The one with all the poop

We did not make a blog post yesterday. I don't even know if we took any pictures of Jonathan yesterday. Let me tell you why.

We had 2 outings scheduled. That is a lot for us. One was my 1 week follow up at the birthing center. The other was a trip to Children's Hospital for some lab tests for Jonathan. So our Tuesday ended up being pretty busy.

We had to go to Children's because one of Jonathan's newborn screening tests came back positive. There is a very high chance this particular test was a false positive, but we still had to go do the follow up tests just in case. The test was for an organic acid deficiency, which would mean he lacks the ability to process one amino acid. If the test is truly positive, the treatment will either be nothing, or some diet modification. I was freaking out (sobbing) about it at first, but I have calmed down a lot since then and haven't really worried about it since. We will see what the lab tests show...

So anyway, an outing to Children's is a big outing. It is about a 30 minute drive, and you never know about traffic. Once there, it is unpredictable how busy the lab will be. We could end up waiting 5 minutes or 45 minutes. We didn't really know what the lab tests would entail, or if it would take a long time to do. So we had to be prepared for anything. We learned a few things...

First, I nursed in public for the first time. He was getting cranky in the waiting room, so I whipped out my homemade nursing cover and we got down to business. Luckily nursing has been going very well, so I wasn't too worried about that. A little hard to maneuver the cover and my boob and the kid, but we made it work. I told Jon I couldn't care less if anyone saw my boobs actually--I was just in a mission to get my man fed.

Enough about my boobs.

We finally got called back. He had to get both a blood test and a urine test. For the urine test, they put a bag over him to catch his pee. Of course he had a wet diaper in the waiting room which would have been so nice to capture in the bag. When we opened his diaper to put on the bag, he also had a bit of poo there too. I told the lab lady that he will likely pee before he poops again since he pees like a faucet but is a bit more conservative with his poops. She told me that if he even poops at all, we would have to replace the bag because it would be contaminated. So we put the bag on. And sure enough... rumbles down below. We opened his diaper and Jonathan had the runniest poo he has ever had. I mean it was like running out of his diaper. All over the exam table. All over the pee bag.

So the bag had to be replaced. At least he got his poo out though. He doesn't usually poop too much in a row. I was holding him with his new bag on, and we hadn't put a new diaper on yet. Then we heard the explosion. His bum exploded poop into my hand. All over the floor. On my cute shoes. We all stood there in shock for a second. Amazed at what had just happened. Then for good measure he did it again. Poop in the hand, on the floor, on the shoes. Then he started peeing. Into the bag. We came out of our shocked state into a frenzied mission of removing the pee-filled bag before any poop came in contact with it. My hand was full of poo. But that didn't stop this mama from focusing on the task at hand: get the pee sample so we don't have to stay here 5 more hours!

The funny thing is, I wasn't even grossed out. I had a hand full of crap. But I honestly didn't mind.

We got the bag off and the rest of the visit went (fairly) smoothly. I nursed him again after his heel-prick. Oh how I will have more compassion for every parent who watches their child get poked. It is awful.

Jonathan does not hold back when it comes to thrusting Jon and I into the thick of this parenting thing. He wants us to gain good experience.  From our crazy birth, to the phototherapy lights, to the need for this lab test, to the poo filled outing, we feel we are ready for anything.

Our second outing to the birthing center went much smoother and was much nicer smelling.

Pictures to come later! Lots of cute ones so far today :)

38 weeks...

This may be one of those posts that is more for me to read back over later. I feel like a lot happened today that I don't want to forget, but will surely forget. Especially on baby #4 or something... I know that this time may become a blur!

38 week appointment today. Jon couldn't go because he had class, but I was in a much better emotional state than the last time he couldn't go (remember that 20 week visit...?). I met a new midwife today. She is the owner of the birthing center and had taken a few months to take on a more administrative role, and is now back to attending births. I was a little nervous about meeting someone new this late in the game. I have loved the other 4 midwives and felt quite content thinking about one of them attending our birth. Needless to say, this midwife today was AWESOME. She made me feel so cared for, cared about, valued. Wow. I want to treat patients like she treated me today. She had time for me. She asked me questions no one had asked before (Do you have support for after the birth? Do any other couples you know have kids? How are you feeling about breastfeeding?). She never made me feel like my questions or concerns were silly. I actually thought I didn't have any questions but she answered ones I didn't even know I had in my mind! What a wonderful visit and another boost of reassurance and confidence about delivering at this birth center.

Baby is still doing great. She thinks I have a small to average size baby, and very well proportioned to my frame. She said the head is a good size, not too big--I thought, This lady really knows what to say to a first-timer!! ha!

(ok this is all the stuff that might be more for me to remember later, but feel free to read on!)
She checked me again, and I didn't feel high maintenence like I did last time when the midwife checked me. This time she was actually suggesting that we check so that I can continue to know what my body is doing. So, I will fill you in. Last time I was 1 cm, 50% effaced, and about -2 station (I don't remember what those stations mean exactly, but they move toward positive as the baby gets lower). Today I am 2 cm, 50% effaced, and a -1 or 0 station. She could actually feel the baby's head, and said that my cervix has done the preliminary work of facing forward rather than slightly tilted back like it is during most of pregnancy. It is so good for me to know that. To know that my body is getting this process started, and that I am feeling this process happening. So thankful that my body is doing this early stuff gradually...

I feel ready to have a baby. I want to have a baby. Jon has one more day of this class that he can't miss, and then I think my mind will release my body to do whatever it needs to do. Not that I will definitely have a baby this weekend, or even next week. But I can definitely feel a shift internally--I was "ready" before, but I think still holding out from releasing this baby since I knew Jon had this class. Now I feel more in the releasing mode.

Sure there are still "things" holding me back. I don't feel like I've practiced enough pain coping techniques. I haven't made my perfect labor music mix. I've just ordered our registry completion today and the stuff won't get here until next week. I am supposed to work next week. The damn carseat is not in the car. Our bag is not packed. I feel like I haven't gotten to spend much time with Jon this week. I haven't stretched or rested enough... do you catch my drift? But I feel like I am releasing all those things too.

So, I'm going to do a load of baby laundry. Then we are going to a friend's house for dinner and The Office finale. Then tomorrow I will probably get up and go to work. Then this weekend I will rest and spend time with Jon. And we will see...

Car seat is going in the car TOMORROW!

Babies R Us... Crazy R Us?????

That's right folks. Yesterday Jon and I entered into the mecca of baby gear that is Babies R Us. We had been warned. Warned of its overwhelming-ness, of its vast aisles of stuff-we-don't-need.

Well, in a lot of ways it was kind of fun. Thinking about our house being a home to a baby is a nice thought. And seeing all the "stuff" that comes along with converting your house to a baby house makes the idea of bringing Baby Buck home closer to reality.

Definitely the overwhelming factor was there, but not for the reasons I thought it would be. I felt overwhelmed because there is so much to decide and we have to decide it based on little to no information. We are just guessing. We have advice from friends, sure, but who knows what we will actually need when the time comes. I've mentioned before that I am incredibly indecisive and frugal, and Jon is my equal in these categories. Makes for an interesting match when the conversation is "Do you think we will use a bumbo?" "What is a bumbo?" "A seat." "How much does it cost?" "I don't know" "What color should we get?" "I don't like any of the colors." "Do we really need a bumbo?" "It might be nice to have." "Our friends love their bumbo." "Should we get one?" "I don't know." "Let's get green." "Ok, yeah I have heard people really like Boppys." "No, this is a bumbo not a boppy." "What is the difference?" "A boppy is a pillow." "What is a bumbo?" "A seat." "Why does everything start with a B?"

We ended up putting most of the things we need on the registry, but still my frugality wins over and I created a registry on amazon.com too, for some of the bigger things that either Babies R Us didn't have, or that are so much cheaper that I couldn't resist. It's amazing how Babies R Us can keep their prices so high when things are available for such bargains elsewhere!

We joked in the car before entering the store that we should just walk around the aisles and any time Baby Buck gives me a kick, we will stop right there and register for whatever item we are nearest. Baby was kicking as usually yesterday morning at home, but the entire time we were in the store, I did not feel a single flutter. I had forgotten about our idea of choosing items based on kicks until we got back into the car, exhausted, and Baby Buck started up again with full fledged wiggles. It was a timely and important reminder to us. Thanks, little one, for reminding Mommy and Daddy that you do not care what color bumbo seat we chose. Thanks for reminding us that YOU are the most important thing. I might need more reminders of this from time to time... thanks in advance and we love you a whole bunch.