1 month already!

Oh Libby. Sweet Libby. AKA Libster, Munchkin, Offspring (that's Jared's name for her), and sometimes Little Miss Fussy Pants. Can't believe she's already 1 month old. Last I remember, it was August and I was swimming in the pool. Now it's October and I'm wearing sweaters and I have a baby? Seems like September went by in a sleepless blur.

It's been a hard month, but I sure love this little girl. Also, I have the best husband in the world. I can count on one finger the number of times I've done the dishes in the past month and that's a nice feeling.

I knew that being a stay at home mom was a full time job, but I didn't realize that I would literally spend 8 hours a day just feeding this child. She is still eating 8-9 times a day and takes 45 minutes to an hour to eat. That translates to eating every 2.5 to 3 hours. By the time she is finished eating and I get her to sleep, that leaves anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours for me to sleep. But! Last night, the child slept for 5 hours! Too bad I woke up after 3 hours to the sound of her sleep grunts. I couldn't get back to sleep because I kept thinking she was going to wake up any minute. I think my body no longer knows how to sleep more than a few hours at a time. But maybe the Libster will surprise me again tonight and we'll both get a good night's rest.

We finally gave her her first real bath on Saturday. I know, seems like a long time to wait to bathe her, but it took 21 days for her cord stump to fall off. And then...it was just easier to keep giving her sponge baths as needed. But once I noticed she was accumulating stuff in her neck creases (milk, probably), I decided it was time to break out the tub. Anyway, here are the obligatory first bath pictures. Can you believe she slept through it??

Meet Libby

Now that she's 20 days old, I think it's high time to finally introduce my precious daughter.

Libby Claire

Born 9/1/10 at 6:09 PM

6 lbs 8 oz, 19 inches

I've been delaying posting about Libby's birth until I finish writing her birth story, but it's taking me forever because I am trying to include all the details that I want to remember. And every time I consider sitting down to finish writing it, I realize I would rather sleep instead.

So until I get around to writing down the details, suffice it to say that my water broke in the middle of the night, I stayed home as long as possible, labored in the tub for 5 hours at the hospital (during which time I thought I might pass out from pain and exhaustion), pushed for 35 minutes, and had a healthy baby girl.

As hard as it is having a newborn, it's totally worth it when I look at this sweet face.

Homestretch

I was soaking my aching hips in the bath this week when the baby kicked so hard, she made ripples in the water. It suddenly occurred to me how amazingly REAL this baby is - that even though she is still inside of me, she is alive and has the power to affect things outside of me. I thought about it again later in the week, when I was sitting at the kitchen table reading with a book propped up on my stomach and the baby moved and nearly knocked the book off.

I am so excited about this little girl arriving that it's getting hard to concentrate on anything else. Of course, that could also have something to do with the fact that the baby is making her presence known constantly these days by wriggling down into my pelvis, pressing on nerves, spreading my hips, jumping on my bladder, etc. But I love it. Even if my back hurts and I sometimes have to waddle, I feel so incredibly grateful to be able to have a child.

36 weeks

I can't wait to meet you, baby!

Magic Etch A Sketch

Have y'all seen this before? There was an article on cnn.com recently about this guy who does some incredible artwork with the Etch A Sketch. The article is gone now, but you can see his gallery on his website. The Michael Jackson montage is my favorite, but they are all incredibly impressive!

A note about bellies

I'm all for manners and social graces, but some white lies just don't cut it. Sometimes when I tell people how far along I am, they like to say things like "I looked like that at 4 months!" or "I can hardly tell you're pregnant!" I don't really get why people say things like this. First of all - HELLO. Look at me!

Second of all, I wonder if people are just trying to make me feel better about myself. That's nice and all, but it's really not necessary. Besides the fact that I know I look like I swallowed a watermelon and I will absolutely not believe anyone who tells me I don't look pregnant, I understand that having a baby means your stomach pokes out. And I'm perfectly ok with that. In fact, I think it's pretty amazing. So when the kids in the hospital (and we all know kids are more honest than adults) say things like "your big, huge belly is in the way!" or "why is your stomach sticking out so much?" I take it as a compliment. It means I'm growing a nice healthy baby.

Newsflash

Whoa, is it seriously July already? Let's see...what has happened in the past 2 months since I last posted?

~Took an anniversary trip to Asheville, NC where we visited the Smoky Mountains, hiked to a bunch of waterfalls (including one where we were led by a volunteer guide dog named Spot), and watched hippies with dreads play drums.

~Went to Texas for a few days, saw my family, had a baby shower, and spent many hours studying for the ACE personal trainer exam.

~Took the personal trainer exam (which was required for my job); didn't pee my pants or pass out from hypoglycemia (which I was worried about since it's a 4 hour test with NO BREAKS) thanks to the super nice proctor who made exceptions for me due to my condition of being with child. Officially got certified though I officially don't know how to train persons.

~Laughed when I found wheat in Jared's pockets while doing laundry. Laughed even more when I found wheat in Jared's belly button.

~Began nesting. Bought a crib, car seat, and stroller; washed and organized all the baby clothes, blankets, etc; found an awesome pediatrician that gives out her cell phone number, makes house calls, and doubles as a lactation consultant.

~Grew a lot.

Update on the growth of the little one

Mother's Day - 23 weeks

I know the lighting is terrible in this picture, but check out how pointy my belly is!

I'll be 24 weeks in 2 days and according the the Mayo Clinic, baby should be measuring 15 inches long! What the heck? That seems gigantic!

Interesting events since last update:

1. Near fainting episode on the bus. I was sitting down comfortably on the bus on my way to work reading Husband-Coached Childbirth when suddenly everything started to go dark. I knew immediately that I was about to faint and I started sweating like crazy. To make things worse, my stop was coming up really quickly and I was afraid I would be passed out and miss my stop and it would be an hour before the bus came back around to it. Fortunately, I willed myself to remain conscious and was able to make it to my office without passing out.

What I learned: My doctor says I need to increase my salt intake. My blood pressure has been low lately (92/45, 100/60). Jared bought me a giant bag of sunflower seeds to suck on.

2. Ice pick headaches. Has anyone heard of these before? They're basically very short (1-2 seconds), very intense pains in my head. They're so intense I feel like I'll pass out if they last even a second longer, but they always go away very quickly. I've had them for years, but hadn't had any in 6 months until a couple of weeks ago, when I started having them multiple times a day. So my OB sent me to a neurologist.

What I learned: The headaches are nothing to be concerned about. Just an overactive or easily irritated occipital nerve. The neurologist calls these headaches "migraine volleys." Also while I was there, she so kindly informed me that 1) I have a very long neck, 2) I am a weakling (that was the exact word she used when telling me that I have "basically no musculature" around my neck and shoulders and that I need to do some strength training) and 3) I have a heart murmur. Thanks, doc. Actually, she was very nice and informative, but I walked away thinking 'really? She just called me a weakling?'

3. Mother bear showed her face. I was rear-ended on my way home from work last week. There was no damage to the car, but I was incredibly angry that this woman hit me (and didn't even get out of her car!). I yelled at her to watch where she was going, then got back in my car and drove away. I was too angry to think straight and didn't get her insurance info. We were both heading down the same street and she ended up in the lane beside me with her windows rolled down. At this point, I started to really worry about the baby and I decided she had not learned her lesson, so I yelled at her again. I was shocked that I did this since I never yell, but I can only attribute it to fiery maternal instincts. Turns out, after consulting with my doctor, I needed to go to the hospital to get checked out and make sure I wasn't having contractions. So I ended up in labor and delivery for an hour or so, hooked up to a monitor.

What I learned: I was told my uterus was "irritable" (having small contractions) but it was nothing to worry about and the baby was fine. Also, the labor and delivery rooms are huge and look like hotel rooms. Sweet!

4. We started a childbirth class. We're taking a Bradley class and it has been really great so far. My main reason I wanted to take a class was so that I could be as informed as possible and make educated decisions regarding my pregnancy and birth. This class is 2.5 hours every Monday night for 12 weeks, which seems like an incredibly long time to some people, but I think it's great. There's so much to learn about pregnancy and childbirth and I am keenly interested in knowing what is going on with my body. I'm not okay with sitting back and being poked and prodded and cut open without having any idea what's happening. It's also really exciting to have 2.5 hours dedicated each week to talking about and getting excited about this baby. Last week, a massage therapist came to the class to teach the menfolk how to give massages during pregnancy and labor. That's a class any woman can appreciate.