So just got back from the OB. I'm 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced. (At least 10 cm is needed for baby to come out and the cervix has to be completely effaced) I'm only a week away from estimated date of arrival for Baby Jeli. This is good news because that means my body is starting to do some of the initial work before I go into early/active labor. This reduces the need to use certain types of medical intervention if the baby is late.
Sleeping has become quite difficult because Jeli is just moving around so much. She definitely has her night/day mixed up. But for sure, she has me on her schedule. I guess this isn't so bad since I'm adjusted to taking naps instead of long stretches of sleep. I think right now I nap from 11pm-1:30am and then go to bed around 3am...it doesn't help that I'm so into Greenspan's book right now. So for all of you out there with no kids, enjoy all the sleep you can get now!
Oh and I chopped off about 6 inches of my hair. It's about shoulder length now. I'll get a photo taken shortly perhaps sitting in the nursery or something :)
Just when I thought I couldn't get back into my boot camp class at my gym, I discover there's a version of it for moms/dads that allow for their babies to tag along.
And what's even better is there's a class that meets a park less than a mile away from our house! I'll probably add this to Patty's post-partum exercise class in San Carlos after Baby Jeli is born.
I'm currently reading two books both related to my professional and financial interests. In some way each chapter I read in either book is shaping my own understanding of information and economics/finance. However the challenge is although they represent my "leisure" reading for two of my interests there seems to be potential for overlap of ideas involving how we view information, how we digest it into our experiences, and how they shape our decision making process. I haven't digested all of it yet but I'm feeling there is something in between the lines that are really starting to get the mental/creative juices running around in my head.
San Francisco has been having their open studio all month. There's a couple more weekends to go check out local artists. We went to visit my friend Lee's open studio last weekend at 1890 Bryant. A building full of artists! Her website has some samples of her paintings and drawings. Really great pieces! We decided to walk around a bit to check out the other artists and stumbled upon Elsa Madeleine Studios. We really enjoyed her Arthurian inspired pieces. She even had this border of "Enchanted Alphabets" that depicts various people, places and things that inspire imagination and storytelling. If we didn't already have our modern styled nursery we would have considered Elsa to do murals/alphabet border of this theme. Totally falls into my interests of story telling and children's books! Now I just need to see how soon I can teach Jeli how to use the book scanner :)
We were having a challenge finding the right size changing pad to put on the Ikea Hemnes Changing Table.
Since it's not the typical 16x32 shape we had to check out all the baby stores for the different dimensions. Well after returning to BRU for God knows how many times and found the baby mattresses area stocked, we finally found Simmons Kids Vinyl Basket Pad in 13x29, a perfect fit. We'll just have to improvise on changing pad covers but it's it still wipes clean and is non-allergenic and the foam is pretty sturdy. The room is almost done so stay tuned for photos as we slowly get rid of more "stuff."
I'm into the long stretch of this 40 week journey. I can't believe I'm only 2 weeks away from being a mommmy. We're totally excited and can't wait. We went to my weekly prenatal visit and baby's heartbeat is healthy, she moves around quite a bit and definitely knows how to count the beat to the song Straight Cats(courtesy of J guitar practices). So all is well on the baby front.
Everyone I know who was due in October have had their babies already and I even have another friend who was due the day after me already in the process of having her baby earlier than expected. My health is pretty good with good scores on blood pressure and no weight gain. I've been taking it pretty slow these days. I think I can only handle about one big thing a day. Even attending a baby shower today for a friend I was so wiped out, I crashed when I got home. The biggest challenge right now is my carpal tunnel so holding a fork, pen, knitting needles, or anything small that requires that type of dexterity really hurts and I have to really concentrate to make something look somewhat legible or creative.
My projects were completed earlier this week and so I've been resting alot lately. I just have to get cracking on my B&A article so that I can hand it over before the baby arrives.
We're both in just a waiting pattern and getting pretty anxious. The bags are packed, we've read up on a few baby/sleep books, the carseat is installed, we've met with our doula, and have the freezer stocked with frozen meals. We still haven't really picked out "the" name but we know we'll figure it out when the baby is born.
So rest assured friends and family that we will email you details when the baby is born. The website is all setup courtesy of Babysites.com and we'll have baby photos and maybe even video up when everything is set in motion. We wish we could call everyone personally but that would be quite a challenge on top of just figuring out this thing called parenthood.
Skin Deep lists products according to how safe or not they are for you. With the recent news regarding lead in lipsticks this is a great website to check what kinds of chemicals many body products contain including baby care as well.
In honor of Blog Action Day, I wanted to review some of the ways we've become better citizens for the environment. Since returning from HK a few years ago I've been already economizing at home and in some way writing about what we've done is really just an extension of values we were already living. So as a way to make a difference in the environment we've doing a bunch of lifestyle changes. Some really simple as changing your shopping habits, and some even just changing your attitude.
1. Replaced 90% of the house light bulbs to CF. There have been many giveaways recently through some cities and Safeway even had a special club savings for a big pack of CF for only $0.99 that are originally $19.
2. Recycle: clothes, plastics, paper, glass, batteries, garden waste.
3. Buy used/sell/give away stuff on Craigslist/Goodwill.
4. Telecommute.
5. Keep old cars well-maintained.
6. Repair before replacing any household electronics or appliances.
7. Wear extra layers instead of turning on the heater; keep water heater thermostat lower.
8. Switch household cleaning products to earth friendly products.
9. Stop using inorganic products for weeds/pests in garden.
10. Use canvas bags/totes/coolers for shopping(grocery & other shopping).
- I've used MyOwnBag for non-grocery shopping bags
- I use old conference canvas bags for groceries(easy to wash) however just found Envirosax that are pretty cool looking.
Some things I'd like to do in the near future
1. Learn how to compost
2. Learn how to sew and repair clothing.
3. After getting used to diapering the baby with disposibles, will consider cloth diapers.
Yup we don't have the fancy cars or clothes, or the latest gadgets but we're trying really hard to reduce our imprint on the world and remove the clutter from our lives. It's a real challenge living in Silicon Valley but it's better than not doing anything. Also there are times when we splurge but we're always seeking out stuff to recycle or give away.
Btw, I have a ton of books to get rid of again...mainly business and IA books. We're still trying to make more storage space as the baby stuff starts moving my professional stuff to garage.
This video is the reason why I enjoy what I do for a living; bringing meaning and context to all the information out there and also helping companies try to wrangle the information they have and will have. This is another KSU student video project that chronicles the continual transformation that have happened with information organization, management and access.
Interesting student project at KSU. It made me think about what kind of schools Jeli will have to consider when she starts thinking about college in 18 or so years.
I was tired so I went to bed early...about 9pm. I woke up hungry and wide awake at 2am..it's about 3:30am...will try to sleep again. A bit frustrating but I guess just in training for when Jeli arrives in perhaps 3 weeks!
If you're in need of a wedding florist or special event floral arrangements, check out my friend, Susan's floral design pieces at In Full Bloom. Her portfolio is truly amazing and she has done many weddings on the peninsula.
Awwww! I've been awake since 5AM. I woke up with my hands hurting alot. So I decided to get up and watch early morning TV with my laptop closeby. Tried to eat breakfast and just take it easy but I feel super anxious, almost like I want to scrub the kitchen floor and all the kitchen pots & pans that need a little bit more of a shine. Who knows maybe I'll crash around 8AM. I can't believe I'm 4 weeks away...however a few have reminded me that it could be just as short as 2 weeks if Jeli is early.
I bought some great yarn with the intention of knitting Jeli a hat, booties and a kimono shirt. Unfortunately with my carpal tunnel pains my hands can't grasp knitting needles. Sometimes it's even difficult to grasp my fork and knife when eating. Argh! I wish I did the knitting months ago but I was hoping to use some free time to knit. Now I'm not sure what to do with myself while I wait 4 weeks. I guess baby laundry and organizing the room is all I really can do. Oh well.
So Baby Jeli is very lucky to have friends and family who love her. Starting in May I had a baby shower from my BSF leader's group, earlier in September my small group from church threw us a baby shower, and then just a couple weeks ago had a mixed friends/family baby shower.
Thanks again for everyone who came or sent gifts. We are just so lucky to have you all as a part of our lives. I want to also thank our friend and family who came out from Florida and Southern California to celebrate with us. And last but not least, I want to thank the organizers for all their love and coordination of the parties. I definitely felt the love and care in putting these things together and they were definitely quite fun! Thank you cards are in the making, however with my carpal tunnel handwriting anything is really painful and trying to recruit J to help is like pulling teeth!
We're at 4 weeks and counting. We did the hospital tour, got the carseat installed by a professional, finished childbirth classes and baby care classes. Started washing all the baby stuff including some wonderful handknit blankets, hats and booties. It's amazing to see these handcrafted pieces of art. It will be difficult to not get them dirty. Working on redrafting a will and trust and just trying to enjoy these last few quiet days until D Day.
Baby Jeli has been quite active even with limited room. The other night she was dancing like crazy and I was on my side, J rolled over and asked me if what he felt through the bed was what he thought...I said yes. The baby is definitely a kicker and J could even feel it through our new bed. Some evenings she's so active I lose my breath. I have to stop what I'm doing and just concentrate on breathing, I'm guessing she's kicking up towards my lungs now. As you can see in the photos, i'm HUGE. So much for losing all that weight a couple years ago. I'm hoping to get back into shape as soon as it is possible, maybe not boot camp this time but definitely going to hit the gym and weight watchers. Since I've done it before, I know what it takes to get back down to the safe and healthy weight.
