Plan for the Big Day

Now that word is getting out about the move, yes we moved right before having a baby, I wanted to keep everyone informed on our Birth Plan.  With everything else that is changing this is one that hopefully will not :)

This way I can also get your info if you would like to receive updates.


Plan A:  The Birthing Inn in Tacoma, WA

www.thebirthinginn.com

I am very excited about the opportunity to use this amazing facility.  It has all the perks of a at home birth but with none of the clean-up.  Now that is sweet!  This is our Plan A.  Now if at any point between now and the Big Day I turn high risk I won't be allowed to go there, but so far so good!  We will then move to Plan B.

They do not have pain medication for the management of labor pain, such as an epidural or narcotics.  If at any point I decide this is something I would like then I will be moving to Plan B.  My goal is a pain medication free child birth.  This was not a decision I came to easily or lightly but is one that I believe is right for me.  I have been studying and practicing Blissborn Self-Hypnosis and Relaxation techniques and have the very best cheerleader by my side, the Warrior Princess.  Who sits at this very moment on pins and needles waiting for me to call.

The Birthing Inn is very small and by it's nature you are low-risk if you are birthing there.  Therefore most new families are only there for about 4 to 6 hours after birth before you go home.  If Plan A happens we will probably not be having be having visitors since the time frame will be short and the location small.

However, we want to make sure that everyone who wants to stay in the loop does.  So, if you would like email or text updates please email me at mjschrum657@gmail.com or send me a message some other way and we will make sure you get information as we go.  We will probably not be posting anything on Facebook until after the fact.



Plan B:  St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma, WA

St. Joe's is one of the only (if not the only) hospital in the state that does water births on a regular basis.  If we need to transfer this is my hospital of choice. They have excellent facilities, are very well known for respecting birth plans, my midwife can come with me and have a great NICU.

If we need to go to plan B then visitors are more than welcome!  Since there is an extensive waiting room and we will probably be there for a couple of days.


Plan C:  The side of I-5 because I go into labor in Lynnwood during rush-hour traffic :)

Hey I look at this way, if I am meant to have this baby along I-5 what a hell of a birth story it will make :)  In this instance no one will be able to get to us because we will be all stuck in the traffic jam that I have just added to by laboring on the shoulder of the freeway.


Visitors in ALL CASES:  We are asking anyone that would like to visit us and the Sesame Seed to be current on their DTAP.  Adults don't often know they have whooping cough but it can kill babies especially as their immune systems are building up.  Thank you for being respectful of our wishes!  If you are unable to or prefer not to, we understand that as well, we are happy to schedule a time when it is more appropriate for the baby's immune system for a visit.  I know, its not even here yet and I already have it in a bubble :).

What can you do?  A lot of folks have asked how they can help when the baby arrives especially now that we have moved away from you all. Food is always good! Rumor has it we will be one-eye opened pouring lemonade into the coffee thinking it is creamer.  So as long as you keep in mind that we will not be very good entertainer's, my hair in ratty pony tail, and may fall asleep on you,  and entirely possible that a boob will get pulled out, you are welcome to set up a visit :)   Also for those who have to drive a bit we do have a guest room that you are welcome to use.

We are VERY excited to welcome the Sesame Seed and know you are too!!

Love,

Junelle and Dayleen

Maternity Pics!!

I couldn't think of a better way to have spent the evening of my birthday.  Devi, the warrior princess's sister, took some maternity pics for us and they turned out so well.  

I was 32 weeks in these pics.  

Pregnancy Funnies & Realities thus far

Okay this is a TMI alert right up front.  If you are uncomfortable with bodily functions, female reproductive systems, or just in general a little shy about learning too much about someone you should probably not continue to read...

HOWEVER if you are ready to laugh and possibly cringe keep reading.  :)


I just couldn't resist sharing this because while some of the 20 books I have read certainly touch on these things I don't think they really do them justice.  Now I realize that the goal of books, and media, and even our friends is to scare the living daylights out of us about all of the things that can go wrong and fill us with images of gore and torture.  But in truth, those often represent a very small percentage and only freak us the hell out.  Well, when you pack those FEARS onto what REALLY happens it can be an interesting experience.

I have chosen not to focus on the fears but I will provide some comic relief to the things that have actually happened to me (and in whispered conversations with other women, happen to them too!!!!)
But don't get a tenth of the air time of the more dramatic stuff.  In all honesty it's probably not as screen worthy lol.

So HERE GOES NOTHING (don't forget I warned you):

Morning sickness:  You don't actually have to puke with morning sickness, you could just constantly FEEL like you are going to puke.  I am not sure which is worse.  Because often when you do puke it doesn't make you feel any better. One too many alcoholic beverages? I might recommend sticking your finger down your throat to make yourself feel better.... yeah doesn't so much happen here.  Morning? HAHAHA that's funny, who is the turd that gave it that name?  No it's 24/7.  For me it was worse early evening, probably because besides when I first woke in the morning that is the longest I would go without eating. For me it was definitely connected to NOT eating, I loved brown rice cakes, soda crackers, and preggo pops.

Gag-Reflex:  Interestingly enough when the morning sickness went away my overly sensitive gag reflex did not.  Normally, I am not easily affected.  While I don't enjoy gross things, they don't really cause me to have physical reactions either... until now.  Case in point, I have animals and well stuff happens when you have animals. Accidents, puke, etc.  It's part of the gig of being a pet owner.  You suck it up and clean it up.  Plain and simple.  Well Zoie hacked something up on the kitchen floor, and my initial response: ninja like reflexes, fly off the couch, grab the paper towels, plastic grocery bags, cleaner of some kind, and attack.  Almost immediately I had to turn around and stick my own head into the kitchen sink.  WHOA!!  Where did that come from?  Yikes.  It has happened several times since with kitty puke or even just raunchy smelling items.  Well isn't this going to be fun!  Thankfully Dayleen is a rock star in this department but when she is not around I still have to suck it up.


Braxton-Hicks: I didn't really know what they were at first.  It was just weird.  But you know there are lots of "weird" things with pregnancy, they didn't hurt, and nothing stopped working so I just went with it.  A friend of mine who is also pregnant had talked about having them early on and I thought that was crazy but then again I have never been pregnant before so what do I know.  One day when I was reading one of my awesome books they had a description that actually went beyond "practice contractions".  Oh you have never been pregnant before?  Then clearly "practice contractions" is enough for you, you get it right?  Ummm no.  But finally someone put into terms I could understand and I realized that is what it was. So here is MY description for the uninitiated. Okay guys and gals with stomach muscles... I left mine at the gym. I imagine it feels like when you flex your abs really hard, like when, usually boys, dare someone else to punch them in the stomach.  Grrrrr, I am ripped hear me roar.  Yeah like that, but without trying, it just happens on its own and you don't have to hold your breath.  Now its not actually your abs, its the uterus but similar sensation I would think.  Really tight, hard as a rock, and lasts for about 30-70 seconds.  As long as they don't bother me I am like practice away dear uterus, if that makes you more efficient for the big day, have at it.

Gas:  Umm yeah, have you seen "The Bucket List"?  Well I will never forget the line the movie (I am sure someone else said it first)  "Never Trust a Fart".  Seriously!  First of all the gas is UNREAL.  Sometimes stinky sometimes not, but more often its the bubbly, crampy, you are carefully shifting in your seat to get the best angle to muffle the noise kind of gas.  Oh man, it's bad.  And when it does stink??  Lord help us all I hope you are not in the car with me.  I almost passed out once because I was in closed room with other people and I was trying desperately to control it.  Literally, I got hot all over and started to feel dizzy.  Gas is toxic people, don't hold it in.  If a poor prego in your life has gas just know its natural and she can't help it.  You can only help it so much with diet.  Oh yeah, the never trust a fart thing... statistically speaking when you are blowing that much air out of you, you are bound to find unpleasant surprises.  Just sayin'

This is just my first edition!  I realized in the making of this post that the list was SO LONG that it had to be broken up into several posts.  So look for the next round of TMI coming soon to a blog near you.


:)

Sweet Little Baby... More Cuteness in my Belly than I can Handle!!!

At the last appointment they couldn't get some of the shots/measurements they needed so we had to schedule a follow-up ultrasound.  Oh darn, more pics of the cute little bugger.  The good news, they saw everything they needed to this time and the Sesame Seed is looking vibrant (active) and very healthy.

We got to see it swallowing/suckling, stretch out, and move it's little body around.

At first it had its little arm up over its face.  Like it was hiding away.

Do you see how close it is to my uterus and placenta?  It has all of this room to roam around but apparently it wants to be snuggled up right next to me.

Then I turned on my side and the Sesame Seed moved so we could see it's sweet little face.

Adorable profile shot!!

Look at that smile!!!  I told Dayleen we should frame it because when the seed arrives and is being cranky we can remember how cute it was lol.

And apparently settled down.

It's so cute!!  But I am in no hurry, sleep little baby, grow little baby, develop little baby!  Mommy can wait for you to do all that you need to in there.  In the meantime I just ask that you keep the kicking of my bladder to a minimum.  Thank you!

Baby Stockpile

It seems the first things people were asking us was "are you registered" and "what are your colors".  So now that we have officially registered you might notice some items missing from the registry.  But, that's right, if you know us you know we already have a little pile o' goodies for the baby.

So here is a list of things we already have or we know is coming our way:

Forehead thermometer
Ergo Baby Carrier
Crib and changing table (just need mattress and pad) (Thank you Treasea & Gary!!)
Grocery Cart/High Chair fabric cover thing (Thanks Tina!)
Infant bouncer thing
compact travel sleeper thing
One used pak-n-play to take to family's house
Sling (Thanks Tawnya!!)
Swing (Thanks Tina!!)
Exersaucer/Jumparoo seat type thing
Mobile for crib
Crib blanket set (Thanks Rebekah!!)

Plus other random items that we have picked up or been given along the way.


Now some important answers to frequently asked questions by our friends and family:

Registry:  www.amazingregistry.com/SesameSeed  this will list both of our registries, Amazon and Babies r Us in one spot. We did duplicate register for some items between the two so check and see who has it cheaper, or go out to where ever you want.  If you don't see it on the registry and you don't see it in the list above but you think it could be useful.  Go for it!  It's probably more likely that we didn't know about it, being that this is our first time and all.

Cloth Diapers:  We are planning to do Cloth with supplemental disposable.

Colors:  Well considering the random smattering of items I can't say we really have a theme per se, but the colors are revolving around taupe, yellows, ecru, and brown.  Think Classic Winnie the Pooh. Is that required for us?  Nope we actually don't care as long as it is relatively gender neutral. And the baby won't either.  The Sesame Seed will probably never care that the nursery is not coordinated or themed.  It will be functional though darn it.

Estimated Due Weeks:  The end of October! Cute little pumpkin baby????

Gender:  Not finding out so stop asking!  LOL Though I must say it was hard not to.  Even if we knew, we still wanted gender neutral type things anyway so we could use them again for the next baby.

Planned Birth Location:  The Birthing Inn in Tacoma

If you think of anything else that should be here, let us know!!

More Sesame Seed Pics!!

Here it looks like the sun is shining through my belly onto to the baby's face. 

Those are FINGERS!!!! It's cute little hand.

Sleeping Sesame how sweet.  

And that my friends is an adorable little foot!!!

Sesame Seed sleeping with arm up by face.  I just couldn't get over how big it was!!!

Long and Lean...

..is what the tech said.  The Warrior Princess's response?  Yes!  I knew we picked the right donor! lol... And NO we did not find out the gender!  Not because the Sesame Seed was being uncooperative but because we want to enjoy that surprise when the baby makes his or her entrance into the world.

Besides as we have said before, this is the first of two (Dayleen will be in charge of round 2) and we want to have items we can use again anyway so from a practical standpoint it makes sense to force everyone into gender neutral items otherwise we know you all in our lives will be filling our rooms with pink or blue and then we could be stuck with it!  I am all about re-using (has anyone seen my garage sale habit??).

Here I am at 22 weeks:

I am fairly certain I have moved beyond the "one too many donuts look"! The weird line in my tummy is where the maternity pants turn into soft fabric but I wasn't all that concerned.  They are comfortable and that's all I care about! It's crazy how fast it's growing, and my goodness the girls are ridiculous!  Seriously, 34 years old and they are the best they have ever looked.  I am enjoying it while I can :)

And here is the Sesame Seed sound asleep:

As we were leaving the parking lot I felt it start kicking again.  Of course!  Now it decides to wake up :)  So far so good and we even spotted some fingers and toes.  Dayleen is happy to report that there are 10 of each.  I kept saying it was no big deal, Marilyn Monroe had 6 toes on one foot!  Nevertheless, it is reassuring when you see two arms, two legs, and all those piggies!! Apparently this is the last time I am allowed to use the Marilyn Monroe comparison.  Ha ha.