Since it took us a really long time to realize that there was going to be a baby in January, we waited quite a while to get poor Baby Henig's nursery really going. BIG mistake. Ladies--word to the wise--do NOT wait until you're waddling/limping/hobbling/holding your back to make any decisions about the nursery. Just do it already.
This past Monday night, Britton and I ventured up I-65 to Babies-R-Us in Birmingham to pick up an armoire and a glider that I had put on hold via the phone on Sunday night. When we got there, they were both so nice, exactly what we wanted! After pretending as though we were rich and purchasing both items, both of us and 3 Babies-R-Us team members met at Britton's truck. VERY much to my surprise, both of these fully assembled nursery items somehow fit snugly in the bed of the truck. Fabulous! I patted the gentleman on the back that was wheezing heavily and gave him a big thank you, and asked if he maybe needed to go sit down? No, he was fine he said, just a touch of pheumonia. Glad I touched him.
As we stared for a bit longer at the bed of the truck, I realized we needed bungee cords to strap these in, just for peace of mind. We putt-putted up the hill to Lowe's, and I asked Britton if he would mind braving Lowe's alone tonight and just getting a few cords to strap them in. "Not at all!", he replied. Thinking he would appear in 2-3 minutes with 2-3 hook bungees, he decided to go a more economical route. #1 Dad came out with a 24-Piece Task Force Bungee set, complete with more contraptions than I know how to describe in words. We had to use his seatbelt cutter to get the package open. Why.....
After about 15 minutes of him leaning in the driver side door, hunched over dim car lights, looping and un-looping the complex bungees he purchased, I felt it was my time to take control. The wind was whipping us and it was about 35 degrees, but no problem--I can get this. Within 3 minutes of being at the back of the truck, I had strapped them in, and Britton had latched them. I wanted to give him a go at doing it on his own, being the Daddy and all. But there comes a time in a marriage when you realize that some things are screaming for you to take into your own hands and just get the damn thing done.
We didn't say a word until Clanton.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Childbirth Class # 4: The Video
It happened. What we've all been waiting for. Mary Jane gave us until class 4 to get good and settled in, used to phrases like "mucos plug" and "effacement" before she showed us the video.
Before we saw some crotches, we had 2 of the funniest Dads-to-be strap on the empathy belly. One was made to lay completely down on the floor as if he were in bed. Mary Jane then acted as his alarm clock, and told him it was time to get up and go to work. This was a task that proved too difficult for Gerald. He literally cried uncle--"OK! I'm empathetic! I promise! Please!!" He was dying to be unstrapped. Hysterical.
The lesson was on pain managment, something I got out my pen to take notes on. One thing I know for sure is that if they could, say, numb my entire body that would be grrrrreat. We learned there there are 2 crazy Momma's in the class that want to give it a go sans-anesthesia. These ladies are my personal heroes. I plan to learn the birthday and kids names of my anesthesiologist in hopes he'll push a few more cc's of whatever he's got in that needle, if you know what I'm saying.
I will say that learning the in's and out's of administering an epidural was extremely helpful. Knowing what to expect, and when to expect it is something that every first time Mom should be made aware of. I also thought that the moment you grace your labor and delivery room, that they could shoot you up, but my dreams were crushed when I learned the above statement is not true.
Then came the video. It started out pretty nice, following 2 women--one of which had their epidural and one of which chose to be my hero and be able to actually wiggle her toes. I could have gone without seeing the real-life threading of a tube into a woman's spine, and I'm pretty sure Britton was looking at the floor on that part. BUT, again--good to know.
Then, there they were, laboring along and....GOTCHA! (as Mary Jane says) Not one but 2 crotch shots. And the funniest was the 2nd, where the husband was down "there" in a wife beater and jeans, ready to catch the baby himself. Yeah right, Bubba!
All in all, the video was not quite as bad as I had imagined. But I do think I am now prepared for my pain management. Two things I know after this class are:
1) The epidural is your friend
2) Don't let a man in a wife beater try to deliver your baby
Before we saw some crotches, we had 2 of the funniest Dads-to-be strap on the empathy belly. One was made to lay completely down on the floor as if he were in bed. Mary Jane then acted as his alarm clock, and told him it was time to get up and go to work. This was a task that proved too difficult for Gerald. He literally cried uncle--"OK! I'm empathetic! I promise! Please!!" He was dying to be unstrapped. Hysterical.
The lesson was on pain managment, something I got out my pen to take notes on. One thing I know for sure is that if they could, say, numb my entire body that would be grrrrreat. We learned there there are 2 crazy Momma's in the class that want to give it a go sans-anesthesia. These ladies are my personal heroes. I plan to learn the birthday and kids names of my anesthesiologist in hopes he'll push a few more cc's of whatever he's got in that needle, if you know what I'm saying.
I will say that learning the in's and out's of administering an epidural was extremely helpful. Knowing what to expect, and when to expect it is something that every first time Mom should be made aware of. I also thought that the moment you grace your labor and delivery room, that they could shoot you up, but my dreams were crushed when I learned the above statement is not true.
Then came the video. It started out pretty nice, following 2 women--one of which had their epidural and one of which chose to be my hero and be able to actually wiggle her toes. I could have gone without seeing the real-life threading of a tube into a woman's spine, and I'm pretty sure Britton was looking at the floor on that part. BUT, again--good to know.
Then, there they were, laboring along and....GOTCHA! (as Mary Jane says) Not one but 2 crotch shots. And the funniest was the 2nd, where the husband was down "there" in a wife beater and jeans, ready to catch the baby himself. Yeah right, Bubba!
All in all, the video was not quite as bad as I had imagined. But I do think I am now prepared for my pain management. Two things I know after this class are:
1) The epidural is your friend
2) Don't let a man in a wife beater try to deliver your baby
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Post #1: A Fabulous First Baby Shower
[I label this "Post #1" because I haven't uploaded my pictures yet, so inevitably I will make another post about my first ever baby shower!] 
The girls from work threw me a wonderfully pink and blue baby shower yesterday, and I couldn't wait to upload all the pictures because I'm still busting at the seams excited about how much fun it was! Terry hosted and of course everything was "to the nines"! I was so touched by how much love and effort was put into a shower just for me and Baby Henig. Mom is in town, so she got to join in all the fun! Terry had pink and blue drinks (pick your sex prediction and enjoy a sparkly beverage), pink and blue candles, a cake shaped like a stork (too cute) and all kinds of great baby loot for me and the little one!!!! She also scattered both Britton and my baby pictures around for everyone to comment on who they think the baby will look like. We got all kinds of wonderful things to get ready for Butter Bean including but not limited to our bath tub, 'My Little Lamb Cradle 'n Swing' (yessss!), great bath accessories, blankets, diapers, bottles--OK, I should have just said that we got a little bit of everything! All in all, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I am so thankful to have such a loving place to work. More to come including pictures!!!!!!!!!!!! I am one happy Momma today!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Belly Pic: 31 weeks
And here I am, large and in charge.Childbirth Class # 3: My pregnant husband
Ahhh, just the class I've been waiting for. Guess who's turn it was to wear the Empathy Belly?!?!?!
Mary Jane strapped him in TIGHT. So tight, in fact, that the extra bladder weight wouldn't quite shimmy into its spot. She was reluctantly forced to loosen the velcro just a bit so he could get the full experience. I'm surprised I stopped laughing for long enough to take these...
It was all fun and games as he posed for his profile shot, cradling the baby. Very natural, honey--impressive.
But the sweat needed to be wiped from the brow when he had to sit indian style on the floor next to me. I asked him if he knew how I felt, and he said "Well, I mean, you never sit like this..." Um, yeah, and now you know why. Watching him get up was so dang funny. He also had to tie his shoe, at which point I think he almost asked me if I would do it for him.
Mary Jane strapped him in TIGHT. So tight, in fact, that the extra bladder weight wouldn't quite shimmy into its spot. She was reluctantly forced to loosen the velcro just a bit so he could get the full experience. I'm surprised I stopped laughing for long enough to take these...
It was all fun and games as he posed for his profile shot, cradling the baby. Very natural, honey--impressive.
But the sweat needed to be wiped from the brow when he had to sit indian style on the floor next to me. I asked him if he knew how I felt, and he said "Well, I mean, you never sit like this..." Um, yeah, and now you know why. Watching him get up was so dang funny. He also had to tie his shoe, at which point I think he almost asked me if I would do it for him.
And finally, we had to take a simultaneous belly pic. Excuse my extremely large grin and flat hair. I couldn't stop laughing! Looks like we're due around the same time, eh?
During class this week, we learned all about labor and delivery, and Mary Jane even had some of the tools and tricks of the trade used to help us out during our stay. One of the instruments was a long pointy plastic...thing, that made me literally shake. I'm not kidding, I started quivering. I think she saw me shaking, so she let me hold it, which did not seem to keep the shuddering at bay. A good sign of things to come on January 6th. If I'm shaking at a plastic pointy....thing, then just imagine what I'll do when they strap me to that bed, not to get up until the baby is OUT.
We then met over at the hospital for the last hour of class to tour our future home. As aforementioned, I've gone, I've seen, I've conquered, so for me I felt like waving to the nurses and saying "Hey! Long time no see! Yeah, no, I'm good, it was just vertigo. Who knew??" The tour was fabulous as we learned that the husbands are not allowed to watch the TV or eat, per our requests, during labor and delivery. She also instructed them that they may stand by our heads so as not to get any 'full-frontal' action, if you catch what I'm puttin' down.
Walking by the nursery was the most precious thing I've ever seen. The tiny brand new ones were just TO DIE FOR. And the best part was, my friend Allison who is in the class with me, actually came out of her long-standing denial and realized that she will soon (5 weeks, Allison, 5 weeks, say it with me...) have a little nugget of joy just like the ones we were looking at. She and I were the last ones standing at the nursery window, reveling in the moment she figured all this out :)
I was so worn out after the tools, the tour, and the belly, I got in bed at 8:30 and fell fast asleep. Another educational day at class, and with 2 more to go, I feel my time is drawing near!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Halloween as a preggo
When you're very rotund and almost waddling, Halloween calls for creativity. So, this year, Britton and I went as a duo that we thought was most appropriate in regards to our bundle of joy on his/her way. I googled ideas and I'm sorry, but I'm just not the kind of girl to paint my stomach like a pumpkin. I know for a fact no one wants to see that. So, I got creative! If you can't quite tell, I was a baby and Britton was the delivering doctor! (note the latex gloves). When purchasing my baby costume, I was under the impression I was getting into an over-sized cloth diaper of sorts. Much to my surprise, I opened up the packet to find what could only be a Depends. Needless to say I had to wear pink shorts underneath to cover myself up.
We also had a Sarah Palin, an underage Chinese gymnast (my personal fave), and of course Leah was a nun.
All in all it was a fabulous Halloween, complete with 2 parties and 2 tired babies.
My preggo friend Jody was an expecting bride. Aren't we a classy bunch!!!
We also had a Sarah Palin, an underage Chinese gymnast (my personal fave), and of course Leah was a nun.
All in all it was a fabulous Halloween, complete with 2 parties and 2 tired babies.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Baby Henig's 4D Ultrasound!!!!
Oh my gosh!
I don't even have words for how beautiful these pictures are. OK, I know I'm baised, and they look like every other 4D ultrasound we've ever seen, but to me...they are perfect. And there are some really sassy ones like the tongue sticking out, and holding its nose like something stinks! And a precious, sweet little yawn. Yeah right! Like YOU'RE TIRED, little one!
I hope you enjoy these pictures of our baby as much as we do ;~)
I don't even have words for how beautiful these pictures are. OK, I know I'm baised, and they look like every other 4D ultrasound we've ever seen, but to me...they are perfect. And there are some really sassy ones like the tongue sticking out, and holding its nose like something stinks! And a precious, sweet little yawn. Yeah right! Like YOU'RE TIRED, little one!
I hope you enjoy these pictures of our baby as much as we do ;~)
Monday, November 3, 2008
Childbirth Class #2: I've been CAUGHT
[My apologies for this post being really delayed, but moving everything out of Baby Henig's future room entailed unplugging the computer, and we just got that bad boy up and running last night!]
The 2nd installment of childbirth class was something I can say I will never forget. I usually pride myself on being a pretty darn good prankster, very sneaky; always able to 'get' and not be 'gotten'. But not on this particular Tuesday night, thanks to the open door policy of the world wide web.
After settling into class, and removing my jacket (keeping on my scarf was a must, it was about 35 degress outside), we all took the same seats as we did last week. Right as class was getting started, Mary Jane walked over to me, put her hand on my knee, and jutting her head toward our friends sitting beside us whispered "I think that's Ms. Air Force sitting next to you". My face turned SO RED--how did she know I nicknamed her that?!?!?! Nothing was coming together in my head, and everything got fuzzy--I suddenly had to remove my scarf as Mary Jane backed away, smirk on her face. Then it hit me--I'VE BEEN CAUGHT. Somehow, I didn't know how, my instructor had found my blog and taken great pride in reading my report on her first class. OH.MY.GOSH.
I mouthed "How did you know about that?!?" and she replied with "Oh, I know everything" : A statement I never doubted. She then tapped her scrub pocket and said "I've got it all right here..." Britton looked at me with the widest eyes I've ever seen and said "Oh, she's got your number..." A thousand thoughts went racing through my head...."Is she going to read this out loud?" "Am I about to be the first person in history to be kicked out of childbirth class?" "Oh my gosh...WHAT DID I WRITE?????"
Class continued as usual, and I'm pretty sure this episode was doing wonders for my heart. It was beating so hard, I just knew my blood pressure was back to normal!
This week we learned about what false labor is, and when it's appropriate to call in to the doctor. Mary Jane informed us that if you are in any way giggling while talking to the on-call OB at 3 am while saying "Um...Dr. So-and-So, I think I'm in labor! tee-hee", then you are most definitely not in labor. I wrote that down....Also, don't get your husband to call in regards to his wife's shooting pains, as they will always want to talk to the pregnant woman. This should not be a problem for us as I'm pretty sure by the time I'm having labor pains, Britton will already be feeling woozy and light-headed.
We also watched...gulp...a video about labor pains. And thank the Lord above, it was strictly educational as it followed 3 couples through their pregnancies and into counting contractions. One of the couples did our state proud. As they showed them in their bedroom, the husband sat up from under the covers to reveal an Alabama Crimson Tide t-shirt. This was the part in the video that told us that sleeping can be difficult to impossible (awesome, I already can't sleep) during the beginning stages of labor. The next scene showed that our Roll Tide fan had not gotten up to get his wife a heating pad or a glass of water, but had strategically gotten HER to move to the couch as he enjoyed having the master suite all to himself. Roll Tide, Roll.
During our break Britton, Mary Jane and I had a good laugh about how she had all but scared the baby right out of me. She was so proud of her mad skills in making me sweat, and I told her I aspired to be able to prank like she had. That is a true talent. It was really and truly one of the funniest things that has ever happened to me.
To end class, we sit on the floor with our husbands and practice our breathing. Of course, this is when the massage starts and the part of my week I look most forward to. We also learned a stretch for our back that in yoga is otherwise known as the "Cat and Cow":
This stretch begins as you arch your back up (like a cat), and then slowly back down(like a cow). It feels AMAZING.
The husbands were instructed to kneel beside us, and Mary Jane walked around to make sure everyone knew how to do it. All of a sudden, as she was walking around, I believe she came across a young man who may have been kneeling behind his wife in a very...ahem...suggestive position. We all of sudden heard "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? Get back over to the side of her! That's what got you in here to start with!" I was in tears.
All in all, an unforgetttable class it was. I look forward to this week as we have our hospital tour of labor and delivery and get to see all that goes into checking in and getting settled for when baby comes. And since we've already had 2 nice trips up there, we may help lead the class!
The 2nd installment of childbirth class was something I can say I will never forget. I usually pride myself on being a pretty darn good prankster, very sneaky; always able to 'get' and not be 'gotten'. But not on this particular Tuesday night, thanks to the open door policy of the world wide web.
After settling into class, and removing my jacket (keeping on my scarf was a must, it was about 35 degress outside), we all took the same seats as we did last week. Right as class was getting started, Mary Jane walked over to me, put her hand on my knee, and jutting her head toward our friends sitting beside us whispered "I think that's Ms. Air Force sitting next to you". My face turned SO RED--how did she know I nicknamed her that?!?!?! Nothing was coming together in my head, and everything got fuzzy--I suddenly had to remove my scarf as Mary Jane backed away, smirk on her face. Then it hit me--I'VE BEEN CAUGHT. Somehow, I didn't know how, my instructor had found my blog and taken great pride in reading my report on her first class. OH.MY.GOSH.
I mouthed "How did you know about that?!?" and she replied with "Oh, I know everything" : A statement I never doubted. She then tapped her scrub pocket and said "I've got it all right here..." Britton looked at me with the widest eyes I've ever seen and said "Oh, she's got your number..." A thousand thoughts went racing through my head...."Is she going to read this out loud?" "Am I about to be the first person in history to be kicked out of childbirth class?" "Oh my gosh...WHAT DID I WRITE?????"
Class continued as usual, and I'm pretty sure this episode was doing wonders for my heart. It was beating so hard, I just knew my blood pressure was back to normal!
This week we learned about what false labor is, and when it's appropriate to call in to the doctor. Mary Jane informed us that if you are in any way giggling while talking to the on-call OB at 3 am while saying "Um...Dr. So-and-So, I think I'm in labor! tee-hee", then you are most definitely not in labor. I wrote that down....Also, don't get your husband to call in regards to his wife's shooting pains, as they will always want to talk to the pregnant woman. This should not be a problem for us as I'm pretty sure by the time I'm having labor pains, Britton will already be feeling woozy and light-headed.
We also watched...gulp...a video about labor pains. And thank the Lord above, it was strictly educational as it followed 3 couples through their pregnancies and into counting contractions. One of the couples did our state proud. As they showed them in their bedroom, the husband sat up from under the covers to reveal an Alabama Crimson Tide t-shirt. This was the part in the video that told us that sleeping can be difficult to impossible (awesome, I already can't sleep) during the beginning stages of labor. The next scene showed that our Roll Tide fan had not gotten up to get his wife a heating pad or a glass of water, but had strategically gotten HER to move to the couch as he enjoyed having the master suite all to himself. Roll Tide, Roll.
During our break Britton, Mary Jane and I had a good laugh about how she had all but scared the baby right out of me. She was so proud of her mad skills in making me sweat, and I told her I aspired to be able to prank like she had. That is a true talent. It was really and truly one of the funniest things that has ever happened to me.
To end class, we sit on the floor with our husbands and practice our breathing. Of course, this is when the massage starts and the part of my week I look most forward to. We also learned a stretch for our back that in yoga is otherwise known as the "Cat and Cow":
This stretch begins as you arch your back up (like a cat), and then slowly back down(like a cow). It feels AMAZING.
The husbands were instructed to kneel beside us, and Mary Jane walked around to make sure everyone knew how to do it. All of a sudden, as she was walking around, I believe she came across a young man who may have been kneeling behind his wife in a very...ahem...suggestive position. We all of sudden heard "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???? Get back over to the side of her! That's what got you in here to start with!" I was in tears.
All in all, an unforgetttable class it was. I look forward to this week as we have our hospital tour of labor and delivery and get to see all that goes into checking in and getting settled for when baby comes. And since we've already had 2 nice trips up there, we may help lead the class!
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