Baby continues to grow, and the bump continues to change shape. I was so round a few weeks ago, now I feel pointer. I’m carrying all in front, right around my belly button, which is getting flatter and flatter and feels so strange now!
There’s all sorts of Old Wives Tales about how you carry and the sex of the baby. According to the legends, I’m having a boy… but I hear that bump shape is really just genetics and how your body is built.
Thinking more and more about the sex of the little one! We decided not to find out before birth, and I’d say I like our decision 90% of the time. The other 10%, I regret not peeking during the ultrasound. Too late to go back now, though.
Here’s what BabyHTP is doing this week: “How big is your baby? About the size of a large banana — and speaking of bananas, if you eat one this week, there’s a good chance your baby will get a taste, too. That’s because he swallows a bit of amniotic fluid each day (for nutrition, hydration, and to practice digesting), so he eats whatever’s on your menu — and gets to put those developing taste buds to good use.†Source
I continue to feel pretty good. My only complaints is that it’s hard to sit up straight (losing ab muscles, I guess), and my lower back is usually throbbing by the end of the day. Not too bad. It’s definitely worth all the thumps, kicks, and rolls.
So – this week’s topic is…. feeling prepared.
I wrote about in last week’s update, I’m starting to feel unprepared because I can’t do anything for the nursery because we’ll be moving before the baby is born. I don’t want to buy anything because we have no room to store it, and having stuff piled up in a corner drives me nuts, so I feel like I’m twiddling my thumbs until we move (end of March). The other day, I realized that I’m 21 weeks and rapidly approaching viability (but please, baby, completely bake before you come out and greet the world). When you think, “Oh, I have 19 weeks to go,†it seems far away, but it’s really not that far, especially considering that baby could come earlier… much earlier.
Anyway, so after wallowing around in my unpreparedness for a few days, I decided to tackle the one thing that I could do – childbirth classes. The Husband and I have very little child care experience (I’ve never changed a diaper) and definitely want to learn as much as possible before the kiddo comes.
(I got a pretty good laugh out of the ‘maternity class’ photograph on my hospital’s website – if this is what their maternity classes are like, I will run screaming for the door.)
Yesterday, I bought a slew of baby books, and I signed up for:
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Infant CPR and Basic First Aid: Although we are both CPR and first aid certified thanks to coaching at Girls on the Run, I didn’t pay too much attention during the infant CPR section (at the time, I thought, “When will I ever need to do CPR on a baby?†Duh!). I definitely need a refresher. The Husband feels more confident in his memory, but I still want us both to be retrained.
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Newborn Care Basics: This will cover all the baby basics, like sleeping, swaddling, pooping, breastfeeding, and whatnot. I know the nurses give you a crash course in this at the hospital but, as mentioned, I feel like I have zero idea how to keep a baby alive, so….
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Bradley Method Classes: Bradley Method classes are a 12-week program to prepare you for natural, non-medicated childbirth, which is my secondary goal (first goal: get the baby out). I was really torn between Bradley classes and other childbirth classes, like Hypnobabies, but HTP Facebook friends helped me decide…
Our classes start this month, however, I’m going to miss the first four classes because of work events… I was told the initial classes go over pregnancy basics (nutrition, fitness), which would be nice to hear but not really what I’m taking the classes for.
Here are my Babble posts from this week:
Here’s Week 21, neatly summarized!
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Total Weight Gained: 15 – 16 pounds.
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Workouts: Four! Wahoo! Prenatal yoga, 30 minutes on the elliptical, 1000 yard swim, and a 2 mile walk
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Belly Button: Flattening
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Cravings: Potatoes. As usual.
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Emotional Meltdowns: One on Sunday. I was feeling so congested, tired, and crabby, and I just sobbed and sobbed like my world was ending. Hormones, clearly.
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Nicest Moment: I caught the Husband learning the words to lullabies so he can sing to the baby.
Mommas or mommas-to-be: What baby classes did you take? Or did you wing it?
I love these update posts. And also, the “nicest moment” is very sweet. Made me teary…