Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Tater Tot Crockpot Bake...

...Thank you Pinterest for making me think outside the box and make yummy, delicious yet oh so bad for you meals. I found this pin for Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Tator Tot Crockpot Bake. Read the title, what's not to love? And that's about all the ingredients plus some milk you pour over the top. Here it is when I first started crockin'...

Let me just say that this was A-MA-ZING!!! and EASY!!! I'm definitely leaving this recipe out for when Baby G arrives because it took about 5 minutes to put in the crockpot and tasted so good. Click on the link above to get the full recipe but for the Cliffnotes version:

Layer bottom of crockpot with tater tots. Then put real bacon bits on top of that followed by colby jack and monterey jack cheese. Then 4-5 frozen chicken breasts. Put cheese, bacon and tater tots on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and pour 1/4 cup milk to keep moist and dinner is ready to start crockin'!!! Enjoy!!!

Cotton Babies...

...so I've always heard of Cotton Babies but I just assumed they were an online store. Much to my surprise, Sarah told me last week that they are based out of St. Louis and then Aimee told me that they will actually fit you for a nursing bra. Tuesday was my last planned full week day off until Baby G arrives (exciting and scary at the same time!) so I figured I'd go check out the store. Well, Monday night was our last baby class and the teacher told us that they sold breast pumps at cost!?!

Tuesday morning I headed to the store and didn't see much of a breast pump selection and then my eyes turned and I saw the exact one I'd wanted down to the carrying case (I wanted the backpack). I tried to contain my excitement and asked the sales lady how much it cost...it was $75 CHEAPER than what Target and Babies-R-Us were asking.
She then helped me find a good nursing bra and I went to try them on (Lordy, let's not even talk about what size I had to get!). While in the dressing room, I pulled out my phone to figure how much the pump would cost at the other places with the additional 20% off coupon you get towards the end of the registry and it was STILL about $10 cheaper than the plain old price at Cotton Babies.
When I walked out, I asked if they always had the pumps in stock and she said no. They keep your name on a list and when they arrive they call you but they don't specifically order them for you. I had to make a split second decision and I went for it-I bought my breast pump!!!

So what was supposed to be a trip to the store to "check things out" turned into an expensive, yet inexpensive trip and since I spent so much money, I got this free linen/cotton swaddle blanket with goldfish:

I definitely plan on going back to get another bra after Baby G arrives and I want to possibly check out one of their breast feeding classes if time allows it. The next 6.5 weeks are going to fly by!!!

Happy birthday to the best Grandpa ever! We still miss you but think of you often. Odd...his name was Cotton and this post is about Cotton Babies!

Baby Class #3: Labor & Delivery...

...wow! Last week's class had LOTS of information. I'll do my best to summarize and give Cliff notes but I'm sure there's going to be TONS that I left out. Warning: This posts contains things that aren't so pleasant to think about so don't say I didn't warn you.

How to Deal with Pain During Labor:
Analgesic-this just takes the edge off but does not make you numb. It is given like an IV or injection and is similar to morphine. The nurse or doctor can give it so there's no waiting on an anesthesiologist. This medicine WILL cross the placenta to your baby; lasts 2-3 hours and may make you itchy in which they will give you Benydryl. This is typically given when you are between 3-8 cm but they will not give if you are within 2-3 hours of delivering. Once given, you are limited to staying in the bed. Cons for baby: trouble sucking, sleepy, slowed breathing

Epidural Anesthesia
*Have to wait for anesthesiologist to administer
*Takes 15 minutes to administer, takes another 15 minutes to take effect
*Numbs sensations in uterus, abdomen and lower back but will still feel pressure with contractions
*Stinging sensation when med is given
*Catheter is inserted in your spine, med flows continuously, you are given control in case you need an extra boost
*Also insert catheter in vagina since you can't feel the urge to go to the bathroom
*This may cause your labor to slow down.
*Doesn't cross the placenta.
*Failure rate is 1% which doesn't mean that it didn't work, it just may mean you have a "hot spot" where you still feel pain or are not numb
*Given during active labor at 4-5 cm; no limit when you can't get it
*Average takes 1-2 hours to ear off
*Have to be on blood pressure cuff, fetal monitor and limited to the bed.
*Cons to baby: May interfere with breastfeeding because you  have to start a fluid IV which can cause swelling of breast tissue

Labor Info
*When you are 8-10 cms this is the most painful part of labor, more painful than pushing.
*Crowning usually lasts 2 contractions
*Pushing is mainly moving baby down the birth canal; takes 1-2 hours to push
*12-18 hours is the average time for the first delivery
*Being induced usually takes longer than going naturally

2nd Stage Labor
*Vacuum vs Forceps-check with your doctor to see why the use either and how often.
-Vacuum-Risks: bruising of baby's head, tearing of vagina, perineum and anus (gah...); does speed up deliver by 15-20 minutes; does require constent
-Forceps-Risks: Bruising of baby's head, scalp and face, temporary nerve parlysis in face, tearing of mom
*Episiotomy-local anesthetic is injected before the procedure, you get stitches for this or if you tear naturally; shortens delivery by maybe a couple contractions; healing is faster for natural tearing than episiotomy; episiotomy incision becomes infected more often, is more painful and may extend farther than a natural tear
-either way, ask for a warm compress to help perinium to stretch.

After Birth
*Within 5-10 minutes of baby arriving, you will deliver your placenta which weighs abotu 1.-1.5 pounds
*Most everything that needs to be done to baby post-birth, can be done while s/he is on your chest

C-Sections
 *Performed if vaginal birth is not possible or safe for baby
*Planned if baby is breach, transverse or placenta previa
*There are unplanned C-sections which are if the labor is not progressing, fetal distress, CPD, baby flips positions (Most people have this kind although they will refer to it as emergency)
*Emergency C-section (rare, maybe 1%)-fetal distress, placental abruption, uterine rupture
*Usually have to have an epidural and this is left in place for 12-24 hours after baby is born
*Takes about an hour
*Bikini line incision
*Risks for baby: Breathing problems, low Apgar score, injury (rare), delayed skin to skin with mother/breastfeeding

Whew! So there you have it, all my notes from Class #3 plus a lot more that I didn't even include! Matt and I have decided that we will not be using analgesics due to them crossing the placenta which freaks us out. This class gave us lots of things to think about for our birth plan and gave a better idea of what to expect come labor time.

Nesting with My Momma...

...whew! It's been a busy, busy weekend to say the least. Yesterday, I worked until about 12:30, had lunch with some great Twitter gals and then came home to a broken cell phone. After almost two hours, I had a "new" phone that rings like a Mario game and I'm seriously contemplating getting texting and picture text but that's for another day.

This morning, my mom arrived at my house and we made a mad dash to Target where I got 2 new spring maternity tops (to be displayed later) and a pair of cargo capris. We also bought a new shade for the lamp in the nursery but have to wait for Matt to see if it will work together.

After Target, we headed to lunch with my MIL where the two dished about Baby G and I had to refrain from some major eye rolling. Soapbox for one minute, I am my own person with my own opinions. While it may be "okay" in the eyes of someone to borrow certain baby items, in my eyes it may not so don't tell me it's okay and that's what I should do. Trust me, I'm all about borrowing (you should see our basement with all the toys and things that we've already gotten used from friends) but there are just certain things that I do not feel comfortable borrowing (I'm leaving out what this certain item is because I don't want to cause a debate). Other than that, it was a good lunch but I'm ready for a home cooked meal because I think I've eaten out 4 of the last 5 days.

After lunch, my mom and I hit up the grocery store for the weekly items AND to make some meals to freeze for when Baby G arrives. Thank you Pinterest for lots of ideas! I checked out this blog for recipes and we made 2 that were listed: Sausage & Peppers and the Teriyaki Chicken which made a total of 4 meals for us, we just have to add the starch when the time comes to make the meal. I think my mom is planning on making us a lot more frozen meals, today was just a trial run. The one bad thing about a lot of the blogs I came across for freezing including soups and stews which I don't think we'll be eating much of come May/June. Here's a pic of my mom with the finished product:

She also made us dinner for Sunday/Monday night (yum-steak and rice!!! An Hfield family favorite!), helped me move the couch and wash the windows in the living room AND we made what I call Hoosier Turtles to share with our classmates tomorrow night since it's our last baby class (I still owe you a recap of Class #3 which had TONS of information!).

OH! And my mom made me her famous homemade chocolate frosting. This has become a pregnancy tradition if you will. I make the cake, she makes the frosting and this momma is happy! She'll be back up here the weekend of my showers and is staying that Sunday to help me put all the baby items we receive away.

We also sorted through a lot of the clothes we already bought and she fitted the baby quilts she made on the bed (but I had to leave the room so I have no idea what they look like). When I say quilts, I mean a girl one, a boy one and about 4 others! She also made the cutest little hats for either a boy or a girl for him/her to wear while at the hospital. After our tour, I decided I wanted to bring my own hats so that s/he didn't look like every other baby at the hospital. I'm so lucky I have such a crafy mom!!!

I sent her a link the other day to make a shopping cart cover and a Moby wrap to which she replied, "When is this baby getting here so that mom will stop finding projects for granny!" I told her that the projects were going to be ongoing, I just may not have as much time to search online for them. 

32 Weeks...

...yesterday was my 32 week doctor appointment. Can you believe only 8 weeks to go?!? I sure can't! Appointment went well. I was measuring 32 at 32 weeks, about .5 centimeter off which I'll take. Baby's heartbeat was between 130-140. She mentioned something about my weight and I told her that I knew I'd eaten one too many Reese's eggs. This was a great distraction because we then started a whole convo about how great eggs are!

I was slightly irritated about 2 things...1. I asked her about the carpal tunnel and told her that I was using the brace and it wasn't getting any better. She told me that it probably wouldn't until after the baby got here. So I was irritated because the other 2 nurses and doctor told me to get one so I spent $30 on a brace only to find out, yeah, it probably won't work. So now I just wait...

The other thing I was irritated about was that she made the comment that I'm at risk for preclampsia because I had high blood pressure the first 2 appointments but then it was normal after that so she's not too concerned any more. First off, why am I just now learning this at 32 weeks? I mean sure it's one less thing for me to worry about the past 22 weeks but really? In her defense, maybe she told me and I forgot but I don't think so. Also, the first appointment I was nervous and it was still in the normal range. The second appointment it was SUPER high but I felt good so I think the nurse took it wrong. DH was also slightly irritated that this was the first we were learning of it.

Ending on a good note though, she reviewed my birth plan and gave me some good ideas of things to add and/or clarify. After our last baby class on Monday, I'm going to work on finalizing it and that will be one more thing we can cross off the list-woohoo!!!

This and That...

...I have lots of thoughts in my head so I figured I'd do a this and that post so here goes!

*I broke down and bought a brace for the carpal tunnel. I don't think it's doing any good but I'm going to give it at least a week and then ask the doc again this week. At this point, I'm not sure what I can do but I'd love to have the feeling back in my fingers on my right hand!

*I haven't been sleeping very good at all! Even naps are no fun, I'm tired and want to lay down but my legs bother me so I'm constantly tossing and turning...so is Matt for that matter. About 4:30 this morning, I whispered to him, "The baby is wide awake." Sure enough, s/he was tossing and turning too. Guess I should get used to being up at that hour of the night, huh?

*I also feel like the baby is getting long because when s/he kicks, I can feel it on opposite sides of my body. I have an u/s in 3 weeks so it'll be interesting to see what s/he is measuring.

*My good friend Jess had her son, Owen, on my birthday! He was originally due on Matt's birthday but decided to come on mine. Although I haven't met him yet, I know he's gotta be pretty cool since he picked me over Matt :)

*Good 'ole MO has decided to share 70 degree weather with us. Normally I wouldn't care but that means it's time for a whole new wardrobe! Luckily, I found one pair of khaki shorts that fit (not sure how long they will) but it makes me feel better wearing them than basketball shorts out in public or sweating in pants.

*My fingers and toes look like Vienna sausages.

*Yesterday was my last weekend manager shift until after Labor Day. Of course, it was insane crazy with storms rolling through but I'm happy to say I survived and came home and went straight to bed about 8pm.

*I'm starting to get a little bit panicky about April coming up because that means there's just 6 weeks until Baby G arrives. I have SO much to do at work before I go out so I might be putting in some longer hours to make sure it all gets done. I'm worried I'm going to forget something and it'll slip through the cracks while I'm out.

I feel like I have a good handle on things at home. After I have my showers, I'll feel better too and can start packing bags (diaper bag, hospital bag, labor bag, etc...). I already have most of our documents typed up, just need to review birth plan with my doctor and then put it all together for Matt and my sister. I'm getting a little nervous about breastfeeding because I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm debating whether or not to take the breastfeeding class at the hospital. I just contacted the 2 local La Leche groups in my area but, of course, I already missed the March meetings, April is bananas and Baby G will be here in May!

Deep breaths, I know it'll all work out. It's just overwhelming at times!

*We got invited to a wedding June 2. Matt really wants to go. I keep telling him that we'll have a 1-3 week old baby but he doesn't get it! I told him if he wanted to go then he could but there was no way that I would feel ready to i.e. I'd have to pump while at the wedding/reception, I'd have to stock pile milk before (and that's not very much time) and I'm not sure I'll be ready to leave my baby at that time!

Okay, I think that's all the random thoughts for now. I'm going to paint birds that will be book ends and then Matt and I are sharing a birthday dinner at his mom's house tonight. Hope you all had a good weekend!

Baby Class #2: What We Learned...

...despite the sobbing experience, I did learn quite a bit at class #2. Here's a brief recap of what we learned:

*We discussed Parents As Teachers. I called the next day and there's already a waitlist!!! We also discussed car seats. As soon as I have my car detailed, I'm going to go to the fire station and have them help me install this. I love any reason to hang out with firemen!!!

*We also discussed cord bank donation. It would be similar to being used like a bone marrow transplant. I'm planning on looking into this.

*The next hour of the class was mainly preparing to come to the house, what to pack, what to bring and then we toured the hospital. Something interesting they told us to bring was nail clippers because the hospital staff won't clip the baby's nails mainly because they don't want to hurt them because the nails are as thin as skin but some still scratch themselves. I learned a lot on the tour but I won't bore you with all those details since it is mainly hospital related.

*We discussed the T-Dap shot i.e. whooping cough. The hospital strongly encourages anyone that's going to be in close contact with the baby within the first 2 months to get this shot because the baby won't get the shot until 2 months. The hospital will give the mom this shot but dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc...are all on their own. I was worried that my family would think I was being overly cautious but so far everyone's getting their shots no problem.

*Discussed birth plans. I worked on mine this morning. Good thing I referenced my notes because I left a big one off...no latex in our room! Matt is severely allergic so that could've been an issue. Once I review it with Matt and my doctor, I'll post it on here. It was a little intimidating at first but once I got started, it's really just making my mind up on certain decisions.

*They taught us to think with our BRAIN:

Benefits - What are the benefits of this procedure? How will this help me/my baby/my labor?

Risks - What are the risks of this procedure? How might this negatively affect me/baby/labor?

Alternatives - Are there alternatives to this procedure? Are there other options?

Intuition - What is my gut feeling about this?

Need Time, or Nothing - Can I delay this procedure and take some time to think about it/Discuss it with my partner? What will happen if I choose to do nothing for now?

*Once we finished the tour, we went back to the room and started discussing the first stage of active labor. They suggest changing positions every 20-30 minutes, rest when you can, stay hydrated (they provide Popsicles-yum!!!) and then we discussed positions and we all know the story from there...

I'm off work today so I'm planning on washing sheets and making up the baby bed!!! I have a ton of errands to run including going to get that birthday meal from First Watch! Then tonight, I'm going to type up our what to pack list and I printed pics of the nursery to put in the baby book. I've got a full day ahead of me!!!

Baby Class #2: Where I Break Down...

...yes, I left class crying, no not crying SOBBING! First off, let me say that today is my birthday (the big 2-9) but this isn't a birthday post (well sorta). So let me backtrack a few days...

Saturday night we went to the Annual Fair Dinner Auction. Luckily, despite what Matt wanted to spend, we got out of there spending only about $50 on raffle tickets and sausage that is in the freezer. However, Matt took advantage of the all you can drink. Sunday morning was supposed to be my day for my birthday. I wanted to run some errands and grab lunch, pretty low key. I woke up and went to get us donuts for breakfast. Around 10am, I finally told him I was leaving without him to which he finally got moving only to be super crabby. So we headed to Babies-R-Us and bought a crib mattress (I wanted to go there). Then we went to Costco (Matt's choice) and grocery shopped. I had a free entree at First Watch but because we got such a late start, we missed eating there by 30 minutes because they were closed so we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings...where I paid. Then we went to the movies (I was so exhausted I just wanted to go home) and saw Matt's movie choice. So that was Sunday...

Sunday night I also heard about the D-Tap shot and found out that anyone that's going to be around the baby during the first 2 months should be current on this shot. Matt freaked out saying it was all government regulated and blah blah blah. When I told him that my favorite fellow agreed, he said he'd look into it. When we head to class Monday night, that was an entire topic that we discussed! My parents and his mom already have their shots scheduled. What do you want to bet that Matt won't ever get his?

Anyway, we tour the hospital and during a Q&A, his phone vibrates and he walks away from the group to go answer it. I thought that was super rude, he thought it was fine since he left the group. We head back to the room and go over more topics including different labor positions. The teacher stopped and our convo:

Teacher: Can you feel the difference?
Me: I can feel him pushing and the pressure but I don't really feel any difference.
Teacher: Oh, probably because you aren't that far along.
Me: I'm 31 weeks (second due in class).
Teacher: Oh, you're just not showing that much.

And that my friends was the line that broke me. I'm SUPER sensitive about my lack of bump despite the doctor telling me I'm okay. I'm even MORE sensitive than I was since I was measuring 29 instead of 30 last week. So at that point, on top of how Matt had been acting, I was done. I felt like I shouldn't be in the class, that she felt that way so I was closed off. FYI-I know she meant NOTHING by it but come on, pregnancy hormones, crabby husband and already worried about it all added up.

We then had breathing exercises. Most of the husbands were right behind the wives rubbing their backs. My husband? He was laid out on the floor behind me rubbing my back with one hand. That with the comment and everything else sent me into tears. Big, fat, crocodile tears started rolling down my cheeks during the breathing and I didn't have long sleeves or a Kleenex or anything to wipe them away. This happened for about 10 minutes then we had to stand up and try a labor position. I faced the wall in hopes that I could get myself under control but no, it was worst. I breathed in and it was like the gasping for air because I'm crying and then snot running out of my nose; people I was a hot mess! So I decided I'd leave the room and head to the bathroom. Of course, right when I did the teacher said the breathing exercise was over and the whole class turned around to see me sobbing. Matt looked at me totally oblivious to me having been crying and said, "What?"

I went to the bathroom and tried to get myself together but the tears were STILL coming. I walked out and surprisingly Matt had followed me out to find out what was wrong. I just told him I didn't want to talk about it because I knew he'd think I was stupid for getting upset about her comment and I knew he'd disagree that he'd been rude. The teacher came out to check on me and I told her I was okay. Luckily, when we headed back in, class was over. We got in the car and rode home in silence, me crying the entire time. Then I felt bad because we'd paid for the class, we need to practice the breathing and I made us miss it. So that's my story about how I had a breakdown at Class #2 and for the next two classes, I'll be known as the crier....awesome.

Oh and it's now 10:30am on my birthday and my husband has yet to tell me happy birthday...

Master the Met 2012...

...once again we pulled together team Stairway to Heaving and they all did a great job Mastering the Met. Here's the team from this year:

We had a few more teammates but some were sick or had to go out of town, it's just that time of year! Overall though, our team raised over $2,000 for the American Lung Assocation which is AWESOME!!! And everyone made it to the top and survived all 40 flights of stairs-you guys rock! I was supposed to climb but Maggie's husband Steve filled in for me.

While waiting there was LOTS of eye candy in the form of cute firemen! Luckily, I saw that a LOT of the cute ones work at the fire department just around the block from my house. Hello Cute Firemen, I'll be stopping by to have you install my carseat, thank you very much! Here is an attempt to get a pic of a cute one behind Holly, yes, I'm like a teenager!

Ronda's father passed away in January from lung cancer. She did an amazing job raising over $600 and wore a picture of her dad on her back. At the end of the race, she posted his picture on the "I Climb Because..." banner and wrote a note. I think she did an amazing job honoring her father:

The team with their Master the Met shirts they earned. So proud of all of them!!!

Great job team! Can't wait until next year!!!

Crockpot Lasagna...

...last week, I made Crockpot Lasagna. No idea where I got this recipe but I'm sure it's off someone's blog. It was SO easy and only took about 20 minutes to cook which included browning the meat. Matt and I both thought it lacked a little in flavor but we're definitely going to have it again and just add some spices of our own. Enjoy!
Ingredients


- 8 whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked.

- 1-2 lb extra lean ground beef or turkey (I use 2 but I have a big crockpot and like it meaty!)

- 1 tsp italian seasoning

- 28oz jar low fat/low sugar spaghetti sauce

- 1/3 cup water

- 4oz can sliced mushrooms (rinsed and drained)

- 15oz fat free ricotta cheese

- 2 cups shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese

Directions

1) Spray inside of cockpot with no-calorie cooking spray.

2) Cover bottom of crockpot using 4 noodles (break to fit)

3) Brown ground beef in pan. Drain. Stir in Italian seasoning. Spread half of it over noodles in crockpot.

4) Layer 1/2 of sauce, 1/2 of mushrooms, 1/2 of ricotta and 1/2 of mozza over beef. Repeat layers.

5) Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.



Makes 8 small servings or 6 large.

30 Weeks!!!

...I just got home from my 30 week check-up. First off, I'm starving!!! Since I was gone last week, I didn't go grocery shopping until Tuesday and only bought half the groceries. Guess DH didn't get that memo and now it's Friday morning and we have NO FOOD. I found a banana and a granola bar that I called breakfast but now I'm munching on some 'Nill wafers. So while you read this post, picture my stomach growling...

My appointment was short and sweet as usual. Baby A's heartbeat was 140. I'm measuring 29 at 30 weeks pregnant. At the past appointments, I was measuring right on centimeter vs # of weeks. Last time, I was slightly ahead (29 at 28 weeks) and now I'm 29 at 30 weeks. She told me not to freak out because it could be +- 2 centimeters but, of course, I am! She also said that since it's not the same person measuring each time, that could also result in the difference. I've always had in my mind that I'm going to have a big baby but maybe I'm not, guess we'll find out in about 10 weeks!

Since my last check-up, my hands and feet have gotten more swollen i.e. no more rings. She checked it out and agreed they were swollen. She said it probably looked bad to me but wasn't that bad plus my blood pressure was good.

She gave me a Fetal Movement Count sheet. So I have to count how long it takes to get to 10 kicks each night, preferably at the same time. The same time thing may be difficult since I work some nights (including tonight) and have a fundraiser dinner tomorrow night so we'll probably start on Sunday.
So that's up summary of my 30 week check-up...30 weeks-WOW!!!

Comparision...

...well folks, thought I'd share this comparision photo for you:

Funny though, if I'm not wearing a maternity top, you totally can't see the bump and friends, I'm 30 weeks! As I've stated before, as long as Baby G is okay, I don't mind not having a big bump.

I am slightly concerned though because I'm in a wedding April 28. I ordered one size bigger and an extra yard of fabric. I'm getting the dress this weekend and I'm pretty sure it'll fit as is now. My concern what if I "pop" and get a giant belly right before the wedding! Then I'll be frantically getting it altered.

I must say that as my belly is growing, I believe so it my butt. The other night, Matt told me I had a big butt to which I replied it was a "baby butt." His response, "I don't think you're carrying the baby in your butt." 

Our First Baby Class...

...last night, Matt and I had our first baby class. I was kind of nervous going into it because I had no idea what to expect but I came out feeling really good. First off, this whole time Matt and I have said we wanted to deliver and go to this certain hospital (which is where we're going). As he was driving us there for the class, he started to head to the hospital across the street. I think this whole time he's been thinking of the other hospital-oops!

We arrived and were the first couple-shocker, I know! There are 5 other couples in the class. Let's discuss them shall we:
Couple #1-Sarah & Adam (or Ada M. as I first read his nametag)-he's very supportive, constantly holding her hand or rubbing her leg. She is VERY serious, I think I saw her smile once. I don't know if she's super concerned or what but she looked scared the whole time. They're having a boy.

Couple #2-Ashley & TJ-similar to Matt & I and not just because TJ works at a nursery for trees not babies. Laid back, funny and when the nurse said that a sign of labor was nesting, TJ said, "she's been nesting since she found out she was pregnant!" Matt nodded in agreement. They're having a boy.

Couple #3-Can't remember her name & Brian-she is very quiet, didn't say much and had swollen feet. Brian didn't talk a lot but had this loud, contagious laugh. They are not finding out.

Couple #4-Kathryn & Eric-in their 40s, pregnant with twins and somehow the whole class gets geared towards them. Having a boy and a girl.

Couple #5-CC & can't remember his name-very quiet, the end. They seriously didn't say much. Not finding out.

So that's our classmates (just wanted to document that so when I look back in a year, I can remember). It's a laid back class and everyone seems to get along. The older couple ask good questions but at the same time, the nurse will say, "This will happen...but not for you" and then that starts a whole discussion.

Important things we learned from Class #1
*Notes for ourselves to add to our birth plan: Matt cutting umbilical cord & Kangaroo Care
*More than 4 contractions in 1 hour before 37 weeks, call doctor
*More tense you are, the more pain (this is something I need to remember!)
*4 P's of Labor: Passageway, Passenger, Powers, Psyche
*Lots of contraction apps on your phone-check that out
*5-1-1-go to the hospital! Contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each for one hour
*Go to the hospital if your water breaks...you will be able to tell the difference between urine and your bag of waters!

We covered lots of other topics and watched some really cool videos. We also spent the last 45 minutes working on breathing (which I suck at!), relaxing and the coach helping. She said to practice at home which if that means Matt rubbing my back then heck yeah-we'll practice every night! Matt was trying to rub my ears and play with my hair which we have determined is a no-no which lead to me asking if I could wear a headband and ponytail holder. The nurse said yes which made me happy!

Here's a fun analogy that she said:

Some people like to go running through Forest Park, others like to drive through Forest Park. It's your decision whether to go natural (running) or drive (epidural) but either way, it's your choice, no choice is wrong.

We have not made our decision what we'll be doing yet. Well, Matt wants me to go natural. I'm not opposed to it but I'm very concerned that I won't be able to handle it. My fear is that I'm going to be paralyzed by pain and won't be able to follow through. I plan on asking lots of questions when we cover that in our class.

So night #1 done! I'm excited to see what the rest have in store for us.

My First Shower!!!

...I had my first shower today and I was shocked! I'd been out of town all last week at conference, had yesterday off and had to work today. I had scheduled a staff meeting to touch base with them about everything while I'm going to be gone. After the meeting was over, the front desk calls me to tell me there's a "broken window" in one of the rooms. Ugh...I head down there and saw this:

How awesome are they!!! The funny thing is that last night, my sister called me to tell me I'd registered for 2 pack-n-plays. Oops! I got online to fix it and saw someone had bought something off our registry. I was sooo excited! I knew shower invitations had just been sent out so I figured someone was just really on top of their game.
In these baskets were mints, one said, "It's a boy!" and the other said, "It's a girl!"

They were supposed to pick what they thought the baby would be. As you can tell from the picture, the majority choice was boy. Only four (on the right with the pink/green bag) thought girl, everyone to the left of the blue bag thought boy.

Look at this awesome cake!!! One of the ladies MADE and decorated it herself!!! I asked if I could take a piece of chocolate cake home to Matt and she cut the most ginormous piece of cake I've seen. I guarantee it'll be gone before Monday morning.

Here I am with all the girls and yes, I'm wearing a staff shirt.

Thank you ladies for the great shower and gifts! Now I know how to get you all to come to a staff meeting. :)