Dear Baby Helland: (Of 33 weeks)
I'm not sure how I missed week 32, but oh well.
Another doctor's appointment this week. All is well still. Dr. Leino felt around on my tummy to see how you were sitting and at that moment you were butt up. Then she found your heartbeat right away. It was faster than normal, but she said that is a good sign because it means you aai reactive. After about a minute it went right back to normal. She also said that we measured about one centimeter big, but she isn't worried about you being huge because you feel like a smaller baby. Before this appointment I had been getting a little more worried about actual labor so I wanted to talk to her about pain meds again. Earlier in the pregnancy I focused on contractions and how long you could have them and how painful they could be. Lately it's the actual pushing that's been getting to me. Knowing that it could be hours of pushing was affecting me for some reason. When Daddy and I talk about this he reminds me that yes it may be tough, but I'll probably surprise myself on how strong I can be and that once you are placed on my tummy, I'll forget any pain I had. He's probably right. Ugh, enough about that.
Grandma and Grandpa Helland came up one night this week to bring some baby stuff they found for us. Grandma Denise found two Pack N' Plays and I chose to keep the green one. (I think sage green might be my favorite color, I choose it for a lot of things!) Prudence had to test out both of them. We make her do some goofy stuff. Grandma Denise also found a bouncer for us which will be nice to have.
On Friday morning I went on my first garage sale-ing excursion of the year. I found three sales that advertised baby and maternity stuff. One of them was awesome. Tons of nice clothes for me in my prego state that I'll have for a few more months and lots of baby stuff. I only bought one sleeper for you but I'm thinking that after you are born, we'll go check some out together and get some gender specific clothes.
Tomorrow we get to go help Jessi and Ben move into their new house! A lot of our friends are in that place in life where they are buying homes. It's exciting. Your Daddy and I might have things backwards since we chose to have you first, but we also have a goofy life set up for the next few years with Daddy finishing up school. Oh well. Someday we'll have a house where Mommy can have a real piano and Daddy can have an actual battleship room instead of a closet;)
I'm feeling the effects of pregnancy a lot lately. My back gets sore more easily, I can't be on my feet as long without feeling the need to sit down and I can't run up and down the stairs at school like I used to. It could be a lot worse, but this takes some adjusting. Daddy even said I've got the start of a waddle going in my walk!
The nesting thing is still happening. It's making me so productive. Last weekend I cooked about 2 weeks worth of meals to freeze. I even froze some sweets for us. Daddy may have started nesting too. He could also be procrastinating too. Either one works for me!
Well, the current baby of the house (Prudence) needs some attention. We'll talk next week!
Mommy
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Dear Baby Helland: (Of 31 weeks)
Dear Baby Helland:
We had another doctor's visit last week and it was another simple one. We're measuring right on, your heartbeat is where it should be and all else seems to be going well. It's pretty crazy to think that if you choose to arrive, you would probably be just fine. Even though you are about 3 1/2-4 pounds, and would still be a preemie, your chances of ending up healthy are very good. This is reassuring, but at the same time, a little scary. I'm hoping you stay put for a while yet.
It seems that once you are expecting, everyone likes to share their birthing stories. This is all fine and dandy as long as views aren't being forced onto me. I don't mind hearing how things panned out for other mothers. I've just learned that if I just listen, but not necessarily share my plan, things go more smoothly during those conversations. Normally I'm the type of person that needs to plan everything to a tee. This is the one time in my life that I'm going without a set plan. Dr. Leino, Daddy and I know what we are open to and some things that we would like, but if I have too many things set in place and they don't happen (so many things can change!) I could be disappointed and get too focused on the things that didn't go my way. Here's our basic birth plan so far: If I'm getting too worked up and can't relax, we are open to pain meds including an epidural. The only people I want in the room include the medical team, me and Daddy. If all goes well, we'll have Daddy catch you. There you have it! Everything else will just happen as it happens. And I'm really happy with that plan.
I think I've started nesting. At very random times, I'll decide to clean or organize something. A few days ago, it was the basement music area and freezer. Tonight it was the floors, the bathroom and the trash cabinet. I still have a lot on my to-do list though. I've started making some of the Amish bread(the kind that you pass on to friends and it takes like 10 days to make but I discovered you can freeze the starter bags) because I thought it would be a nice treat for breakfast after you are born. I have a bunch of other meals that I plan on freezing to make things easier too. I'm itching to start making them, but I think I should wait just a little bit longer.
I also got the urge to start packing my hospital bag the other day. It's not completely ready, but it's started. I have your supplies in a pile and ready to go, but I was waiting until I bought your diaper bag to actually pack it.
Last weekend we had cousin Morgan's 16th birthday. (By the way, she's hoping you're a girl because she thinks they are more fun!) Morgan, Wilson and Payton really wanted to feel you move, but of course we never got the timing right. They had a lot of questions again. "Do you have any crazy cravings? Did you get morning sickness? Can you tell you're pregnant if you didn't look in the mirror? Do you have to wear stretchy pants? Are you going to get much bigger?" Well my answers were, "Not really, I just like to eat a lot. No. Kinda because baby moves so much. Yes, have for a few months now. Probably!" I took it as a compliment that three teenage girls thought I was small for being 7 months pregnant. (They are usually quite honest and blunt.)
I've been getting a lot of sleep lately. It's not that I'm so sleepy, I just sometimes feel like taking a nap. Maybe subconsciously, my body knows I won't be getting much sleep after you arrive so we are storing up! I guess last night I didn't get as much sleep as usual because of the thunderstorms. It was the first of the season which was exciting, but it was a little loud and bright. Daddy had a hard time sleeping too.
Knowing that you will arrive within the next 9 weeks means that I only have about 8 weeks left of school. There is a lot to do before then! We have a bunch of performances to get through before school can end. I'm hoping you at least stay put until I finish all of the concerts. After that, it'll be smooth sailing and I'll probably just have to keep busy so I don't get too anxious for your arrival!
Time for mommy to see what else she can check off of her to-do list!
We had another doctor's visit last week and it was another simple one. We're measuring right on, your heartbeat is where it should be and all else seems to be going well. It's pretty crazy to think that if you choose to arrive, you would probably be just fine. Even though you are about 3 1/2-4 pounds, and would still be a preemie, your chances of ending up healthy are very good. This is reassuring, but at the same time, a little scary. I'm hoping you stay put for a while yet.
It seems that once you are expecting, everyone likes to share their birthing stories. This is all fine and dandy as long as views aren't being forced onto me. I don't mind hearing how things panned out for other mothers. I've just learned that if I just listen, but not necessarily share my plan, things go more smoothly during those conversations. Normally I'm the type of person that needs to plan everything to a tee. This is the one time in my life that I'm going without a set plan. Dr. Leino, Daddy and I know what we are open to and some things that we would like, but if I have too many things set in place and they don't happen (so many things can change!) I could be disappointed and get too focused on the things that didn't go my way. Here's our basic birth plan so far: If I'm getting too worked up and can't relax, we are open to pain meds including an epidural. The only people I want in the room include the medical team, me and Daddy. If all goes well, we'll have Daddy catch you. There you have it! Everything else will just happen as it happens. And I'm really happy with that plan.
I think I've started nesting. At very random times, I'll decide to clean or organize something. A few days ago, it was the basement music area and freezer. Tonight it was the floors, the bathroom and the trash cabinet. I still have a lot on my to-do list though. I've started making some of the Amish bread(the kind that you pass on to friends and it takes like 10 days to make but I discovered you can freeze the starter bags) because I thought it would be a nice treat for breakfast after you are born. I have a bunch of other meals that I plan on freezing to make things easier too. I'm itching to start making them, but I think I should wait just a little bit longer.
I also got the urge to start packing my hospital bag the other day. It's not completely ready, but it's started. I have your supplies in a pile and ready to go, but I was waiting until I bought your diaper bag to actually pack it.
Last weekend we had cousin Morgan's 16th birthday. (By the way, she's hoping you're a girl because she thinks they are more fun!) Morgan, Wilson and Payton really wanted to feel you move, but of course we never got the timing right. They had a lot of questions again. "Do you have any crazy cravings? Did you get morning sickness? Can you tell you're pregnant if you didn't look in the mirror? Do you have to wear stretchy pants? Are you going to get much bigger?" Well my answers were, "Not really, I just like to eat a lot. No. Kinda because baby moves so much. Yes, have for a few months now. Probably!" I took it as a compliment that three teenage girls thought I was small for being 7 months pregnant. (They are usually quite honest and blunt.)
I've been getting a lot of sleep lately. It's not that I'm so sleepy, I just sometimes feel like taking a nap. Maybe subconsciously, my body knows I won't be getting much sleep after you arrive so we are storing up! I guess last night I didn't get as much sleep as usual because of the thunderstorms. It was the first of the season which was exciting, but it was a little loud and bright. Daddy had a hard time sleeping too.
Knowing that you will arrive within the next 9 weeks means that I only have about 8 weeks left of school. There is a lot to do before then! We have a bunch of performances to get through before school can end. I'm hoping you at least stay put until I finish all of the concerts. After that, it'll be smooth sailing and I'll probably just have to keep busy so I don't get too anxious for your arrival!
Time for mommy to see what else she can check off of her to-do list!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Dear Baby Helland (of 30 weeks):
Dear Baby Helland:
Whoa! 30 weeks! Only 10 left. Pretty crazy to think about.
This past week was holy week. On Thursday mommy played for the Maundy Thursday service at Fernando. It also was cousin Rhyan's first communion, so after the service we went her house to celebrate with her. Cousin Wilson was there and she was pretty attached to mommy. I think I've told you before, but she's pretty determined for you to like her. (She hasn't had much luck with your other cousins!)
On Good Friday, mommy didn't have school but she did play for the service at Grace and then we headed down to LeCenter to spend the weekend with the Helland's. Mommy was filling in as an organist at Grandma and Grandpa's church for their Easter services. This wouldn't normally be a big deal except that the organ was in the balcony. Once again, normally wouldn't be a big deal ibut your mommy is terrified of heights. On Friday night Mommy had a nightmare about the balcony having a crazy tilt that made mommy slide right off the bench and over the edge. Not cool. Daddy went with to practice and he basically had to sit on the edge of the bench the entire time, acting as a barrier between mommy and the edge of the balcony. He's a trooper. After Mommy practiced in the torture chamber we went back to the house and Kristen and Jesse arrived. We played wii and since it was so nice, basketball outside. Since mommy is not much of an athlete(I sure hope you get your daddy's genes there), they let me just step in and out of my "sweet spot" (or the one place I can actually make a basket) and shoot every once and a while. Prudence didn't like when we played basketball. She barked the entire time and tried to chase the ball, but the ball is almost bigger than her, so who knows what she was trying to do. That night we played some Farkle and went to bed early since mommy and daddy had to get some sleep before spending the morning in the torture chamber. Easter morning arrived and both services went pretty well. Of course mommy made some mistakes, but overall, no disasters. At one point during the second service, mommy thought she could allow daddy to leave his post on the bench and go get communion. But when he left, mommy had a bit of a panic attack. Hands got sweaty, heart started speeding up, vision went blurry and started slowly sliding off the bench and off the balcony. Ok maybe not the sliding off part, but that's what it felt like! Luckily Daddy forgot something so he had to come back up so I made him sit back down. Once again, daddy's a trooper. At the second service, there was this tiny little baby. She was about 4 weeks old and didn't make a peep during the service. Super cute. After church we ate our Easter meal which mommy always enjoys. Almost forgot-Grandma Helland already got you some LeCenter Wildcat gear. She had these little tiny t-shirts made for some of the coaches kids, and in our case, grandkids. I mentioned that it would be fun to put "Helland" on the back so she's going to ask the guy who made them to put your name on the back. Now you'll have something to wear to the football games! Great-grandma Davidson also brought back a blanket that one of her Arizona friends made. It's a really pretty crocheted green baby blanket.
I forgot to tell you about how I freaked out Daddy the other week. After sisters weekend, my feet were really sore, and I thought they maybe had swelled up a bit. Then I thought my hands felt puffy. Daddy got a little worried and wanted me to get my blood pressure checked because these could have been signs of pre-eclampsia. I put my feet up for a day, got lots of rest and was basically back to normal. Daddy just really wants us to be healthy.
Last night I had another dream about you. For some reason, when I looked at my tummy I could see your profile like indented (but pushed out, so outdented??). And when I stood in the light, I had this x-ray vision to see all parts of you. So, I checked to see if you were a boy or a girl and you were.....a boy! This now confuses me, because I honestly had been thinking you were a girl for a while here. I guess we'll find out in about two months!
Just so I remember for later-Grandma Schuft, Hairdresser Sheri, Frauntie Ali and Auntie Cindy think that you are a boy. Auntie's Connie and Vicki think you are a girl. I want to be able to look back and see who was right!
Well, since I didn't get much done on my last day off, I should try to check some things off of the to-do list! We'll talk soon.
Whoa! 30 weeks! Only 10 left. Pretty crazy to think about.
This past week was holy week. On Thursday mommy played for the Maundy Thursday service at Fernando. It also was cousin Rhyan's first communion, so after the service we went her house to celebrate with her. Cousin Wilson was there and she was pretty attached to mommy. I think I've told you before, but she's pretty determined for you to like her. (She hasn't had much luck with your other cousins!)
On Good Friday, mommy didn't have school but she did play for the service at Grace and then we headed down to LeCenter to spend the weekend with the Helland's. Mommy was filling in as an organist at Grandma and Grandpa's church for their Easter services. This wouldn't normally be a big deal except that the organ was in the balcony. Once again, normally wouldn't be a big deal ibut your mommy is terrified of heights. On Friday night Mommy had a nightmare about the balcony having a crazy tilt that made mommy slide right off the bench and over the edge. Not cool. Daddy went with to practice and he basically had to sit on the edge of the bench the entire time, acting as a barrier between mommy and the edge of the balcony. He's a trooper. After Mommy practiced in the torture chamber we went back to the house and Kristen and Jesse arrived. We played wii and since it was so nice, basketball outside. Since mommy is not much of an athlete(I sure hope you get your daddy's genes there), they let me just step in and out of my "sweet spot" (or the one place I can actually make a basket) and shoot every once and a while. Prudence didn't like when we played basketball. She barked the entire time and tried to chase the ball, but the ball is almost bigger than her, so who knows what she was trying to do. That night we played some Farkle and went to bed early since mommy and daddy had to get some sleep before spending the morning in the torture chamber. Easter morning arrived and both services went pretty well. Of course mommy made some mistakes, but overall, no disasters. At one point during the second service, mommy thought she could allow daddy to leave his post on the bench and go get communion. But when he left, mommy had a bit of a panic attack. Hands got sweaty, heart started speeding up, vision went blurry and started slowly sliding off the bench and off the balcony. Ok maybe not the sliding off part, but that's what it felt like! Luckily Daddy forgot something so he had to come back up so I made him sit back down. Once again, daddy's a trooper. At the second service, there was this tiny little baby. She was about 4 weeks old and didn't make a peep during the service. Super cute. After church we ate our Easter meal which mommy always enjoys. Almost forgot-Grandma Helland already got you some LeCenter Wildcat gear. She had these little tiny t-shirts made for some of the coaches kids, and in our case, grandkids. I mentioned that it would be fun to put "Helland" on the back so she's going to ask the guy who made them to put your name on the back. Now you'll have something to wear to the football games! Great-grandma Davidson also brought back a blanket that one of her Arizona friends made. It's a really pretty crocheted green baby blanket.
I forgot to tell you about how I freaked out Daddy the other week. After sisters weekend, my feet were really sore, and I thought they maybe had swelled up a bit. Then I thought my hands felt puffy. Daddy got a little worried and wanted me to get my blood pressure checked because these could have been signs of pre-eclampsia. I put my feet up for a day, got lots of rest and was basically back to normal. Daddy just really wants us to be healthy.
Last night I had another dream about you. For some reason, when I looked at my tummy I could see your profile like indented (but pushed out, so outdented??). And when I stood in the light, I had this x-ray vision to see all parts of you. So, I checked to see if you were a boy or a girl and you were.....a boy! This now confuses me, because I honestly had been thinking you were a girl for a while here. I guess we'll find out in about two months!
Just so I remember for later-Grandma Schuft, Hairdresser Sheri, Frauntie Ali and Auntie Cindy think that you are a boy. Auntie's Connie and Vicki think you are a girl. I want to be able to look back and see who was right!
Well, since I didn't get much done on my last day off, I should try to check some things off of the to-do list! We'll talk soon.
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