23 weeks and growing......

Well, let's see... what's new? Not too much I guess. Things are still going well, I feel good (other than a few aches here and there). The baby has been very active lately which always make me happy. Considering that the baby is just over a pound now, I have had no problem feeling every little movement. I really can't believe the little one is actually over a pound. I got some new clothes last week and it is nice to have things that fit so well. My old pants that I was rigging with a rubber band just wasn't cutting it anymore. Especially, after I would eat. It's funny because the pants I got are made exactly like maternity pants (with the elastic band), but I got them in my normal department. I guess maybe it is the style now? 

I've been going over to my friend Melissa's house lately to lay out at the pool at her apartment. I can't wait until it is the middle of the summer and the pool is a little warmer. The other day, after I came home, I noticed that the top of my belly was a little burnt, but not the sides or the bottom. I found humor in this.

We got the most fabulous news ever last week. We have PPO insurance with Blue Cross and we were paying for our midwife out-of-network. My insurance still covers 65% after your $500 deductible with anything out-of-network. We already paid our midwife in full a couple of weeks ago, but we wished that it had been in-network obviously. One thing that was weird was I had checked my insurance company's website and there wasn't a single CNM covered in-network in my county. However, there were tons of them in-network in the adjacent county (Los Angeles). When I told my midwife this, she said to call the insurance company and see if they would possibly do an in-network exemption considering I didn't have any in-network options locally. When I called my insurance company they said that they would put a claim in but it probably wouldn't be covered since they only do exemptions if there is nothing in-network within 50 miles (the closest for me is 36 miles but next county over). I got a phone call today that they are going to do the exemption from here on until december! Which is fine because most of the cost is going to be in the end anyways. We will probably still have to pay a tiny, tiny, tiny bit (co-pay and whatnot) but nothing compared to it being out of network. Now we will only be paying hundreds of dollars versus a couple of thousands of dollars!!!
Woohoo! I never thought my insurance company could make me so happy.

I finally contacted the lady that is going to be our instructor for our birthing classes. She was really nice and had nothing but good things to say about our midwife. We are taking The Bradley Method classes. We will probably be starting them in a couple of weeks and they run for about 12 weeks. The instructor was really nice to work with our schedule considering that Eric really only has saturday evenings and sundays off. In a month or so, his schedule might go back to normal... but we'll see.

I finally have put some registries together. There is one that I am still working on, but I have to go the store to scan everything.

For now, we have registered at babiesRus and the registry is under either my full name or Eric's. Or you can type in the registry# 49652987.

We are also registered at an online diaper shop. 

The website is Kelly's Closet and the registry is listed under Michele & Eric Sanford and the password is baby.

Don't be to shocked when you click on the link, but yes, they are cloth diapers. I'm sure a lot of you might be nay-sayers about this. If that is the case, I don't want to hear it. Yes, I know it will be harder and I know it is less convenient, but I am going to do my best to make it last. Any words of encouragement will be welcomed with open arms. I have done a lot of research on the subject and it is something I want to try. Once I have my system down and I have been doing it for a little while, maybe then I'll post all the reasons why I made this decision. Just a few would be the $ (easily over a thousand dollars),  the waste from disposables and not to mention... it is much healthier for the baby. Also, if you haven't seen any of the latest cloth diapers.... they are beyond cute and they typically aid in potty training little ones faster. We'll see how it goes and I am nothing but optimistic about it all.

so, now for the obligatory belly photos.............

22 weeks

23 weeks

23 with belly

Well, I believe that is about it. Now, I am gonna go play with the four legged, fur-kid Ilsa.

Michele

half way there......

hello all! Today I am 21 weeks and I am officially past the half way mark. Man, time really flies. This past week and a half have been pretty good even though I am getting over a cold right now. I'm actually glad that I finally caught a cold, because I haven't been sick in almost a year and a half and I was afraid that one wasn't going to come until I was crazy pregnant. Now, I got it out of the way!

The baby has really been kicking up a storm lately. Eric got to feel a few more of them yesterday. I think he is getting used to them now, because he seemed to think it was kind of neat this time.

I went to one of my prenatal appointments today and all went well. i actually love going to them. I'm not sure if all of you know, but I am seeing a CNM (certified nursing midwife) for all of my prenatal care and she will also be the one delivering our baby. She is absolutely fabulous and I really like her. Today I finally took a little tour of the room, at the birthing center, that I will be having the baby in. It is a very cute little room and has a wonderful bathroom with a really big tub. I'm not sure if I want to birth in the tub, but I am definitely looking forward to laboring in the tub. I will kind of play it by ear once I'm there. They also have a little kitchen so that I cant eat and drink anything my heart desires, if I feel inclined to do so, while I am there for all those hours. One thing that I did notice that I had to warn Eric about is there is NO tv. I think we might have to get a laptop before August so he doesn't get too bored. Right now, I think I am kind of in the "blissful ignorance" phase, because I am really looking forward to the whole birthing process. I know I will completely regret attempting to do it naturally once I am in the middle of it, but hey... nothing good in life is easy. Since I am delivering at the Birthing Center I would have to transfer to the nearby hospital to have an epidural. Hopefully the whole hassle of that will help keep me from caving. That is at least what I keep telling myself... haha!
Incase any of you are new to this whole midwife and natural birth thing, try taking this little quiz just to test your knowledge on the whole matter.................
consumer reports maternity care quiz

here are my latest pics of me at almost 21 weeks... a side view and a front view

I hope all of you are doing well!!

michele

big week

This week has really been a lovely week. Earlier in the week, I made up my mind that those little flutters I have been feeling were definitely what I thought they were. Movement and kicks! Last night, I was getting a couple of good ones and Eric tried to see if he could feel them. I didn't think they were strong enough yet, but low and behold... he felt one. Pretty amazing moment! I think it kind of weirded him out a little though... haha.  

Here's looking to next week and being half way through my pregnancy.

My belly has been moving along pretty nicely. It is definitely more of a small baby belly rather than a big food belly now. I love it more and more every day. This week I am 19 weeks and here are a couple of belly photos from this week.

Today we also had our 20 week ultrasound appointment. At this appt. they usually check most of the vital organs and also look at the gender. I think the first thing that came out of my mouth after "hi" was "we don't want to know the sex." Eric, however, thinks he saw a little something even without their assistance. I think that makes it a little more exciting since he isn't trained in reading ultrasounds but feels he saw what he saw. Now it's a real mystery with a little suspense. I made a point not to focus on that area when the tech was around there. I want to leave my mind playing with the idea of either one. The tech and the doctor let us know that everything looks great and the baby looks 'normal' and 'average'. I never thought hearing those two words could sound so refreshing.

Here are just a couple of pics of the baby.

the head.....

the spine....

such a cute little baby!!! 

So, that is probably all the news for now. Doesn't seem like much but is was a pretty big week in my mind. I have been waiting for those kicks and the ultrasound for a little while now. I think over the weekend I will start to put together some registries online (and post them next week) for those of you that are trying to figure out what we need. We really don't need you guys to get us anything , but I know some of you want to. Either way, we are just happy to have everyone to share this with.

Oh yeah, last week I sent in an application to get tickets to The Ellen Show. She is having all first time preggor ladies for her Mother's Day show coming up. A good friend of mine out here also filled one out so that we could go together. I can't even imagine how much fun it would be, but I am trying not to get my hopes up too much cause I bet thousands of people sent in applications. Linda, thanks for sending the link with the info about it, to me, in the first place.

anyhoo, I am off to work shortly. I hope everyone is doing well!!

michele