Yesterday marked 39 weeks of pregnancy for Jun. Everything seems to be moving along right on schedule. She had another doctor's appointment on Monday where we found out she was about 1cm dilated and around 50% effaced. That doesn't mean she's going into labor, but it means that her body is starting to prepare for it. Jun's OB/GYN seems to think that the baby will be late (apparently it's common for first time mom's to be late), but still left open the possibility of the baby coming early.
There is an end in sight, however. If the baby does not come before his due date (April 4th), she is scheduled to be admitted to the hospital on April 8th, and induced early on April 9th. So, at THE MOST, there's only a week-and-a-half left before the baby gets here.
Jun is still going to work everyday like a trooper, for which I'm proud of her. She's off work tomorrow (scheduled day off), and if the baby doesn't decide to come on time, she's only got 5 more day of work remaining. I know she's excited about that.
Thank you (again) to all of our friends who have given us gifts and helped us get prepared for the baby, and thank you to those from whom we're STILL getting gifts. It's really very generous of you and we really appreciate it.
I don't have a 39-week belly bump picture yet, but I'll try to get one and add it to this post later on.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
36 Week Doctor's Appointmet
March 8th was a big doctor's appointment for Jun and the baby. It marked 36 weeks and we finally got to have another ultrasound, which we hadn't had since sometime around week 25. It's been a long time since we've gotten to drop in and check on our little boy.
According to the ultrasound tech, little Puff is still doing very good and everything is right on track. It also turns out that he's done a good bit of growing as well, since the ultrasound lady estimated his weight at 6 lbs, 13 ounces already. Wow! That's a big as some babies are when they are born! The doctor said that babies tend to grow about a half pound a week in the last month. If that holds true, we are are looking at having a big baby. I suppose the baby could come a little bit early, but the doctor did a cervix check on Jun (which she didn't enjoy very much...) who confirmed that the baby wasn't ready to come anytime soon. That's fine with us... I'm sure he needs a little bit more time to cook anyways.
Along with the ultrasound and cervix exam, Jun had a strep test as well to see if she would need additional antibiotics when it was time for the actual delivery. The doctor gave us another clean bill of health and said that Jun was doing great. We'll have to start going back every week from now on so that there are hopefully no surprises as far as the delivery date is concerned. (Well, it won't be exactly every week since we our doctor is out of town this week in Surprise, Arizona to watch the Texas Ranger's spring training... jealous.)
Hopefully this good health for mama and baby will continue right up until our little guy is born.
According to the ultrasound tech, little Puff is still doing very good and everything is right on track. It also turns out that he's done a good bit of growing as well, since the ultrasound lady estimated his weight at 6 lbs, 13 ounces already. Wow! That's a big as some babies are when they are born! The doctor said that babies tend to grow about a half pound a week in the last month. If that holds true, we are are looking at having a big baby. I suppose the baby could come a little bit early, but the doctor did a cervix check on Jun (which she didn't enjoy very much...) who confirmed that the baby wasn't ready to come anytime soon. That's fine with us... I'm sure he needs a little bit more time to cook anyways.
Along with the ultrasound and cervix exam, Jun had a strep test as well to see if she would need additional antibiotics when it was time for the actual delivery. The doctor gave us another clean bill of health and said that Jun was doing great. We'll have to start going back every week from now on so that there are hopefully no surprises as far as the delivery date is concerned. (Well, it won't be exactly every week since we our doctor is out of town this week in Surprise, Arizona to watch the Texas Ranger's spring training... jealous.)
Hopefully this good health for mama and baby will continue right up until our little guy is born.
Maternity Photos
It's good to have talented and artistic friends, especially those of the photographer variety. Last week Jun and I had the opportunity to have our good friend Mandy take some maternity pictures for us. We had hoped to get 5-10 pictures out of the session, but we ended up with 130! Mandy, you do too much! Anyways, we were VERY happy with how they all came out.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Thanks again, Mandy! You're a lot of fun to take pictures with. We had a great time.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Thanks again, Mandy! You're a lot of fun to take pictures with. We had a great time.
A Third and Final Shower
Just when we think we have been sufficiently blessed with friends and family who have generously given our little boy tons of gifts and clothes, more people come forward to show us how much they care. Jun's co-workers threw her a baby shower last week and they really came through for her.
I couldn't be there because I had to be in San Diego to eat the world's largest chimichanga.
Ok, so I was actually there for work, but still... look at that monster. But I digress...
Here's some pictures from the shower and some of the neat gifts that our little man received:
Looks like some good times and great stuff, right?
I was sad that I had to miss this shower, but by all accounts, everything went great and Jun really enjoyed the party. Thanks to all of you who made it possible and to Pat, Jenna, Margret, Annette and the rest for setting everything up.
I couldn't be there because I had to be in San Diego to eat the world's largest chimichanga.
Ok, so I was actually there for work, but still... look at that monster. But I digress...
Here's some pictures from the shower and some of the neat gifts that our little man received:
Looks like some good times and great stuff, right?
I was sad that I had to miss this shower, but by all accounts, everything went great and Jun really enjoyed the party. Thanks to all of you who made it possible and to Pat, Jenna, Margret, Annette and the rest for setting everything up.
Friday, March 2, 2012
How to Hold a Bag of Ice for Long Periods of Time.
First off, a little Lamaze humor...
The room was full of pregnant women and their partners, and the Lamaze class was in full swing. The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly, along with informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan.
The teacher then announced, "Ladies, exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. And, gentlemen, it wouldn't hurt you to take the time to go walking with your partner!"
The room really got quiet.
Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand. "Yes?" replied the teacher. "Is it all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"
*Insert Rimshot*
"Thanks, I'll be here all week."
Jun and I attended a Lamaze class together last weekend. It proved to be a very informative event. Due to my uncertain work schedule, we avoided the class that went every day for a week for a couple of hours a day and went for the Friday-Saturday option. It was a 10-hours-over-2-days grind. However, I know we both got a lot out of the class.
There were 12 couples that were signed up for the class we got started on Friday at 6 PM. The Friday session was mostly about the three stages of labor and what changes the female body goes through in order to prepare for delivery. It was very scientific and medical which isn't something I was expecting. (I thought it would be more "hippy" for some reason.)
When I think of "Lamaze," I think of the breathing exercises. You know, like in the movies: "Hee hee hee hoooooo, hee hee hee hoooo." Well, it's not like that anymore apparently as the Saturday class showed us. Now it seems that the most effective way of dealing with the pain of contractions and labor is simply to distract the mother as best you can. The title of this post refers to the exercise we did to demonstrate this:
The mothers were given a ziplock bag of ice and told to hold it in her hand for the exercise. After each step she was given reprieve and was able to put the bag of ice down and warm her hand until the next step.
Step 1: Hold the bag in the palm of your hand and stare at it.
Step 2: Same as step one, but the lights were dimmed and soft music was played.
Step 3: Hold the bag in your hand while the fathers gave the mothers a massage.
Step 3: Hold the bag while leaning on a medical ball and getting a massage.
Step 4: Hold the bag while leaning on a chair and getting a massage.
Step 5: Hold the bag and stand and hold onto/lean on the father.
Step 6: Hold the bag and kick the medical ball back and forth between the mother and father like a soccer ball.
From this exercise, we learned that distraction is a very powerful tool, because not only did she hold onto the bag of ice longer with each step, she didn't feel the pain and discomfort as much. Very interesting.
During the Saturday session we also were able to take a tour of the hospital in which we saw the delivery, recovery, and waiting rooms. I was glad that we were able to see all of that to mentally prepare for what the delivery will actually look like.
Overall, Lamaze class was a very good experience and I'm glad we were able to attend. Hopefully it will be very beneficial when the time actually comes.
The room was full of pregnant women and their partners, and the Lamaze class was in full swing. The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly, along with informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan.
The teacher then announced, "Ladies, exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. And, gentlemen, it wouldn't hurt you to take the time to go walking with your partner!"
The room really got quiet.
Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand. "Yes?" replied the teacher. "Is it all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"
*Insert Rimshot*
"Thanks, I'll be here all week."
Jun and I attended a Lamaze class together last weekend. It proved to be a very informative event. Due to my uncertain work schedule, we avoided the class that went every day for a week for a couple of hours a day and went for the Friday-Saturday option. It was a 10-hours-over-2-days grind. However, I know we both got a lot out of the class.
There were 12 couples that were signed up for the class we got started on Friday at 6 PM. The Friday session was mostly about the three stages of labor and what changes the female body goes through in order to prepare for delivery. It was very scientific and medical which isn't something I was expecting. (I thought it would be more "hippy" for some reason.)
When I think of "Lamaze," I think of the breathing exercises. You know, like in the movies: "Hee hee hee hoooooo, hee hee hee hoooo." Well, it's not like that anymore apparently as the Saturday class showed us. Now it seems that the most effective way of dealing with the pain of contractions and labor is simply to distract the mother as best you can. The title of this post refers to the exercise we did to demonstrate this:
The mothers were given a ziplock bag of ice and told to hold it in her hand for the exercise. After each step she was given reprieve and was able to put the bag of ice down and warm her hand until the next step.
Step 1: Hold the bag in the palm of your hand and stare at it.
Step 2: Same as step one, but the lights were dimmed and soft music was played.
Step 3: Hold the bag in your hand while the fathers gave the mothers a massage.
Step 3: Hold the bag while leaning on a medical ball and getting a massage.
Step 4: Hold the bag while leaning on a chair and getting a massage.
Step 5: Hold the bag and stand and hold onto/lean on the father.
Step 6: Hold the bag and kick the medical ball back and forth between the mother and father like a soccer ball.
From this exercise, we learned that distraction is a very powerful tool, because not only did she hold onto the bag of ice longer with each step, she didn't feel the pain and discomfort as much. Very interesting.
During the Saturday session we also were able to take a tour of the hospital in which we saw the delivery, recovery, and waiting rooms. I was glad that we were able to see all of that to mentally prepare for what the delivery will actually look like.
Overall, Lamaze class was a very good experience and I'm glad we were able to attend. Hopefully it will be very beneficial when the time actually comes.
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