Tdap

Well, I finally broke down and stopped at CVS today to get my TDAP shot.  I had been looking for weeks for a doctor or emergency clinic that I could go to, but nothing was working out.  So, against my better judgement, I went to CVS.

The experience as a whole wasn’t bad.  I didn’t have to wait long, the shot was exactly what I wanted (single dose), and it didn’t hurt that much.  The only downside is that my arm is really sore now. I’ve been stretching and icing it, but it’s still pretty tight.  Hopefully, that’ll go away in the next few days.  Anyway it’s finally done.  One more thing off the list.

All’s Well in Derbyshire

We had to go back for a follow-up sonogram this morning, and everything checked out fine.  No issues with the baby’s heartbeat, breathing, or movement.  Apparently, he was all over the place today (or at least as much as he can move in his tight little space), so I guess yesterday was a fluke.

By their calculations, he’s up to 8lbs 2oz, and he’s three weeks ahead of schedule.  So, he looks to be a big boy!  My wife is not happy about delivering a huge baby, and she keeps blaming me for all of my JJ Watt talk.  Now, I’m concerned that he won’t fit into any of the newborn clothes or diapers we got him.  I should have thought this through.  VJ told me that I won’t be happy when I see how much it costs to feed little JJ either.  She’s got a point.

Panic at the Disco!

My wife didn’t feel the baby move all night long, so this morning, she got panicked that something was wrong.  After calling the doctor, they encouraged us to head to labor and delivery to get him checked out.  We spent 6 hours at the hospital.  They were able to consistently hear a heartbeat and my wife was able to feel him moving finally.  They said he way laying in a horizontal position at the bottom of her belly, so maybe he was just wedged in there and COULDN’T move!

It was the worst feeling to think that after all this time, when we were so close to the end, that something might have gone wrong.  Thank God both of them are okay.

On a side note, it did serve two other purposes.  We had a dry run of what it’ll be like on “the day.”  And it made us realize that we are not ready yet.  I don’t have the car seat in or the “bag” packed. But that’s going to change now!

I realized that I’m going to be the exact father the nurse said don’t be!  The father that is putting in the car seat in the parking lot while his wife is giving birth in the hospital.

UPDATE:  While waiting for her to wrap up a few quick things at work, I decided now was as good a time as any to get the car seat installed.  It still needs to be inspected, but at least it's in now!

Making Space

Today, I cleaned out half of my manware to make space for the baby’s clothes and things while he’s staying in the room with us.  My wife was trying to figure out something else so I didn’t have to move things, but honestly I wanted to do it.  I wanted to sacrifice something for him.  I wanted to be intentional and symbolic about making space in my life for him.  He’s not a burden or inconvenience.  So I wanted to show him that he already fits into our life.

In addition, I also put his little bassinet together and shifted the dresser so it fits in the corner.  It made the whole expectation more real to do it, like I’m finally acknowledging that we’re expecting a tiny human into our family.  It’s hard to ignore it when it’s right there in the room with you.  It feels good.  I’m more excited now.

Baby Classes

Today, we went to the hospital education center to learn about breastfeeding and general child care.  These classes were easier to take than the labor and delivery class we took a few weeks ago.  In addition to learning the proper latching and feeding techniques, we also learned how to change diapers and swaddle.  Both my diaper and my swaddle fell off the practice baby, but the theory is sound nonetheless.

We also learned about the 5 Ss of consoling a crying baby.  Swaddling is one.  The others are shushing, swinging, sucking, and side-lying.  I’m not so sure about the shushing one.  The doctor was very loudly making static noises directly in the baby’s ear.  The baby stopped crying, but he had a very confused and perturbed look on his face.  He didn’t seem to be enjoying it.  I’m also not sure about the swinging one.  The doctor was juggling the baby and letting his head bounce around, which seems contrary to all I’ve heard about babies.  I guess we’ll see how desperate we get to determine if we’ll try them or not.

Praise and Worship Diapers

At this point they say the baby can hear everything going on outside already.  So I’m only letting him listen to praise and worship music.  If I want him to grow up to be a man of God, then I want it seeping into his blood now.

The nurse said that the babies are often calmed by what they heard in the womb.  So when you want them to settle or relax, you should play something similar.  I guess that explains why CC has to play praise and worship music to calm his baby while changing his diapers.  Otherwise, his little legs are kicking like mad (the baby's, not CC's)!

Nocturnal

We found out that babies are naturally nocturnal, because all day long they are being lulled to sleep by the mother’s motion and movement.  So when the mother finally slows down and relaxes at night, the baby gets more active and starts moving and kicking.  This is why many pregnant women have a hard time sleeping.

The other problem with this is that babies tend to try to sleep all day long after they’re out of the womb.  And then they want to be awake and active all night long, when the parents are trying to sleep.  You have to slowly keep them awake for longer and longer periods during the day to set the opposite behavior from what they’re use to!

Pin Cushion

My wife had an emotional breakdown this morning after her shot that left her sobbing uncontrollably.  She’s tired of having been a pin cushion for the last eight months, and her legs are so bruised and sore that all of the shots are hurting now, no matter how gentle and quick I try to be.  All I can do is stroke her head and stand there in silence.  We both know there is nothing we can do, so there’s nothing to be said.

Breathing

We went in for our first biological sonogram today where they look at the heart rate, fluid, and breathing of the baby.  The breathing was pretty cool.  You could see it as red and blue blobs of color as it was going in and out of his nose.

Retention

My wife has started retaining a lot of water now.  Her hands and feet are extremely swollen and red.  They turn white when she flexes as the skin stretches over her joints.  She says it’s extremely painful, and she can’t close her hands all the way anymore.

Tying Her Shoes

Tying her shoes every day has become a chore for my wife.  I have taken to doing it for her, but I find myself getting out of breath with the effort as well.  It seems that both of our bellies are getting in the way when we bend over!

Sleep is for the Weak!

Sleep has become a luxury that my wife rarely gets to experience anymore.  She dozes off for a little while each night in the bed, but inevitably the baby will start moving and wake her up.  Sometimes he gets contorted into the oddest positions and presses on a bone or organ.  The only thing my wife can do is get up and move around until he re-positions himself.  She has taken to sleeping on the couch in our new reclining sofa seats.  It gives her a way to stretch out without being fully flat.  This seems to help them both sleep better. I guess it’s a good thing we just bought the couch!

The Back-Up Plan

I was watching the movie The Back-Up Plan, and there’s a scene where Alex O’Loughlin is walking down the aisle in a store, and his baby stroller is knocking stuff off the shelves.  He just keeps going without even a backward glance.

For some reason I laughed uncontrollably at this.  I guess because I was imagining myself doing the same thing after several sleepless nights, walking like a zombie through life, not caring about anything.

The Round Ligament

My wife has been complaining lately of a shooting pain down the right side of her belly and in her groin area.  It comes and goes, but when it comes, it's excruciating.  We found out that it's being caused by round ligament pain, and that it's one of the most common complaints during pregnancy.

There are several thick ligaments that surround and support the womb as it grows during pregnancy.  One of them runs along the side and connects the front part of the womb to the groin.  It is called the round ligament.  As the baby grows and stretches out the uterus, it applies pressure to the round ligament which stretches slowly to accommodate.  During these periods of strain, sudden and sharp movements can cause the ligament to tighten quickly, sending a sudden jabbing feeling through the body.  The pain is usually felt along the right side, in the belly, and in the groin.  Exercising, sneezing, coughing, laughing, and rolling over or standing up too quickly can all trigger the pain.

Recommended treatments can include getting enough exercise, especially stretching and core-strengthening (e.g. getting down on all fours on the floor, lowering your head, and gently pushing your backside into the air).  Also, avoiding sudden movement when changing positions to avoid stretching the ligament and bending or flexing the hips before coughing, sneezing, or laughing.  A heating pad or warm bath may be used, as long as it's not too hot or for too long.

In a nutshell, it's just one of those things that she will have to suffer through for a while.  I feel bad that there is nothing I can do to help alleviate her pain.

Support Partner

We had our first baby class today, which was on the labor and delivery process.  I learned one thing very quickly.  You don’t want to be the guy that doesn’t take care of his girl.  There are a whole lot of women with hormones judging your behavior, and none more than the woman you’re with.  You don’t want to go home that night having neglected your wife.  It may be normal behavior for you, but when compared to guys that are taking care of their wives, it becomes more apparent and much less acceptable.  The epitome of “How come you don’t do that for me?!” amplified a hundred fold.

The second thing I learned is that delivery of a baby is a scary proposition...for everyone.  I have no desire to be anywhere near the end of that table.  I got light-headed just watching the video of it.  I had no idea they’d be slapping a bloody, mucus-covered baby right onto his mother seconds after he exited the birth canal.  I thought they’d clean him up first.  But apparently they do that while he’s lying on her, so the skin-to-skin bonding can happen immediately.

The nurse was talking about the importance of the support partner (i.e. me) during the delivery process.  That person is supposed to encourage, soothe, and cater to his wife's every need.  My wife seemed excited at this part and turned to me expectantly.  I knew what she wanted, some confirmation of my excitement and anticipation of this moment.  Honestly, I was panicking.  I looked right at her, and said, "I am happy to be your support partner, but I can’t guarantee I won’t pass out at some point.  I do promise to hang on to your hand, even if I'm lying unconscious on the floor next to the bed."

If my wife has a cesarean, then she can only have one person in the room with her.  Again, she looked at me, but with a little less confidence this time.  I asked her if she sure that she wants me in there, rather than her mother.  She replied, "Definitely.  But if you come in there, then you have to promise to stay upright.  I can't be worried about you and the baby at the same time."  I don't know if I can keep that promise, so I told her that we better have her mother suited up and on standby, just in case.  She agreed.

The Art of the Diaper

CC has been entertaining me with stories about his baby experiences.  Perhaps he intends them more as informational and/or venting, but I find them entertaining nonetheless, esp. after my brain gets ahold of them and adds its own twist!  His biggest obstacle continues to be changing diapers, which happens to coincide with my biggest fear of having a baby, so this resonates with me on a very personal level.  He is still trying to master the art of having a boy.  And just when he worked through ways to prevent getting “shot,” his wife adds some additional step to the task, and he gets hit some other way.

Her latest thing is putting Boudreaux’s Butt Paste on his son’s backside to help treat and prevent diaper rash.  This causes an extra challenge, because it takes time to rub that on his little backside, and when you’re changing a diaper, time is not a luxury you have.  CC has worked to keep his son covered during this process, but his son squirms and kicks so much that sometimes the best laid plans go awry.

But there is one tried and true method to calming his son and getting him to lay still.  He loves Christian praise and worship music.  Perhaps it’s because they listened to that exclusively during his wife’s pregnancy.  Or perhaps it’s just a God thing.  Either way, his son calms down and just enjoys the music, allowing CC to get in and get out.  When he told me this, I said that it sounded like the old phrase “Jesus take the wheel,” except it’s “Jesus take the diaper!”

Braxton Kicks

Today at precisely 1:30 p.m., I received a text from my wife that she believed that she had just had her first contraction.  She said it was an intense cramping like a sudden menstrual pain or getting kicked in the gut.  It lasted less than a minute and then dissipated.  She didn't have another one, so we're assuming it was a Braxton Hicks contraction.

Braxton Hicks contractions are pre-labor contractions, sometimes known as "false" contractions.  They are usually irregular in intensity and interval, don't get closer together, and usually get less intense over time.  They can usually be "treated" by drinking water, changing positions, and relaxing.  They are completely normal and are generally thought to be teaching your body how to prepare for true labor.

The whole thing planted a thought in my wife's head, though, that our baby is going to be early.  I started looking up the gestational chart for baby weight by week.  I found out that he should only be around 3.75-4 lbs right now, which is scary small...too small.  He needs more time to grow.  So, I gave the only advice that a father in my position could give...I told her to cross her legs and keep him in there longer!