Mercy Gilbert Tour

Last night Paul and I went for our tour of the Family Birthing Center at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. I had been looking forward to this day for months. Every time we go to my prenatal appointments, which is just a block away, we see the hospital and it's so beautiful from the outside, I always wondered what it would be like on the inside.  It was so beautiful and didn't even feel like a hospital. It felt more like we were walking into a mall or beautiful hotel.



It was so fun to gather in the lobby on the 3rd floor where the family birthing center is located, seeing all of the different shapes and sizes of pregnant bellies. Some mom's weren't due until June and July, and then myself and one other due next month in May. Everyone there had their significant other with them and due to the RSV season, no children under 12 years old were allowed to come on the tour. In my opinion, they don't need to be there anyways.

We first talked about what we'd do when I do in fact go in to labor. Of course Paul will take me through the ER where they will assist me if needed to the 3rd floor and settle me into triage. In triage they will check me and monitor me to see if I am in fact in labor and if so, we'll get transferred to the Labor & Delivery room. The room was huge and very welcoming. It comes equipped with a 32" flat screen TV (not sure I'd be using that while in labor) and a nice pull out bed for Paul if he needs it. I will have my own private shower/restroom and in case I feel like getting on the internet, there is wifi! -I thought this was entertaining as the tour guide made a big deal out having wifi and that it's ok to bring your iphone, ipod, i-whatever.

We will stay in this room for the length of my labor and then little Honda will be delivered in that room too. Once he is delivered, I am able to postpone the Apgar testing for 30 minutes so that we can bond with him and get him nursing right away. I am very happy that they are open to this, as some hospitals whisk the baby away in those first moments that are so important. After being in the L&D room for two hours after delivery we will be moved to our postpartum room where we will stay for the remainder of our hospital visit. The coolest thing about the postpartum room is that it's all wired for Skype! There is a little camera mounted up in the corner of the room (it is adjustable) and it's connected with the large flat screen. We will be able to log in to our Skype account and talk with our parents, family and friends back in California. It will be like they are coming to visit us in the room.

I can't believe this is all just around the corner. I am in my 34th week of pregnancy and am starting to get really excited to meet this little guy. I have been bonding with him a lot, singing to him, reading to him, and talking to him all of the time. Now we just wait and see when he wants to make his grand entrance!

Acid Reflux & Leg Cramps

In a little over a month it will be a baby boy keeping me up at night, whereas now it's acid reflux and leg cramps. There isn't really a sure answer on why pregnant women get leg cramps during pregnancy but it's definitely one of the more uncomfortable side affects. Some nights are worse than others and I have yet to find out why I have the good nights. I am eating 2 bananas a day (on most days) and drinking at least 1 gallon of water. I'm still walking too, but for some reason I am haunted each night.

I had a bit of heartburn when I was pregnant with Joey, and a little bit of acid reflux but NEVER like I've experienced with this pregnancy. It haunts me any time of day, but the worst is at night, when I'm sleeping. It's not very pleasant to wake up choking because you have vomited in your mouth. As I'm running to the bathroom trying to spit it out everywhere, I wonder, what the heck brought it on this time?

Luckily I have learned that certain foods bring it on or if I eat too late before laying down to sleep. Most of the time I can control it but it's those off nights that it's just horrible.

Honda moves around a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean all of the time. He's a very active baby and I like to think it's because I have maintained such great health through this pregnancy and I eat pretty healthy with my share of veggies and fruits each day. We've also noticed that he moves a lot when there is music on with a good beat. He doesn't move so much when country music is on, but put a little bit of Pop on and he's jammin in there.

Joey has been doing well so far in the 4th quarter of school. He's had 1 football game for this spring season and Paul even took him riding this past weekend on his new dirt bike. He looks so great on it, it's the perfect size for him. We just need to get him more used to the clutch and the fact that it's a 2-stroke. He'll get the hang of it I'm sure.

The past few weeks have been busy, I had two baby showers and they were both a lot of fun. We have really gotten to know a lot of great people here and my family back home had a wonderful gathering for us via Skype.

Our hypnobirthing class is over now and I am really excited to use what I've learned. I already do in my day to day living and it's really helped in many ways. Tonight we are going to the hospital for our tour of "Labor & Delivery". I'm excited to see the rooms and see what kind of layout they have.

Time to go, someone is pushing on my bladder...

Our first Hypnobirthing class

Last night we started our Hypnobirthing class. It will last 5 weeks and each class is about 2 1/2 hours long. Luckily for us, the class is being held at our house, so we don't even need to go anywhere! There are four couples total, including us and the new people we met last night seem very nice. Two of us are pregnant with boys and the other two with girls. We are all due between May and July and it's funny to see the different shapes and sizes of all of our bellies!

I'm really excited to learn different relaxation techniques and apply them not only during child-birth but in my day-to-day living. So many people stress about unnecessary topics, things that are out of their control or even things that are in their control. They create the stress they are feeling. Our mind is so powerful and really you can overcome anything if you just relax.

It was interesting to feel baby boy move a lot last night when I had gotten into such a relaxed state. It was almost as if he could sense that relaxation and he more room to move around in the womb. The class is definitely going to bring a stronger bond within myself and Paul as well as with our unborn child who will be here before we know it.

I am such a strong believer of natural childbirth, without the unnecessary interventions and drugs that so many women resort to. It baffles me that some women are so unprepared for such an important day in their lives. I know that everyone is different, but why, after 9 months of eating healthy and not taking medications, does all of that go out the window on birth day? The pain is there, yes, but you can overcome that if you are strong enough to.

One aspect of this class will be learning how to release negative emotions. Unfortunately, for me, this will mean, releasing some people from our lives. I  know people who are constantly negative and bringing stress upon themselves and I just can't have those thoughts and worries with them. I'm going to continue surrounding myself and our family with positivity and release all of the fears.

This post has been kind of all over the place, and I thought about saving it and coming back to it later for editing. I have so many thoughts that I want to get out, but I think if I type them all, this post will break some sort of world record for it's length, so I'm going to leave it as a random babble. Because, well, that is my blog right? My inner babble...