37w6d Going and Going and Going

I must have the energi.zer bunny of mucous plugs: ever since early yesterday morning it just keeps on coming out. I have read some women describe theirs as up to softball size when it comes out intact. I truly understand now how that can be. I'm beginning to wonder if mine was more basketball sized!

The last 3 days I have felt really good and yesterday I felt almost normal - like I wasn't pregnant at all. Today I have not been feeling well at all. My nether regions are very swollen and painful which I suppose is the varicose veins protesting all the walking and exercise ball sitting I've done over the last few days. I also took a nap today.... for 4 hours! Right now I am just counting the minutes till I can put G in bed and go back to bed myself. I have also been feeling somewhat nauseas and the back plumbing department is pretty loose (sorry - TMI!). Off and on today I've been having the very mild contractions again and a few Braxton Hicks. I can only hope that all this together adds up to an imminent labor. On the one hand I want to run around and get my house cleaned up but on the other I want to just sit and save up my energy. I will probably do some of both. I will try to update when there's something to update with!

37w5d

At my midwife appointment week before last, when she checked me for the first time, it seemed to get things going. For the next 7 days I had mild contractions and lots of Braxton Hicks. Ever since I was checked this past week, nothing, nada, zip is going on! Every now and then I have a mild contraction but it's more like once or twice a day rather than an hour. The only positive thing that's happened since then is that I definitely lost part or all of my mucous plug this morning. Some women report it coming out in one big blob. That wasn't my experience; it was more like tons and tons and tons of fertile CM that just kept coming and coming and coming.... That was several hours ago and it's still coming. I still find it incredible that the cervix can be open and have all this stuff still lodged up there. I'm thinking maybe losing the plug is more related to cervical effacement than dilation: as the cervix basically goes away, this stuff has nowhere to lodge.

So, no real news to report. I have been doing as much walking as I can stand the last few days. Fortunately we are having beautiful spring weather here in central Ohio so G and I can go to the park. Usually my trips to the park are spent on the bench reading. Now I've been walking around in circles while G plays and she really doesn't know what to make of it! J is due home tonight and I'm really hoping that psychologically my body will feel ready to get off its break and "let go"! I'll try to keep posting here every few days with my status.

37w3d

I woke up this morning to see a small spot of blood on my pad and a little more when I wiped. I never thought the red stuff could be so exciting! When I told the midwife about it plus the fact that I have been having mild contractions all week, she said she wanted to check me again. Last week I was 3cm but not at all effaced. This week I'm almost 4cm and 50% effaced. She said she didn't feel my waters bulging so she doesn't think they'll break anytime soon but the Group B Strep makes it much more likely that the water will break before real labor sets in. She said she wouldn't be surprised if I delivered this weekend but it could be just as likely that it might be a week or two. But the good news is that I'm almost through the "latent" phase of labor. The active phase is 4-10cm. So I'm supposed to call her when the contractions are 5-6 minutes apart and are strong enough for me to have to stop what I'm doing. Or if my water breaks. She said if my water breaks at this point it would not be a big deal - it would probably be the thing to jump start real labor. So after all this time of hoping labor didn't start that way, I now find myself hoping that's what happens! J is off on a trip today and then plans to spend several days in Memphis working on some stuff. He assures me he's just a phone call and airplane ride away but I am so stressed that he might not make it in time.

So even with all this I find myself still waiting. But I am at least a little more hopeful that the wait might not be much longer.

37w2d

I am so done being pregnant! I continue to have very mild contractions throughout the day. It's not that they hurt. Rather, they keep me on edge, wondering if/when they're going to turn into something more. To add to that, J was supposed to be off until Tuesday of next week but he accepted an assignment and leaves tonight and comes home tomorrow. I know it's an assignment he needs to take but I just have this niggling feeling that he's not going to be around for the birth.

As the baby gets bigger I find that her movements are much more uncomfortable. This morning she seems to have gotten a foot caught in my rib cage. Sounds cute until you're actually trying to get unstuck from that position.

Okay, enough wining! I spent a fair amount of time yesterday walking around. I find that my vulvular varicose veins don't bother me nearly as much since I stopped exercising regularly, so walking is actually an option now. I'm going to do more of it today.

37 Weeks: Home Stretch

Wow! 37 weeks. It was a mere 7 weeks ago that I made a trip to L&D with mild contractions and all the angst of possible pre-term labor. Where has the time gone?! Someone told me the other day that my pregnancy has passed very quickly for them but it probably didn't seem that way to me. Looking at the day to day perspective, it seems to creep by. But if I think about where I've been, it seems so quick! It's been almost a year since May 1 of last year when I had my HSG that diagnosed my septum. May 26 of last year was when I had surgery to correct it. And now here I am, about to have the baby that resulted from all that. Wow!

My BH and contractions have really tapered off but this morning I'm having a lot more discharge. Every little sign and symptom gets paid a lot of attention! But, I've been informed by both my hubby and SIL that I'm not allowed to have the baby this week. SIL is off at a medical conference for the week. J wants to get a bunch of stuff done this week and out of the way. So I guess I'm supposed to just hold my breath and hope for the best! I promised them both that I wouldn't do anything to try and bring on labor this week.

36w6d Breastfeeding

One day to go to that magic 37 week mark! Yesterday my BH/contractions dropped off considerably. I'm starting to get more in the mindset that this baby is coming closer to her due date, despite walking around with a partially opened cervix.

The past several mornings I've woken up to quite firm breasts that feel really full of milk. If you've breastfed before, it's that feeling you get just before you're baby is ready to nurse: not quite painful but reminding you there's milk in there. It's rather exciting for me because breastfeeding is one of the things I'm really looking forward to with this baby. My experience breastfeeding G was absolutely wonderful but abruptly cut off by an illness (mine) when she was 11 months old.


Previously I had thought that I wouldn't try to pump and freeze. I pumped a little with G but it was such a hassle. This time I signed up with the formula makers to get free samples and I figured I would just use those the few times someone else kept the new baby. Now that I have the deep freezer, though, I decided to think more about freezing. If you have breastfeeding questions, I've always found the Kelly Mom website to be really good. In particular, this page has information about how long you can freeze breast milk. In a deep freeze at 0 degrees, it will freeze 6-12 months. Wow! This means that I can freeze along the way in the early months and have plenty of supplies when she gets to the point where I will leave her with someone else. So, I might pull out my pumping supplies after all.

36w5d Counting the "Symptoms"

Ever since the internal on Thursday, I feel like I am right on the brink of going into labor. Right there but not quite! Both evenings/nights since then I've had lots of Braxton-Hicks, interspersed with very mild contractions. Nothing to count or time or anything. But they're definitely there. Yesterday and today I have had a definite increase in cervical mucous. It's much thicker than before and almost brown-tinged. I assume this is my mucus plug breaking up, although it seems to me that at 3cm, whatever was in there surely would have come out by now. But what do I know? Last night a number of times I would feel her kicking at the top of my uterus and I could actually feel the corresponding pressure of her head on my cervix. A few times it was actually quite painful. Today I've been feeling more mild contractions than the BH but still nothing that makes me stop and want to time them.

So, lots of symptoms to obsess over but nothing definite. J is on a trip until Monday. One of his flights on Monday is a special exam that he really doesn't want to miss as it is the last step in him getting sort of a promotion (and corresponding raise!). While I'd like for him to get that out of the way before the baby comes, on the other hand I'm having a hard time imagining these BH/contractions going on for days on end. Time will tell......

36w3d: 3cm!

Yep, the midwife checked me this morning and I'm already 3cm! I have been debating whether or not I would ask her to go ahead and check but she beat me to it and said she'd like to as she likes to have a "baseline" around 36-37 weeks. She asked if I was feeling lower pressure and I said definitely, and I even feel like sometimes she's going to fall out when I stand up. She said my cervix is still pretty long so there is no effacement yet; but she said it's quite common on subsequent babies for the cervix to efface while it dilates. So the bottom line is that I still don't really know anything yet. I could walk around like this for a few more weeks or labor could be imminent. We'll just have to wait and see. The last few days I've been feeling an increase in crampiness which I take to be Braxton Hicks but are obviously doing something down there. Let the waiting continue!

36 Weeks

Can't believe I'm finally here at 36 weeks! I thought I was in waiting mode before but I realized this morning that I'm in a whole new waiting mode now. It's funny to me (from this vantage point) how closely parallel is waiting to conceive the baby and then waiting to birth the baby. I find myself scrutinizing cervical fluid wondering not if it's fertile but if it's actually part of the mucous plug. I've seen a marked increase in fluid the last few days but nothing I can definitively call part of the plug. I also have cramps to pay attention to and scrutinize now. They have no regularity and aren't anywhere near what I would call contractions but I do wonder if they are mild ones that might perhaps be doing something.

So, lots to obsess over! I've noticed that people have stopped asking me how far along I am. The question now is "How much longer?"!!

This weekend, in a supreme burst of energy, I cleaned my upstairs. The vacuum cleaner has been sitting in my upstairs hall for 2 weeks waiting for that burst. My house right now is in a state such that I'm not ashamed for anyone to see it. Actually, it hasn't been this neat and clean in some time!

My other project was to design birth announcements. This was one thing I didn't do for G; I sent an email to most of the people we knew and the few who didn't have email, I mailed a picture with a note. The emails were actually nice because almost everyone responded and I saved all those for G's baby book. But I decided to do something a little different this time around so I'm sending out some simple announcements. With all the energy, I also managed to address all the envelopes!

That's all for now. Just waiting....

35w5d

All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go.

Yup, the hospital bags are packed and ready to go. It feels so surreal to look at the corner of my room and see them sitting there. So, here's what I packed in case anyone is looking for a packing list:

For Baby
I basically just packed the diaper bag with:

• a few diapers (the hospital provides diapers but it is a diaper bag after all!)
  
• wipes (for some reason most hospitals don't provide these and changing a yucky meconium diaper with a wet paper towel is not fun)
  
• hat
  
• "coming home" outfit (basically the smallest footed pajamas I have)
  
• a couple of newborn size onsies (probably won't be needed but they are something I will keep in the diaper bag anyway)
  
• socks
  
• mittens
  
• a couple of blankets
  
• the car seat. I know - you're supposed to install this beforehand but for some strange reason I'm just really not ready to drive around with it empty right now.
  

My Bag

Toiletries
2 nursing nightgowns
a robe
a nursing shirt to wear home
nursing bra
several pairs of socks
Lansinoh (with G I didn't start using this for several days. This time I plan to start using it right off the bat. It helps immensely but I think the trick is stopping the chapping before it starts)
breast pads
stuff to keep my hair out of my face
some pairs of old underwear
chapstick
shirt to wear in the jacuzzi
snacks
birth plan (the midwife has one in her files but this one I will hand to the nurses when I come in so everyone can be on board with what I want up front)
nitelight (the hospital where I had G had a nightlight type lamp but some places don't, making middle of the night feedings challenging. I have a rechargeable flashlight that has a nightlight setting that I plan to take just in case)
gatorade
my ipod and speaker set (I changed my mind about taking music. The doula convinced me that it couldn't hurt to bring it)
cameras
shower shoes
walking the halls shoes that I don't mind getting dirty
phone charger

That's it. I left out the bottle of wine. Since we only live about 5 minutes from the hospital, I decided I can always send someone home to get it if I decide I need it. Of course, there are some last minute things that I can't pack yet (like my hairbrush and my cameras). I have a very detailed list about these items and exactly where they are in case I'm not the one grabbing them.

The only other thing I'm thinking about is a gift for G when she comes to visit. I'm thinking about getting her something like a cabbage patch doll and having my friend who is a delivery room nurse there bring it in in a bassinet just like the real baby. I think it will help her to have her "own" baby to do stuff on when she can't actually do it on the real baby. She is really into that stage where she wants to help me on everything and gets very frustrated when she's not capable of doing something.

35w3d Appointment

Midwife appointment went great today. No sugar in my urine which was a nice change. I didn't gain any weight in the last two weeks but she didn't comment on it so I didn't ask! I asked her about what to take when Tums didn't handle the heartburn and she suggested liquid Mylanta. So I got some of that to try. We went over my birth plan and she said it was a great one because there is nothing on there that is outside of standard procedure for her. My next appointment starts the weekly visits. I didn't ask her about when or if she does internals. I go round and round about that. On the one hand I don't want to take the higher risk of infection. On the other hand, I'd love to know what's going on in there. We didn't specifically talk about it at this visit but I get the distinct impression that my midwife thinks this baby is going to be early. I suppose if I get to 38 or 39 weeks I can decide about asking for an internal exam.

I started packing the baby's bag last night which meant that I had to get on the ball to wash all the clothes. It actually took 2 loads in my front loading washer but that included the myriad of blankets and crib linens. I did open the package of newborn size diapers - I can't believe how small they look! It's so easy to forget how small babies are. With G I never used a special detergent - I just washed her stuff separately and did a second rinse on them. Even then, I only did that for maybe 6 weeks and then I just started washing her stuff with ours. Fortunately she didn't inherit my sensitive skin! My front loader washer has a "skin care rinse" that does about 3 separate rinses I think. Hopefully this one won't require anything more special than that.

Tick, tock. Just a few more days till I can start thinking labor thoughts! Actually, right now, I'm thinking 37 weeks would be a perfect time frame. We'll see what happens.

Here's my birth plan if anyone is interested:

---

I would like the following observed when at all possible:

- no drugs offered or administered unless firmly requested

- freedom to move about

- I would like to have the option of laboring in water

- I am aware of the need for IV penicillin for Group B Strep, but I would like to have a Heplock when the antibiotics are not being administered.

- vaginal exams only when necessary. I would prefer the midwife to do most of the exams, although it is okay for someone else to do an initial one.

- no artificial rupture of membranes unless necessary

- staff in the room should be limited to only those necessary

- eating and drinking allowed

- fetal monitoring via stethoscope or Doppler only except for the initial monitoring upon admission.

- no episiotomy unless absolutely necessary

- no medical interventions without first having discussed the benefits and risks with both of us

- immediate breastfeeding

- cord cutting delayed until pulsing stops if possible (G's cord was very short so it was cut more quickly so we could hold her)

- spontaneous placental delivery if possible

- no separation of mother and baby unless absolutely medically necessary

- in case a separation is necessary, J, M, or J should be allowed to be with the baby at all times

- no bottles or pacifiers

- anticipate 24 hour rooming in with breastfeeding on demand

- eye drops delayed until at least an hour after birth

- If a cesarean becomes absolutely necessary:

o I would prefer an epidural over general anesthesia

o J should hold baby as soon as possible so that K can see and touch

o attempt at breastfeeding as soon as is medically possible.

---

35w1d Doula

We met with the doula again today for the second and last time. This session was all about comfort measures. She brought her "doula bag of tricks" (basically a rolling suitcase bag). She said she likes to acquaint people with what she's got in there before the heat of labor. Which was good because the first thing she pulled out of her bag was this. It looks like some sort of medieval torture device but it felt absolutely wonderful on my head! I was all prepared to say don't touch my head at all - I had a massage therapist that tried scalp massage on me once and I hated it. But I let her try it and decided I really like it. Whether I'll let her do it during labor or not remains to be seen. There other stuff was pretty basic: massage oils, things to massage with, etc. She also brought her birth ball. The only time I've used a birth ball was when I was in labor with G and it just wasn't something that worked for me at that moment. But sitting on this one was very comfortable and I could feel it stretching let muscles that are obviously out of use but ones I need to strengthen up before I try to push out a baby. So on her recommendation I plan to get one and start using it regularly. To finish up she massaged both my hands and feet. It was blissful!

J actually told me today that he needs to pack his hospital bag! Then he started listing all the stuff he wants to be sure and bring. I hadn't mentioned a hospital bag at all to him so it was neat for me to know that he is actually thinking about and looking forward to doing this all over again.

I think G is dealing with a virus or something. She has been "off" the last day or two and she woke up from her nap today with a bit of a fever. I can only hope it's nothing contagious.

35 Weeks

Now that April is here I'm feeling more a sense of urgency to get things prepared. I spent a while yesterday scouring the net for ideas on what to pack in the "hospital bag". I don't remember what all I took with G but I do remember that most of it stayed in the bag! I think the doula will have us covered for most of the labor stuff, so I don't plan to bring stuff like massage oil or music or anything like that. I brought some CDs with G but don't remember listening to them. Sometime this week I will actually pack the bags and when I get that done I'll post the list of what I actually decided to pack. I also need to talk to my friend who is a L&D nurse and get her input.

Last week I bought a chest freezer. I have a bottom freezer fridge and space there has always been at a premium. Last summer I got tons of fresh vegetables from a friend who has a garden and, being the frugal person that I am, couldn't let it go to waste, so I froze a bunch of it. No regrets on doing that except for maybe the time ice cream was on sale and I couldn't buy any because there was just no space. I've also had my ice maker turned off so I can use the space taken up by the ice bucket. I was talking to my friend last week who is coming after the birth and she offered to make stuff for me to freeze while she's here. That's when I decided it was time to invest! I got the smallest one available which still has tons of space and I'll be curious to see what it does to the electric bill.

Another thing I did yesterday was to make a calendar for the month of May that I can hang up in the kitchen so that anyone coming over can see what's going on, namely to show who's bringing us food when. I was pleased to see that basically we're covered for meals from May 10th on. Depending on when this kid actually shows up, we'll hopefully have some help until then. Plus I am making extras of all our meals right now to freeze. Between that and frozen pizzas I think we'll survive. J is actually a pretty good cook if he puts his mind to it but I'd rather have him worry more about things like entertaining G and changing diapers!

Pregnancy-wise I'm feeling about the same. I started getting some crampiness again Saturday night and it continued off and on through Sunday. Saturday I actually considered taking some of the terbutaline pills but I knew I'd be up all night if I did so I decided against it. The cramps were somewhat regular, coming about every 10 minutes. But they seem to be gone now so maybe they were just Braxton Hicks. My next appointment is this coming Thursday so I'll check it out with the midwife then. I suspect that since I'll be so close to the 36 weeks mark by then that she won't be too concerned.

Time is ticking by. It's entirely possible that sometime this very month I'll actually have this baby! So another project this week will be to actually wash the baby clothes and finish getting the nursery ready. Doing that, combined with packing my bags and a session with the doula on comfort measures during labor will, I think, really serve to bring home to me that this is actually going to happen. Yes, I still check the toilet paper every single time I pee. Yes, I still wonder about every twinge. Yes, I still hold my breath somewhat when I think the baby hasn't been moving enough. Yes, I know that things can still go terribly wrong. But right now I'm allowing myself to be optimistic and look forward to meeting my new daughter.

34w5d Countdown, More Tips

Only 9 days to go till I'm 36 weeks and can deliver at the local hospital. I don't know why I'm holding my breath so. I've really had no more pre-labor symptoms since the 30 week scare and there's nothing to indicate I'll deliver that early. Still.... I'll feel better when I actually hit that milestone.

Only 30 days to go till I'm 39 weeks (when I delivered my daughter).

The other day I was making out a grocery list and started thinking about how the shopping will get done when I'm not able to do it myself. Mostly I was thinking in terms of how to get it paid for. If J is doing the shopping it's no problem. But my best friend will be here for several days and I'm sure she'll do a lot of shopping for me (she has promised to make a bunch of stuff for me and freeze it!). Plus there might be times when people drop by and offer to pick up things. I'm not a cash person and I rarely have more than $20 on me. It occurred to me to buy a gift card to the local grocery store that I could just hand over to whoever is doing the shopping. My last trip I bought one and I plan to buy more each time I go (I'm buying them in increments to spread out the cost a bit). This way I don't have to worry about paying anyone back and the added advantage is that I can just use up whatever's left over when I start doing the shopping again.

Another tip I just read over at Parent Hacks and will definitely try. They suggest freezing hair gel in ziploc bags for ice packs. The advantage of the gel over water is that the gel will supposedly not freeze as hard as water. I can attest to the need for ice packs after a vaginal delivery. I didn't try them till about a week after I came home but oh what a huge difference they made. I ended up using the ice packs from my Avent pump and go set because they didn't freeze rock solid. I would freeze them and then put them in a ziploc to use. The problem was that I only had two. So definitely on my shopping list is a thing of hair gel and the snack size ziploc bags. I think that will make the perfect size for down there. I plan to freeze a few test runs and test them out and I'll let you know how well they work.

34w1d Is it just me or is it hot in here?

It's currently 77 degrees here in central Ohio. Someone must have gotten the message that this is spring break week, at least in my town.

I remember the last two months of my pregnancy with Gracie was in January and February, typically the coldest months of the year. I would sleep with just a T-shirt and sheet while John shivered on the other side of the bed under a mountain of blankets because I had turned the heat off. So it's with a little trepidation that I view this warmer weather.

Night before last I slept horribly and, upon reflection the next day, I realized that the flannel sheets might have had something to do with it. So yesterday I kept the windows open all day and replaced the flannel with nice cool cotton. Then just before bed I drug out the fan (the one that I paid a bunch for because it is super quiet) and directed it right at my side of the bed. Last night I slept pretty well. Except for the shivering on the other side of the bed.

Today I actually got out one of my short sleeve maternity shirts. It was a huge shock to see myself in something other than one of the 4 long sleeve maternity shirts I posses. But oh how heavenly to actually feel somewhat cool.

Looks like tomorrow we may go back to more March-like temps. I'm still not putting the flannel sheets back on.

34 Weeks

Wow! Only 2 weeks to go until I hit that 36 week milestone. I keep feeling like it will be all down-hill from there for some reason.

J and I are actually planning one last outing next weekend. He is based out of Detroit and sometimes has long overnight layovers there. So I will fly up there to meet him and we'll stay in the swank Westin hotel that is right in the airport. He gets a decent pilot rate on it although eating meals in the airport always kills the pocketbook!

Not much new to report on the pregnancy front. My swollen feet and varicose veins continue to plague me. Only 6 weeks to go!

33w4d Motivation

I have never really liked exercising for the sake of exercising. Previous to all the complications of this pregnancy (namely the varicose veins) I could motivate myself to go to the gym daily because for one thing it would give me a break from G and also because I could read a book and listen to my Ipod and forget that I was actually working. Since the treadmill is no longer an option, I just can't seem to get motivated to go and swim. The last few times I've ended up in the warm water pool just hanging out. While it feels great to have a little relief from the aches and pains, the only exercise I get is in actually packing my bag and changing my clothes. I can practically feel my muscles melting away.

This morning we had to leave the house at 6am to get John to the airport for work. It was raining cats and dogs all the way there and back. Definitely a good day for a nap. Makes it even harder to get motivated to go to the gym.

Maybe we'll go out for McD's for lunch. That would count as some exercise, wouldn't it?

33w3d Midwife Appt

Everything went swimmingly at the appointment today. Blood pressure was perfect, heartbeat was around 150 which is perfect, there appears to be plenty of amniotic fluid, and I'm measuring almost 34 weeks which is perfect. The midwife thinks the baby is going to be on the smaller side. She estimates weight at around 4.5 to 5 pounds right now. That's fine by me!! My weight was up 33 pounds overall. If I gain the standard pound a week from here on out I should be about what I gained with G. She would have done the Group B Strep culture this appointment but there is no need since I already know I have it.

She didn't ask for it, but I plan to bring my birth plan to my next appt in 2 weeks. After that appointment, I'll start going weekly. Wow!

33 Weeks

Only about 7 weeks to go! Lately the worst of my symptoms seem to have gone away, knock on wood. My varicose veins don't really bother me and the restless legs have quieted down. My worst problem the last few days is the inability to breathe. Sometimes I feel like I just can't catch my breath. I guess that's what happens when you've got a butt in your lungs.

Thus far I have held off on putting together a "hospital" bag. Like if the baby thinks I'm ready, she'll come too early. How silly is that?! But yesterday I started at least compiling a list. I was wondering the timing of things during my labor so I went back and looked at the time stamps on pictures from that day. At 1:45pm I was sitting in a hospital bed getting monitored (they did it for 15 minutes every hour) eating a dish of chocolate pudding with a big smile on my face. At that point my water had been broken for about 12 hours but I was obviously not in serious labor! The next picture I have was taken about 4:30pm and I was just starting to work through some serious contractions. If I remember correctly, a check previous to that had me at about 4cm dilated. About half an hour later things started really heating up and I went into the shower (I wanted to labor in water but the room with the only jacuzzi at that hospital wasn't available). G was born at about 7:40pm. Looking at that timeline, I realize that I only had about 3 hours of true labor. Wow! Sure seemed like more than that. The coolest thing is that G was nursing a mere 10 minutes after she was born!

It was neat to look back at the pictures and I would highly recommend that you have hubby or someone take some during your labor. Even if you never show them to anyone (notice I'm not posting any of mine here!), the timeline they can give you is invaluable to compare with what you remember of the day.

The next batch of pictures I have is from the next day. In most of them, I am in the hospital gown nursing G. Of course, they don't make hospital gowns to nurse in, so in all these pictures I'm pretty exposed. Which brings me to my list. This time around I'm taking my own nursing pajamas! There is also a picture of me nursing her just before we left the hospital and I'm wearing a maternity shirt hiked up so you can see my squishy belly. Also definitely on the list is a nursing shirt and bra. Live and learn! The other thing that's currently on my list? A bottle of wine! Apparently this hospital has a nice supper for the new parents and I intend to top that off with a nice glass of wine!

Do You Have A Doula?

Hey Christina over at a Mommy Story - drop me an email (see right bar for my address). My doula sent me a list of recommendations for you.