Random Thoughts from this Week

Besides acquiring a new assistant, there were a few other random events of interest that happened this week:

Monday - we had our ABC's of Breastfeeding class. We are very lucky in that KMC is a certified "baby friendly" hospital. This means that they are very pro-breastfeeding and have an extensive staff of lactation consultants to help moms and to watch over nursery procedures in general. For example, babies do not go to a nursery after they are born (assuming there aren't any problems)--they get to stay in the room with Mom in a bassinet. They will never be bottle fed, even in intensive care--not that they starve the baby, but other methods are used to ensure they get nutrients without ruining their chances at being breastfed by making them accustomed to a bottle too early on. And, there is a lot of support in general for nursing moms. I have to say, I was pretty disappointed when we went class--all of our other classes (Childbirth, Bringing Baby Home) were packed full and the attendees were all couples...new Mommies and Daddies, in this together. When we walked into the breastfeeding class however, there were only 6 or 7 other women there, and Tim was the only spouse that bothered to come. (The women said they tried to tell their husbands that it was "all boobs for two hours!" but apparently even this wasn't enough lure). I have to say that I'm very proud of Tim for wanting to be there and support me, without having to be dragged kicking and screaming. The other moms were proud of him, too, and with comments like "he's a stronger man than mine" abounding, I was inclined to keep a close eye out. ;o)

Tuesday - we had our weekly checkup. Things were a little busy, so they didn't check to my dilation, but we are measuring normally and everything looked good in the ultrasound.
Doctor: Wow, 37 weeks! Any day now...how are you feeling?
Mandy: Pretty damn pregnant, thanks.
Before we left, his parting shot was something about "yeah, any day now...and during daylight hours!" He must be on call this week.

Thursday - we had our car seat inspection. It does make me a little nervous that the guy was so shocked that we had actually read the instructions on the car seat and installed it correctly. ;o) Needless to say, Tim did a good job of getting in there and snug and secure, and if it hadn't been for having to wait for the people in front of us that didn't crack the manual, we would have been out of there in 5 minutes flat. At least now we know we can bring the baby home without worrying about peeling her off the ceiling upholstery when we get there.

Somewhere in there, the little monster also learned how to flip from side to side. Up to this point, she's been hanging out primarily on the left side, but the other day I looked down and her little bum was sticking out on the right. Now that she's figured it out, she seems to enjoy trying to corkscrew her way down lower and I'm getting the stretch marks to prove it. Let's hope this means she's figuring out a way out and the time is near.