Hospital Tour

We headed to Fair Oaks Hospital on February 22nd for our tour. For the most part it was fairly informative. We were able to see the delivery rooms, nursery, cafeteria, etc. Mitch was excited to show off his wealth of knowledge about the different gadgets in the room. And he was the only one who knew why breast feeding can help with a woman's recovery time after birth. That is my genius husband. All that paramedic training will really pay off. We were, also, the only couple out of the group who were pre-registered and have already arranged for a pediatrician. Again, another reason why Mitch rocks. He is always on top of things.

32 Weeks

Not really much to report. We headed to our 32-week appointment on Friday(actually, 33 weeks). Baby's heartbeat is strong and from what Dr. P. can tell by massaging my belly, baby seems to be ready for birth. I was curious as to what I was feeling everytime the baby moved. So, Dr.P. did a quick evalution. From what she can tell, baby's feet are on my left side, bottom in my right rib cage, back along my right side, and hands and feet on my bottom left die, and head at the bottom of my belly. I have no idea how she could tell that, but that is why they pay her the big bucks. We have one more appointment before we start going for weekly exams. We are coming down to the wire.

Dr. P was curious as to what courses we have taken to prepare for childbirth, umm...none. Mitch has seen 3 births already, one natural and 2 C-sections. Who would have thought he would see someone else give birth before me:) And the way I see it, I am not gonna spend hundreds of dollars on classes that reiterate everything my not-so-cheap pregnancy books highlight in extreme detail. What if I spend $150 dollars on a lamaze class and end up with a c-section, money well spent??? Oh, well-we like to wing things.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day weekend marked 32 weeks for baby. Mitch was scheduled to work on Saturday, so I spent V-Day with mom, Michael, and some yummy Chinese food. We had a great time and Michael got to feel baby move. I am not sure how to describe his reaction, he seemed surprised and slightly scared of it. Of course, Alien movie quotes ensued.
Mitch and I celebrated our V-day on Sunday, since we both had off on Monday. We started the day with a visit from our friends, the Schaal's. They brought over all kinds of goodies for baby. We have inherited all kinds of wonderful baby necessities. Thank You Schaal family.
After out visitors headed out, we went out to dinner and to the movies. And what may you ask did we go see. What anyone would see on a Valentine's Day weekend that lands on Friday the 13th...Friday the 13th 2009. I must say we both enjoyed it:)

Mitch got up bright and early on Saturday to make sure I had a sweet V-Day surprise. He really is awesome.

Mitch came in from work on Sunday to a sweet surprise of his own.

Another Firefighter!

While Mitch has been completing his internship as a paramedic and his promotional process to become a Technician II, we got some exciting news. My younger brother, Brian has been accepted into the recruit program at Prince William Fire and Rescue. He is incredibly excited and Mitch and I are happy for him. Mitch heard the good news a few days before Brian got the phone call. However, I was sworn to secrecy- which was hard. It was such a relief when he finally got the call from the hiring department. I never would have thought both my husband and my brother would end up working so closely together.

Good Luck in Recruit School, Brian!

Brian and I outside his house at UVA

The Big 3-0, 10 Weeks to go!

We hit 30 weeks on January 30th. It is amazing how time has flown by. We both sat down pondering the other day about how in just 10 weeks are little one will be here. Oh, and we started a list of all the things we still need to do-Yikes!
We headed to our 30 week appointment( which was closer to 31 weeks, actually) on February 4th.
This week we met with Doctor W., who as I mentioned before is older and very mellow. You know, the "Bueller Bueller" guy. He informed me I am measuring right on target, blood pressure good, and baby' heartbeat is strong. Baby did not kick Dr. W, as he/she usual does to Dr. G or Dr. P when they are pushing on the stomach. I guess baby knows who the boss is. I, also, got some interesting news. Riddle me this-I lost a pound and a half. I was a bit worried, but doc said there is no need for concern.
Dr. W is just so cool and calm about everything. You just know he is a veteran at all of this and never seems concerned. It bothered me slightly at first, but now I think it is kind of nice to have a doctor who does not buy into all the hype. Mitch asked when we would discuss a birth plan. Because that is what all the books say, write out a birth plan. Dr. W shrugged and said he did not think that was necessary because they would just do whatever we asked and he and the other doctors would guide us on the day of our baby's birth. He explained most birth plans are never followed and everything just sort of goes the way it goes. Which was good to here, because Mitch and I have opted not to take any of the "prep classes." I mean, come on-$150 to learn how to breath and focus...we all know how cheap I am. We can read about it.