Friday, February 29, 2008

The Forecast Calls for Showers

Shower season is officially open!

Today, Jude's co-workers at Renewal House hosted her very first baby shower. She called me this afternoon, after the shower was over, and told me she'd had a great time. She also told me she would need help, when I got home, bringing in all the loot. Man, she wasn't kidding. We got tons of stuff! Our couch is absolutely jam packed with gifts for our baby.

Jude's mother, Jane, arrived in town tonight, just in time for baby shower number two. Tomorrow morning, my sisters, Tracy Hearn and Alice Walker, are hosting another baby shower at my mother's house. Jude's looking forward to seeing lots of family, female members anyway, at the shower. No men allowed!

Next weekend, our friends Rob and Elena Rollins and Lela Hollabaugh and Dean Shumate are hosting a couples baby shower at the Rollins' house. Then, the following weekend, some of our friends from ultimate frisbee are hosting what will be our final baby shower. At that point, we're going to need an extra room, in addition to the nursery, to store all of the gifts.

Really, the generosity our friends and family are showing to us just brings home one of the most wonderful aspects of this whole experience. People are so very happy for Jude and me and it means so much to us both, just knowing that.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Schedule Change

Today, we had a scheduled doctor's appointment to check Jude's progress. We heard the baby's heartbeat, loud and strong, a little more than 140 beats per minute. Jude has gained four more pounds, about 26 pounds overall. She measured right at 35 weeks, which is where we thought she would be. Our doctor said she's doing great! We return to the doctor in two weeks, then every week thereafter.

We were disappointed to learn that due to a scheduling "snafu," our planned C-section was not actually set for April 2, 2008, the date we selected at our visit several weeks ago. For some reason, the scheduling nurse failed to let our doctor (or us) know that April 2 date was unavailable, as a result of which all of the dates near our date had filled up since our last doctor's visit. Jude had to leave to make it to an afternoon meeting for work, so I stayed behind to haggle with the scheduling nurse, office manager, etc.

After I waited for almost an hour, the scheduling nurse emerged and advised me with a reassuring grin that she had arranged for us to be on the waiting list for six days, including April 2, 2008. When I pressed her, she tried to downplay the fact that she couldn't even tell me when we would find out what our actual date for the planned C-section would be. As you can imagine, I was livid. I could just imagine Jude's reaction when I told her not only did we not know when the planned C-section would be, but we didn't know when we would know!?! That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Reaching into my bag of disgruntled customer tricks, I pulled out one of my favorites - the "that's unacceptable, I want to speak to your supervisor routine." It works virtually every time. After waiting a little longer, I was ushered into the office manager's office. After some polite hell raising, some telephone calls by the office manager and a brief meeting with our doctor, the planned C-section was rescheduled for the morning of March 28, 2008.

Whew! An exhausting and frustrating afternoon that ended well. I guess that's why all the books say to "be flexible" in making your birth plan.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

The Last Ride

A month or two ago, Jude decided she wanted to go away for a weekend, one last time before the baby comes. Because she loves . . . I means absolutely loves . . . The Aquarium, she chose Chattanooga as our getaway destination. Also, she wanted to go somewhere that was an easy drive - a good move, I thought, since we're roughly five weeks from our due date of April 2, 2008.

Now, I must admit, I was really getting cold feet last week. My fear was that we would be at The Aquarium, looking at fish (I mean, a lot of fish), and Jude's water would break. Next thing you know, we'd be in a strange hospital in Hamilton County, TN, with a strange doctor delivering our baby. Not my idea of how this thing is supposed to go down. Jude assured me everything would be fine and, as usual, she was right. In fact, we rolled the dice and left our two duffel bags (Jude's and the baby's for our trip to the hospital) at home.

I got away from work early on Friday afternoon, so we were able to beat traffic out of town and arrived in Chattanooga about 7 p.m. or so. We checked into our hotel downtown, walking distance from The Aquarium, and had a wonderful dinner at the Bluewater Grille. The restaurant was packed, so we sat at the bar and toasted each other (Jude was drinking water, of course) at 7 p.m., reminiscing about the snowy night exactly five years ago when we were married at Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. We agreed time has flown by, but that's another story for another day.

Saturday, we visited The Aquarium, looked at a lot of fish (again, I mean, a lot of fish) and watched "Juno" in our hotel room - an absolutely fantastic movie. Jude and I both gave it an 8.5 - 9 out of 10. It's nominated for best picture this year and is a must see. Saturday evening, we had a nice dinner at Hennen's, then returned to our hotel room and watched the Vols beat Memphis (#1 vs. #2) in an awesome game.

Sunday morning, I slept in and Jude visited The Aquarium again (where, I'm sure, she saw a lot of fish, probably many of the same fish we saw Saturday). Afterwards, she finished watching "Atonement," also nominated for best picture (only a 5, dull and kind of slow). We had a nice drive back to Nashville and tonight we're going to watch the Oscars.

A wonderful weekend.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Lactose (In)Tolerant?

Last week, at our final child birth education class, we learned of a "lactation class" offered by Baptist Hospital. Now, my first thought was "how hard can it be to learn to lactate?" I mean, the baby arrives and the mother nurses the baby. What more is there to learn? My second thought was "at least it's a class I won't have to attend." What could I possibly add to a discussion about the proper way to breastfeed?

Well, I was wrong on both counts. There's a hell of a lot more to breastfeeding than meets the eye (at least, my eye). And, Jude quickly made it abundantly clear I would indeed be attending the lactation class with her. We scheduled it for last (Wednesday) night.

Going into the class, my fear was that I would walk in and there would be 18 or 20 women, no men and me. The women would turn and stare as I walked in and wonder if I was some kind of pervert, since I was attending a class about breastfeeding. As it turns out, my fears were misplaced, as almost all of the women in attendance had their husbands with them.

We watched a couple of films and learned four different ways to hold the baby when he breastfeeds, not to mention how to determine if he is latched on properly. Probably the most interesting thing I learned was that cabbage leaves (I'm not making this up) can be placed inside a nursing mother's bra to slow down the production of milk or dry it up entirely, if she's ready to wean the baby. Strange.

The bottom line seems to be that breastfeeding is not quite as easy as it seems, at first glance. It takes patience, practice and a little good luck. We're going to give it a shot, though, and see how it goes.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Snapshots in Time

Late this afternoon, Jude and I were sitting in the den trying to decide what we wanted to do for dinner. I had my laptop open and was downloading some music to put on Jude's ipod. We were listening to Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," released in 1975 and, for my money, one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time. Suddenly, her shirt started popping out, as the baby moved around.

Of course, I'm thinking, this is awesome! In about six weeks, my wife is going to give birth to a rock and roll fan. He's already dancing!

I got up, sat down next to her in her favorite chair and the three of us listened to "Thunder Road" together. She rolled over on her side, facing the laptop, so the baby could get the full effect of the song. He kept moving a bit, though not quite as much and, certainly, not in time to the music. That will come later, especially if he inherits his mother's rhythm genes. I, of course, have no rhythm.

It's the little things, the times spent together as we await our son's birth, that are so special, I think.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Valentine's Day

Thursday night, Jude and I celebrated Valentine's Day in style.

First, we had dinner at the Palm, downtown, thanks to a gift certificate a friend gave her a while back. I arrived before Jude, as she got held up at work and I was already downtown attending a seminar. When the hostess seated me, she asked me to describe my wife to her so she could seat her without any delay upon her arrival. I told her Jude would be easy to spot, because she would be, by far, the most beautiful woman in the restaurant. And she was. Sporting black slacks and a black turtleneck sweater, she looked absolutely radiant.

After dinner at the Palm, we walked to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center for an evening of music. We had great seats on the floor, thanks to Jude's participation in Leadership Nashville. Before intermission, the symphony performed alone and they were fantastic. After intermission, Michael Franks sang with the symphony and was good, as well. We didn't make it through his entire set, as it had been a long day and we were ready to pack it in and head home.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Graduation Day

Tonight, Jude and I "graduated" from our child birth education class. We attended our sixth and final Wednesday night class at Baptist Hospital. Upon reflection after class, we agreed the past six weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye. Jude would disagree with me, I'm sure, but the whole pregnancy seems to me to be flying by us.

The instruction in tonight's class involved caring for your newborn baby. As each couple arrived at class, we were given an eerily lifelike "newborn" baby doll, clothed in a diaper and a blanket. We took turns holding the doll throughout the class. Among other things, we learned how to hold, bathe and feed a newborn baby. The fathers in the class learned how to change a diaper (a "dry" run) and swaddle a baby.

We've been fortunate to have Christi Nelley as our instructor. She's a nurse at Baptist Hospital and a certified instructor at the Family Learning Center. Christi has a wonderful demeanor for someone who is instructing first time parents on how to actually be parents. She's calm, soothing and kind natured. Really, just a wonderful, helpful person and a credit to her profession.

A word about last week's class, when we toured the labor and delivery floors at the hospital, along with the nursery. We lingered quite a while - the whole class did, really - at the nursery. Everyone was enthralled by the the newbors babies, some of whom were less than five hours old. It was amazing to think these squirming, crying, sleeping babies - these living creatures - had been safely tucked away in their mothers' wombs hours before. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful and frightening sight!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Moving Day

Yesterday (Sunday) was "moving day," as the baby was extremely active. Last night, Jude and I were laying on our bed, talking to my mother on the telephone. I had my hand on Jude's belly while she was talking. She got tickled, talking to my mother, and the more she laughed, the more the baby moved.

I could feel him pushing on her stomach, all the way across, not just a couple of taps like I've felt in the past. It felt like he was sliding his hand or foot across the inside of her stomach. Strange but really cool. I can't imagine how it must feel to her. As she kept laughing, his movements became more prounounced, like he could tell she was happy and wanted to get in on the joke.

Times like that are the special times, when I realize how truly blessed we are.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Weekend Update

As of this weekend, we're less than two months away from our due date. That's really, really hard to believe.

Right now, we're in full "nesting" mode. Yesterday, Jude painted the toddler's bookcase we picked up a while back (not white in color, but sandalwood, Jude reminded me). Two coats of paint and it looks brand new! Jude's plan is to put toys, books, etc., in it. We're setting up a playroom, of sorts, upstairs in the extra space we have outside the nursery.

Earlier in the week, I picked up a glider chair and ottoman we purchased last weekend at USA Baby. I managed to carry it from my truck into the house, then upstairs. We put it in the corner of the nursery. Our crib and mattress have arrived at USA Baby, as well, but we're still waiting on the dresser/changing table. Hopefully, all of the furniture will be in soon.

Today, Jude packed the baby's bag for our trip to the hospital. Our plan is to have the baby's bag and Jude's bag packed and ready to go, well in advance of a sudden trip to the hospital. The more we can do ahead of time, the better, as far as I'm concerned. If Jude goes into labor late one night, it will be hard enough for me to find my keys and wallet, let alone decide what I need to pack for her.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Size Does Matter

Today, Jude had what should be her last ultrasound. Our doctor had recommended we have one more - at 31 to 32 weeks - due to concerns about the size of the baby. Often times, gestational diabetes leads to large babies. Because Jude is relatively small, a large baby might result in her needing a C-section to safely deliver the baby, as opposed to a vaginal delivery. The thought was that if the baby measured 80% or higher on the growth chart, we might be looking at a C-section in the not too distant future.

The frustrating thing (to me, anyway) about ultrasounds is that the farther along a woman is in her pregnancy, the harder it is for a layperson to clearly distinguish a baby's features. Today, for example, our technician would say, "there's his head." I would reply, "oh, okay. No, I can't see it." Next, "there's his shoulder and arm." Again, I'd reply, "uh, nope. I can't see anything." I think I should be in the remedial ultrasound class.

At any rate, we learned our baby actually is not that big. Unless, that is, you consider his weighing in at 96% on the growth chart as being big. In other words, he's bigger than 96% of babies at this stage of the game - 31 weeks. Wow! The technician estimated his weight at 4 pounds, 11 ounces. I'm still looking for double digits at birth (10 pounds or more), which, somehow, Jude doesn't think is very funny.

After the ultrasound, we had an appointment with our doctor. She advised, and we agreed, it would be prudent to go ahead and pick a date for a scheduled C-section, given the baby's size. Jude had in her mind April 2, 2008, so it's a date! If we don't have a baby by then, she'll deliver him with a C-section, five days before the original due date. If Jude goes into labor before then, we'll have a decision to make, depending on how far along she is and the size of the baby.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

A Ride to Remember

Yesterday afternoon, we had quite a scare.

About 3 p.m., I was sitting at my desk at work, when Jude telephoned me. I was surprised to hear from her, as she was taking the day off work. When I answered, she told me she was going to the hospital. My heart sank.

Jude hadn't felt the baby moving much at all during the day and she was worried. She had telephoned our doctor's office and spoke to our nurse, who suggested she go to the hospital and get checked out. What really worried me was that, obviously, Jude isn't one to go to the doctor unless she really, really feels poorly. I told her I'd meet here at the hospital. I got in my truck and off I went.

As I drove up I-65 North to Nashville, I couldn't help but remember how the teacher in our child birth education class had warned the husbands about speeding to the hospital when our wives were in labor. Sure enough, as I passed the Harding Place exit with the needle buried to the right side of my truck's speedometer, I saw a police car on the right shoulder of the interstate. He turned on his blue lights and pulled out into traffic as I sped past him. I changed lanes, turned on my hazard lights, and slowed down so I could find a safe place to pull over. To my surprise, the police officer drove around me and pulled over the car in front of me. Whew!

I found a parking space on the third floor of the parking garage at Baptist hospital, then rushed inside. After being directed to Triage 3, I found Jude, who had arrived just a minute before I did. We were both nervous, but fortunately, we were seen by a wonderful nurse, Michelle. She reassured us that everything was going to be all right. Jude got undressed, put on a hospital gown, then Michelle hooked her to a fetal heart monitor. Almost immediately, we heard our son's heartbeat, strong and fast. It was maybe, just maybe, the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

Jude stayed on the fetal heart monitor for about thirty minutes, during which time our nurse, Michelle, determined that everything looked normal. She did note that Jude was having a few mild contractions, probably because she was a little dehydrated. After conferring with out doctor on the telephone and giving Jude instructions to drink plenty of water the rest of the evening, she sent us home.

Entirely too much excitement for a Friday afternoon.