, with lots of baby-related activities. We have meetings this week with a potential pediatrician and another potential daycare provider. Wish us luck...both are important decisions, that I would like to have made sooner rather than later. I also have my first baby shower this weekend with my best friend Amanda. She's down to 4 weeks, so keep her in your thoughts as she gets closer and closer to the end. Our next doctor's appointment is next week with the big glucose screening! Then, next weekend we have another family wedding...my cousin Joe and his fiance Erin are getting married up in Omaha. It should be another fun evening!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Merry Christmas!
I'm pretty sure the next 10 days or so are going to be crazy busy, I thought I would post now while I still had the time. We will be heading home sometime in the next few days (depending on this crazy weather situation), and I will remain there until after Jess & Nick's wedding next week. Craig will come back to Lincoln for a few days to work next week. I'm so looking forward to the time at home with family and friends, but I know by the time we are all back in Lincoln and everything is over I will be one exhausted pregnant lady.
While we're away we will hit a big milestone (to me) in the pregnancy. We will hit the 6 month mark. Seriously! Is it just me, or has time flown by?!? Baby M has been kicking more and more these days. So far it doesn't hurt or anything. It actually makes me feel better because at least to me it means Baby M is doing just fine in there. Craig is still trying to feel it, I think he has but he just doesn't know it yet. He needs a little more patience!
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all make it where you're going safe and sound! Also, Happy New Year as we are booked until mid-January! We have so much to be thankful for in 2009, and so far 2010 is shaping up to be the best year yet! We have so much to look forward to. I can't wait!
Love,
the Mencke's
While we're away we will hit a big milestone (to me) in the pregnancy. We will hit the 6 month mark. Seriously! Is it just me, or has time flown by?!? Baby M has been kicking more and more these days. So far it doesn't hurt or anything. It actually makes me feel better because at least to me it means Baby M is doing just fine in there. Craig is still trying to feel it, I think he has but he just doesn't know it yet. He needs a little more patience!
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all make it where you're going safe and sound! Also, Happy New Year as we are booked until mid-January! We have so much to be thankful for in 2009, and so far 2010 is shaping up to be the best year yet! We have so much to look forward to. I can't wait!
Love,
the Mencke's
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Happy Birthday Mom!
I forgot to add to my other post...Happy Birthday Mom! (No, I didn't forget about it, I've talked to her twice today.) I just wanted to give her another shout-out via the Internet! I hope it's a great one, Mom!
23 Weeks!
Technically, we hit 23 weeks tomorrow, but I decided I'd post tonight. We had our monthly check-up today. Everything is still looking good! Baby's heartbeat was in the 140 range and I'm measuring right on target at 23. Next appointment, I have the dreaded glucose screening to check for gestational diabetes. I have a bottle of glucola chilling in my fridge for the next month. Let's hope I pass...I've heard horror stories about the 3 hour version! For all of you that don't see me regularly, I thought you might like a visual of the baby bump. It seems to get getting bigger and bigger every day!
You may notice the green walls behind me...yes, this is the nursery in progress! The painting is done! I really love the color. Here's a few more pictures:
As you can see, we have our crib. We have yet to put it together. It may not be assembled until after the holidays/wedding. That's all right, we have plenty of time! Speaking of the holidays and wedding, can you believe that Christmas is next week already and the wedding in 2. Yikes! It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks around here. I'm looking forward to it, it should be lots of fun!
Oh, and just for fun! Here's a picture of Izzy and I . She loves to be in the middle of things. She also is very interested in the new green room! I seriously think she knows something "BIG" is going on. I'm so excited to see her and her new sibling interact. It should be quite entertaining!
Well, now that you've all "seen" me, we can start taking bets on the gender of the little one. Any guesses? Leave us a comment if you feel up to the challenge!
You may notice the green walls behind me...yes, this is the nursery in progress! The painting is done! I really love the color. Here's a few more pictures:
As you can see, we have our crib. We have yet to put it together. It may not be assembled until after the holidays/wedding. That's all right, we have plenty of time! Speaking of the holidays and wedding, can you believe that Christmas is next week already and the wedding in 2. Yikes! It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks around here. I'm looking forward to it, it should be lots of fun!
Oh, and just for fun! Here's a picture of Izzy and I . She loves to be in the middle of things. She also is very interested in the new green room! I seriously think she knows something "BIG" is going on. I'm so excited to see her and her new sibling interact. It should be quite entertaining!
Well, now that you've all "seen" me, we can start taking bets on the gender of the little one. Any guesses? Leave us a comment if you feel up to the challenge!
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