Week 33 Recap

Immunizations:

Aubrey and I attended an immunization class last Tuesday that was pretty informative. We've decided against a few immunizations, including Hep A, Hep B, Polio, and a couple others. Some of the newer vaccines are such "worst case scenario" type shots that the chances of our kid even getting the illness can be less than .001%. Some of the illnesses are very mild in the US if a kid does manage to contract them. Some things can be can be combated by breastfeeding. There are also blood tests that can be done to see if the child has enough immunity to a disease without having to take the full course of shots. There are so many factors that go into deciding whether or not a baby needs vaccines that not every child needs every shot. Aubrey and I aren't against immunizations because of the whole autism conversation. I'm not even convinced that they're related. We are against them because of all the shit that is being put in our baby's body that in most cases are completely unnecessary.

Circumcision - A Side Note

Along with the class being about immunizations, it also included a bit on circumcision. Even though we're having a girl, we were both pretty interested in what is currently the word on circumcision. Only about 50-60% of boys in Colorado are circumcised. That number drops to 30% on the West coast. It's quite a bit higher on the east coast though. The US and Muslim countries are the only places where circumcision is generally performed. My concern with making a decision to not circumcise kind of always revolved around the idea that my kid would be the only one who was "different." Apparently that is not the case anymore. Now it's more of your little boys penis looking different than daddy's.

Week 32 Appointment (at 33 weeks)

Our little lady is head down! She's already getting into position. We learned all about back labor and how I can't lounge around on the sofa on my back anymore after 36 weeks. It's all about leaning forward as much as possible. I've gained 27 pounds which has put me out of contention for staying within the 30 pound mark that I was aiming for. Our little lady is getting big and fast! I feel like I've ballooned in size from just a few weeks ago. (I'll post a new pic in the next couple days.) Even Aubrey's t-shirts are getting short. Everything else in the appointment went fine as usual.

1st Birthing Class

I love our birthing class. It's taught by a doula who is currently 29 weeks preggo and is also having a natural birth. There are 10 or 11 couples in the class and we are 1 of 2 that are having a natural birth. The other couple is also having their baby at the birthing center. The class has been super informative and I love the fact that Aubrey is getting direct information right along side of me, instead of me just reading a book and relaying some key information to him. I also feel like it's a bit of a bonding time for us too. We're both new at this and neither of us have any idea what we're doing. It's a way for us to learn together without one person having all the answers. Aubrey's going to be my main support before, during, and after labor, and I'm really glad that he'll have the same knowledge that I have and understand the importance of his role.

Sausage Feet

My feet are constantly swollen. I wore a pair of shoes without socks the other day (which I've done many times in the recent past) and came away with monster blisters on both feet in a very short amount of time. Even my slip on sandals are getting tight. My feet used to be slim with nice healthy veins. Now they're all fat and squishy. Sausage feet are dumb.

So much to learn

Aubrey and I are in for a busy 5 weeks. We kick off our baby education with a 2 hour class on Immunizations this Tuesday. (We're not necessarily against immunizing, we just want to be more educated on what our little girl is being injected with (and why) and what our options are.) The next day is the first of 5 weekly, 3 hour classes called Prepared Childbirth. The birthing center highly recommends this type of class for first time natural birth parents. I won't argue. I'd like to have some sort of idea of what I'm in for. It also goes over all the signs of labor, being late, pain, etc. In October we have a 2 hour breastfeeding class and a 2 hour Newborn Care class which are both required by the birthing center. Aubrey could probably use a Daddy Bootcamp class, but I'll try to teach him that on my own. Lucy has prepared me for a lot, but the whole giving birth part, first month of care, and breastfeeding are all going to be new experiences for me. Everything's going to be new for Aubrey, which is why he's going to every single one of the classes along with the rest of my appointments.

Week 30-ish Pics

I'm a little over 30 weeks in these shots and am currently at 31 weeks. Aubrey says that I look bigger with my shirt down and accused me of sucking it in. When I suck it in and push my belly out as far as I can, there's not much difference. All of the graphic tees that I've been living in are now too short and I recently raided Aubrey's t-shirt supply for a new wardrobe. I would be walking around and then feel my stomach or get a glimpse in a mirror and see the lower couple inches of my belly sticking out. Not cool.

Aubrey and I both love seeing and feeling Copper move around. Aubrey likes trying to find her in my belly. It's always this super obvious hard spot. It makes me wonder how it feels to her to have us always poking around and pressing down on her. I was thinking tonight that I'm really going to miss being pregnant. I never thought that I would feel this way. I was always pretty adamant that I never wanted to be pregnant nor was I much interested in having a baby around. Those feelings are not that old either. But now that I'm pregnant and very close to having a baby around, I can't really imagine being anything other than grateful that we're able to have this experience. I can't pull that long list of sacrifices to the front of my brain anymore. They all seem so trivial now. I'm sure once she's born, there will be times when that list becomes quite obvious, but for now I'm drawing a blank.