MaterniTEA Party

On October 23, Mike and I attended a tea party given for the members of our birthing class hosted by the group at Nine Months and Beyond.  It was so informative and really nice to be surrounded by other couples in our shoes. 

They gave away door prizes and free prenatal massages for the moms.  We learned about the service provided by doulas and all of the support classes they offer.  We have signed up for the Hypnobabies Childbirth class which will teach us techniques for giving birth naturally.  I really want to bring our baby into the world naturally and hope I have the strength to do so.

http://www.ninemonthsandbeyond.com/

A Bun in the Oven

Every year for Halloween we spend the evening with our Friends Ben and Monika. This year was no different. Halloween is Ben's favorite holiday and he exhibits his excitement through all of his Halloween preparations. His house is decorated, he and Monika invite friends over and Ben spends the night haunting the neighborhood in his twelve foot skeleton costume. This year Mike and I decided to dress up. This is the first year our costumes have ever coordinated and we had a great time pulling it all together. I had done research trying to find a good pregnant Halloween costume and after a little searching I decided to dress as "a bun in the oven" and Mike as the Chef. I felt a little silly and Lil' Shaffa may be embarrassed by this one day as it is technically his first Halloween costume, but we obviously didn't care. It was fun. Below are some photos from the holiday.

Ben and Monika at the Fall Festival in Franklin, TN

Ben at his house Halloween night.

Pretty Pumpkin Chocolate Cake that Ben and Monika made.

The "Bun in the Oven"

The entire ensamble.

Making Progress

We are anxiously preparing for the arrival of Lil' Shaffa and have had several weekends full of hard work around the house.  We've decided to build a new closet attached to the nursery, so we have been demolishing the old and building the new. We are trying to make as much space as possible for our new addition.  Our first project was to build a shed to create more storage room in the house.  I'm posting a few photos of our progress.  Our goal is to have our household projects done by the end of november in order to give us time to nest and enjoy our last few months together as a couple, as we realize our lives are about to change forever.

It's a Boy!

On Friday September 24, 2010 we had our 20week ultrasound.  We were so excited and had been anticipating this day for many weeks.  This was the day we were to find out the gender of our Lil' Shaffa.  Throughout the entire pregnancy I have had mixed feelings about whether we were having a boy or a girl.  I had heard that my food cravings would indicate the gender of the baby, and my boss, who had twin boys had the same cravings for hot peppers, vinegar and oil dressing, olives, and pickles as I have had.  But, another lady that I work with performed the "pencil test" on me which determined that I was having a girl and a third friend that I work with had two dreams throughout my first half of the pregnancy that I was having a girl.  She swore upon her psychic abilities and actually had me convinced.  Apparently it is a good thing she is not attempting to cash in on these so-called abilities. But, to her credit the only other "baby dream" she'd had previously was regarding her sister's pregnancy who actually did have a girl. 

Mike and Brennie were there with me for the appointment and when we were shown the determining view I screamed immediately, "it's a boy!"  Mike and Brennie caught on a few seconds later and we were all so happy.  I think we all cheered at once.  Mike of course had his camera in hand and we were able to capture a few photos before, during, and after our big day. I would like to give a special thanks to the bearer of our good news, Susan the ultrasonographer.

The second we returned to the car, we began making phone calls.  We called Mike's mom, "Nona" and she was thrilled to hear that there would be another Shaffor to carry on the name.  Later that evening we posted the news on Facebook and were pleased to see overwhelming congratulatory comments.  Mike and I truly feel blessed that we have so many people excited for the arrival of our baby.  It has really made this journey a pleasure.

What a Relief!

Last week we made a huge decision.  We decided to change Doctors.  We had been experiencing some reservations all along about the OB we chose, but felt as if it would be too late to change in the middle of the pregnancy.  After a little research we realized that changing Doctors in the middle of the pregnancy isn't actually uncommon.

It is extremely important to make sure that this birth experience is everything that I've always envisioned. I realize that we can't control everything throughout this experience, but I want to feel good about all of the decisions I do have control over.  

Before we became pregnant, we watched a very interesting movie called "The Business of Being Born" which had a huge impact on how we felt our birth experience should go.  The reservations I was feeling toward our current OB prompted Mike and I to rewatch this movie.  After seeing this movie for the second time, our feelings were solidified in knowing that staying with our current OB was not what we wanted.  I definitely knew at this point that I wanted us to go through this experience with a midwife and not an OB. 

Last Wednesday we had our first appointment with the Vanderbilt Midwives.  It was everything I had expected and they are totally in tune with the experience we want to have.  The comforting thing is that I will still have Lil' Shaffa at the Vanderbilt Hospital (and not our home).  I have been hesitant and somewhat scared up until now, but for the first time since the beginning of the pregnancy I am actually excited to give birth.   

We are now at nineteen weeks and our big ultrasound is Friday September 24, 2010.  We will find out that afternoon whether we are having a boy or a girl.

Very much looking forward to the next 21 weeks!

Just as a woman's heart knows how and when to pump, her lungs to inhale, and her hand to pull back from fire, so she knows when and how to give birth. - Virginia Di Orio

Week 16

We are officially into week sixteen of our pregnancy and well into the second trimester.  I think it's important to document the "not so good" along with the "great" through this journey, so here goes.

Many people have told me that once I entered into the second trimester that I would feel so much better.  Well, I'm still waiting.  Maybe since I had a relatively easy first trimester I'm not quite feeling the reprieve that I expected.  I do have a little energy back, but now that I can't lye on my back to sleep I'm having difficulty getting comfortable throughout the night.  Poor Mike who has to deal with my pregnancy pillow on one side, a pillow for my head, and another pillow for the other side of me.  We only have a full size bed and he's beginning to make comments about being squished out of bed at night.  I'm so sorry Mike.  Maybe one day we will have that king size Tempurpedic that we dream about. 

On a good note, our Doctor called today with the results of our prenatal testing and everything has come back within normal range.  So, Lil' Shaffa seems to be perfectly healthy which makes us perfectly happy. We are looking forward to the long weekend and hope to finally take our first "belly shots".

Prenatal Testing

On August 12 at 2:30 Mike and I had our visit at Tennessee Maternal Fetal Medicine for our first round of prenatal testing.  During the visit, we had an ultrasound which measured different aspects of Lil' Shaffa to make sure that development was within the appropriate range.  To our surprise, the ultrasound lasted about thirty minutes.  It was great to be able to watch and visit with our baby for that long. 

Lil' Shaffa, it seemed as if you were quite cozy and keeping yourself completely occupied which made us very happy.  You flipped and flopped all over, you were opening and closing your hands, which we like to believe you were waving to us, and you were bouncing all around.  At the end of the ultrasound we believe you may have even been sucking your thumb.  The ultrasound tech said that you didn't have the ability to suck your thumb yet, but your dad and I are convinced that you are simply an overachiever. I just want you to know how excited and proud your dad was while we were watching you.  We heard your heartbeat and called your Nona so she could listen.  Your cousin Chloe was there and was also able to listen.  This made them both very happy!  After the phone call, your dad took two or three videos documenting your movements.  We can't wait to show you this some day.

We love you and are looking forward to our next visit with you on September 24, 2010.