16 Week Update

Last week I wrote that I wasn't showing yet, but some time during the last week I just popped out. I'm in maternity clothes full-time now. I shopped this week for a whole hour (!) ,while my parents watched the kids at the mall playground, and bought a swimsuit. Yes, I live in Texas where it's hot, hot, hot until October and through 2 pregnancies I never bought a maternity swimsuit. Oh well. I love it. I told my husband that the gingham checks and the full skirt makes me feel like I am in Oklahoma. Not the state, the musical. Last month I bought a (winter) gently used maternity top on ebay for 11 cents (plus $5 shipping). Next on the quest: a couple more short sleeved t-shirts. Then I should be set.

Baby is now 4 1/2 inches long and weighs 3 1/2 ounces, "about the size of an avocado".

Circumcision Tips

(o.k., I know, that was a really bad pun).

Via Yahoo! News, Study shows circumcision may reduce AIDS risk.

Here's the link to the mohel we have used twice now: www.brismilah.org/.

No, we're not Jewish. Rabbi Rovinsky is the only one I know of in the Dallas area who does non-ritual circs. He is well-known among local homebirthers and midwives. It's a great alternative to a hospital procedure if you want to wait 8 days, plan on waiving the vitamin K shot, or just want a more baby-friendly procedure. I could also go into detail about technique, but I won't. Trust me. If you oppose circumcision, please don't email me or leave comments. Just pray for a girl.

Natural Family News

Don't miss Natural Family News, a new blog. Looks great!

Mother mourns forced end to breastfeeding

Dallas Morning News carried a great essay in this week's Texas Living section about a mom's struggles with breastfeeding and her feelings when she had to give it up.

Milk and Madness

TulipGirl has just wrapped up Ezzo Week 2005. I'm not going to get into the debate, except to give you the link and also a couple great links on the more technical aspects of milk production. Definitely a must-read for those thinking of schedule-feeding.

How does milk production work?
Examining the Evidence for Cue feeding of Breastfed Infants

15 Week Update

Well, if I didn't feel pregnant before, I sure feel pregnant now. My hips have loosened considerably, and I walk with a waddle, even though I'm not even really showing yet and haven't gained enough weight to change my center of gravity. With #1 and #2, I had problems with hip pain - matching the description of pubic symphysis separation. I've never sought treatment before, but this time I am looking for a good chiropracter trained in Webster's technique (and also on my insurance plan). By the way, Webster's is 80%-90% effective at turning breach babies, not that I have had or am planning on having one.

The upside of having a loose pelvis is that I "have plenty of room in there" as my care providers like to tell me.

I got out my maternity clothes from storage and put them in the laundry. They are like old friends that you haven't seen in a long time. I like the winter ones better than the summer ones; and the winters when I am pregnant are the only ones I enjoy because I am not painfully cold. Good thing, because I do not have a maternity coat.

Baby is 4 inches long and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces.

Brain-dead woman could deliver baby soon

Susan Torres, a cancer victim, was 15 weeks pregnant when she was declared brain-dead. Her husband decided to keep her on life support, in the slim hope that their baby would survive - and it looks like she will. She has just passed the 25-week mark, which gives baby an excellent chance of survival if born now. Doctors plan a c-section as soon as any of her organs start to fail.

Link: Brain-dead woman could deliver baby soon
7/21/05 ETA: The Susan M. Torres Fund

Doula Liability

I have a post up over on The Mommy Blawg about Doula liability - namely, should doulas carry emergency childbirth kits when providing home labor support?

14 Week Update

Had our first visit with the midwife yesterday. We head the baby's heartbeat for the first time, which is always an incredible moment, even for baby #3. When she pushed the doppler down on my abdomen, I could swear I felt the baby move on the other side. It's a little early to be feeling movement, but again today I thought I felt something. Always hard to tell at first (even for baby #3).

As for the technical details, fundal height is 14 cm. (should be about the same as the #of weeks, so we're right on target). Urine and blood pressure look good. I weigh 114 pounds, which means I've lost a little weight, but not too much.

Homebirth Association of North Dallas

Our local homebirth group got a write up in the Denton Record-Chronicle (front page, no less).

13 Week Update

Baby is now nearly 3 inches long, "about the size of a jumbo shrimp", and weighs nearly an ounce. He/she also has fingerprints. Amazing.

I hit a milestone last night. I cooked dinner for my family. Not just sandwiches (I've been able to do that for about 2 weeks now), but I actually cooked meat. I was only going to prep it so my husband could cook, but he got busy and I just went ahead and did it. Maybe I will start planning meals next week.

My nausea is a lot better but I am more tired and lack energy. I think it will pick up soon, though.

More Epidural Risks?

Calif. man faints, dies after seeing epidural

I'll have to add this to my list of epidural risks. Really, it would be funny if it weren't for the fact that someone is dead. Ok, I'll admit it. I laughed. Just a little bit.

I Am A Marketing Genius

Perpetually Pregnant has this breastfeeding t-shirt which "is sure to please mothers on both sides of the breastfeeding debate". Warning: mild profanity. Cute, though!

12 Week Update

Well, I'm 12 weeks along (at least according to my calculations). Baby is no longer an embryo and officially a fetus now. According to BabyCenter's Pregnancy Calendar:

Your baby's hit the 2-inch mark (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. Her face is beginning to look more human. Her eyes, which started out on the sides of her head, have moved closer together on her face, and her ears are near their final positions on the sides of her head. Your baby's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into her abdominal cavity about now. Her kidneys are secreting urine into her bladder. Her nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological pathways in the brain) are forming. Your baby may have acquired more reflexes by now, including sucking, and she'll even squirm if you prod your abdomen, though you still won't be able to feel her movement for several weeks.

I'm feeling better, though not out of the woods yet. While I still don't have an appetite, I can actually *imagine* what it would be like to enjoy food again.

Where is the Dora clothing for boys?

Where is the Dora clothing for boys? Blogging Baby asks, something I have long wondered. Forget clothes, why not a Dora backpack in some color other than pink? You'd think the marketing experts would figure this out.