renewed faith

Sometimes with my job I forget why I do what I do. Somedays I think that scrubbing toilets or scraping road kill off highways would be a better fit for me. Somedays I wonder why there really isn't a test you have to pass before procreation. And then there are other days that I remember why I teach and coach. Today one of my softball players brought in a baby gift for Leyton. That is an incredibly thoughtful gesture from this 18 year old. Seeing good kids like her that are so thoughtful and you know will grow up to be responsible & productive citizens make me appreciate my opportunity to influence young lives. Here is a picture of the adorable gift she made our little man.

infant CPR

Luke & I went to infant CPR class on Tuesday night. Was sorta creepy because there was only 1 mannequin per group and you had to "unhook" his chest in order to put the plastic bag inside so you could see if you were blowing hard enough. He sort of resembled a doll--like the really hard plastic kind. Anyway, Luke and I were the first due in our group so we got to start. Luke got all nervous as usual when he's in front of people so I went first. CPR went fine and then I moved on to choking. I felt like everyone was thinking wow, this chick would be really good at child abuse when I was pounding the mannequin on the back. I felt like I was knocking him out and the lady said, honey, you're going to have to hit harder than that. Goodness! Anyway, funny story on Luke...he did great on CPR, but when time came for the choking he had his hand on the neck and didn't support the head when he was doing the "5 back slaps." The poor mannequin's head was flopping all over the place. If that was our child, he would have had a broken neck! Luke quickly adjusted and then his face turned red with embarrassment...luckily several others in our group struggled with choking too...so Luke's incident was quickly forgotten about! :)

More progress

We got one of the car seat bases put in my car this weekend. The other obviously goes in Luke's. Luke got the stroller put together. It's nice...kinda heavy & bulky and I think it's hard to fold and unfold (Luke disagrees). But at least it's put together! We put the finishing touches on the swing (it now has a mobile) and Luke adjusted the car seat straps so that a human can actually fit in it! I think we are pretty much ready for the little guy to get here! There are of course a few things I still would like to get done (aren't there always?), but I think all the major things are completed. Tomorrow night we go to infant CPR and first aid class. I'm STILL working on my thank you cards for the amazing showers my friends & family had for me.

And on a side note, I'm SO glad this is a short work week for me!

Leyton's room

Library & changing area

glider & ottoman that Gramma Ruth & Grampa Butch got us for Christmas. Pretty sure we'll get some good use out of this!

Finally a place to put all his clothes!

Already a basket full of toys!

Beautiful crib Gramma Jane got him for Christmas.

Countdown is on!

No baby class this week. Next week we go for infant & child CPR and firstaid. Our stroller arrived...it's in pieces in the living room waiting for Luke to get motivated to put it together! We did our pre-registration on Monday. So many questions! I had another doctor apt this morning. I had the ever so uncomfortable Strep B test! Uggghhh. Doctor says everything is progressing like normal. My fat ankles were a topic of our conversation. She is not worried because my blood pressure is fine. However, she did acknowledge that they were very swollen and yes, you could leave indentions in my feet & legs! The little guy hurts my ribs on a regular basis and Luke has already been scolding him to quit hurting his mother! The Braxton-Hicks contractions have started and nearly make me double over so I am dreading the real things! We are reading Good Night Moon every night to the little man. Definitely gonna need to move on to another book before long...I think I get bored easily! :)

In other non-baby related news (yes, we do have lives that do not revolve around preparing for Leyton's arrival...YES, WE DECIDED ON A NAME!!!!!):

Wednesday night Luke & I went and watch the D2 Women's Final Four after eating at Boudreaux's (yum!). That was fun. Thursday night we attended a shower for my friend & co-worker Cassie & her fiance and then cheered on the Cats in their exciting victory! Tonight I'm going out to eat with my college roomates. I don't hardly ever get to see them so I'm excited to spend some time with them (and to meet Kodi's new little boy--Cade, 2 months!). It's no wonder that I'm tired! Hard to believe next week is April!

Getting closer....

We are definitely getting closer to the big day! Here is an update on what's been going on with us lately.

Childcare front---on three waiting lists...have to call 2 more places today. Hopefully one of those pans out. Average cost from the places I've called--approximately $150 per week. Who needs to eat? :)

Insurance front---this is real BS and I tend to get off on a tangent when talking about insurance, so I'll try to be good. I got 2 quotes--one for $398.80 per month and one for $570 per month. Really...WHO can afford that? Definitely not this teacher & banker! We're still in the process of checking out Luke's insurance.

Home front---finished up the baby's room Saturday. It looks nice, cute & homey now. Luke finished up two of his "projects" this weekend. He's about sick of "projects." The last thing for him to assemble--the stroller (and help me attach the mobile to the crib). Everything else has been put together. The little guy now has a swing, bouncy seat, high chair and carrier just for him! We hope to get the base in my car this week (just in case, you never know!)

Dr front--we go today for our pre registration. We start our weekly appointments this week!

Me--super uncomfortable, pretty intense back pain, but on the plus side, the swelling seems to have gotten WAY better in my feet.

Less than 4 weeks!!!!!

Baby Class #3

Tonight was baby class #3. Since I'm incredibly uncomfortable & can't sleep, I'll give you the run down.

Tonight's class was overwhelming to me. Luke had an all day meeting in Hayes so I went to class by myself. Totally made me feel like an outsider sitting there by myself while every other mother to be had their coach, but I guess it makes me appreciate having him even more. Anyway, I digress...

Very overwhelming. First off on the agenda was talking about baby care. They brought in a physician who went over baby care in the hospital, at home, post natal visits, etc. We went through immunizations, required and optional, shots, when to call, when to come in, fevers, taking temps, what's normal, what's not, colic, swaddling, circumsions (who knew there were 3 different methods to getting that job done?), weights, apgar (sp?) scores, cord, and on and on and on. My head sorta started spinning trying to process and commit everything to memory. Few things I did find interesting that I didn't know (please don't judge me for not knowing these things)--baby toothbrushes. Had no idea...babies don't have teeth right? Well, apparently they still need a toothbrush and we need to start using it when he's like 2 weeks old. So...I'll be baby toothbrush shopping next time I go to Target. Second, really why the need for 3 different methods to circumsize? What could be different? I might have to Google that. Then again, I probably don't want to know or see...

As if that wasn't enough information to overload us, they brought in a lady from Parents as Teachers to talk about brain development. That could be a 4 week course in and of itself I believe. Learned lots from her though. Who knew?

• that a person's adult vocabulary is 80% formed by the time they're 3? This is why reading, talking and singing to babies (born and unborn) is so important.
• repitition was so important to brain development? We were told that we needed to not only read to the little guy everynight (even before he's born--which we knew) but right now to read the same story. Repitition will help him learn sounsd, rhythm, words and will also help him develop comfort and a bond with us. Then when he's fussy, reading this story that he's heard so many times in our voices will make him feel better and remind him of when things were less stressful for him before he was born.
• before a baby's brain can develop intellectually they have to have satisified the need for comfort, trust & bonding? Because I'm a business educated person, I immediately thought of Maslow and his hierarchy of needs--before the higher order thinking needs can be met, the lower, saftey needs need to be met. Hopefully we have a well-adjusted litle boy. He obviously spends lots of time with me and thus hears my voice a lot, so I'm just hopeful that he takes to his daddy since Luke works away from here and is gone a lot.

We also talked about sleep habits and patterns and suggestions for helping those, things to think about/look at when choosing child care and we visited the topic of child safety seats again.

We finished the class with a tour of a birthing room and a look in the nursery. I wish the birthing rooms were a litle more "homey." They just look so sterile (which I know is a good thing!) and not personal. And really could the matresses get any thinner. They told us after the baby is born they will add another matress to your bed so that you will be more comfortable.

And all of that was in 2 hours. Maybe that's why I can't sleep...maybe my brain is still overloaded. Nope, I think it's because I'm so uncomfortable and the little man apparently can't figure out a comfy position 'cause he's all over the place and HURTING my right ribs in the process!