Almost Forgot!! The Tour of the Hospital...

We went on a tour of Brigham and Women's Hospital. That's where we'll be delivering. They have a really nice maternity ward, and they gave us a tour of the waiting area, delivery rooms, and post-partum rooms.

Some things that will be helpful for all of you to know if you plan to come to the hospital:

• No visitors are allowed until the baby is born. I will be in the delivery room before and during delivery, which is on a different floor than the post-partum rooms. No visitors are allowed and no exceptions are made (except Andy and my "support person" which is my mom).
• After the baby is born, we will be moved to a post-partum room where the baby and I will stay for at least 48 hours (96 hours if I have a c-section). Visiting hours are from 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm daily. Anyone is welcome to visit!
• If you come outside of visiting hours, or before the baby is born, you can wait in the waiting area on the first floor of the hospital.

The delivery rooms are all private (thank goodness). Andy will be able to stay overnight with me at the hospital. Most post-partum rooms are private, but I think some are shared. Luck of the draw I guess. The rooms have TVs and some even have DVD players. The rooms also have private bathrooms with showers in them. All in all, they are nice, clean, and comfortable.

The hospital entrance is located at 75 Francis Street in Boston, and there is a parking garage right across the street at 80 Francis Street where visitors can park. It costs money, but its pretty cheap.

Once we're home, family and friends are of course welcome to visit. I have learned through our recent Newborn Essentials class that if you visit us at home, its helpful if you bring me/us something to eat, or something I could easily heat up for later. Cooking for myself will be on the bottom of my priority list! Also, there's a good chance that I'll be low on food/drinks to offer guests since I'll be recovering from giving birth. You might want to bring yourself a drink and snack!

:) Lots of love!

Jill

33 Weeks!!

Hi everyone,

Today I hit 33 weeks on the pregnancy calendar! That means there are just 49 days until my due date. Our baby is just over four pounds and 17 inches from head to toe. A lot has happened since our last post:


Last week, on Friday morning, we had a regular doctor's visit. Everything seems pretty normal and baby is just the right size. The doctor thinks the baby might be breeched, but he said that it's too early for that to be a concern, since there is still so much time for her to move again.


We have our ultrasound on Thursday afternoon, where we'll be able to see the baby again - and where, more importantly, we'll find out if the placenta has moved out of the way enough for a normal delivery. If not, they'll actually schedule another ultrasound so we can keep monitoring it. They won't schedule a c-section just yet. If it has moved out of the way, we won't need anymore ultrasounds and we'll have a normal delivery. We're really excited to see the baby again and hopefully we'll come away with a good picture we can post! :)


Last weekend, Andy painted the baby's nursery. It looks BEAUTIFUL! It is called "TinkerBell" and the color is like a pale, lime green. We assembled the baby's crib and it's perfect! Now we're waiting for the changing table and chest to arrive so we can put those together, and then I'll feel like we are in good shape.

Last night, Andy and I went to a "Newborn Essentials" class with our friends, Timmy and Kristine, who happen to be due just a day after us. It was a GREAT class. It was 3 hours long, and we hung on every word that came out of the instructor's mouth. We learned so many essential things that we didn't know before, that will help us so much in the first few weeks and months.

Did you know that baby powder is no longer recommended? If inhaled, it could cause infections. And a lot of baby powders are now made with corn starch to prevent inhalation issues, but corn starch, when in dark, damp places, can grow yeast and cause a hell of a diaper rash. It does still work to get the smell out of my sneakers though:)

Our baby girl has been moving and kicking like CRAZY, more and more each day! She is so active and I love to feel her move! I only wish Andy could feel her as much as I get to. She's moving around right now! Most of the movement has been at the top and middle of my belly, so she pushes into my ribs a fair share of the day. She's just saying "hey momma, whatcha doing?" so I rub my belly and talk to her as much as I can. Andy talks to her too, and he's seen and felt the tidal waves more and more over these past few weeks. It's a beautiful thing.

We are very giddy soon-to-be parents and can't wait to meet our little baby girl!!! We'll update you again after the ultrasound.

Lots of love,

Jill and Andy

Baby Beats - Week 31

Hey y'all,

No, I have not been hanging out with southerners, nor have I recently visited the southern states, but I have to admit, I think that "y'all" is a very useful word. I think I might start saying it more often.

I am due exactly 2 months from today. Yesterday I was officially 31 weeks along. No matter which way you look at it, I have only 62 days until my due date. I have started to research the whole "giving birth" part of this and I must say it is scary. And 62 days? That's not a very long time. So I am in a bit of a pickle. Can't really turn back now, can I? Nope!

I have decided though that I will bring music for my hospital time to help me get through it. I will have a nice soothing CD for the first part of the labor (when contractions are further apart). It will consist of relaxing music to ease my mind and keep me peaceful. Then, I will have a louder CD for the "pushing" part, where I'll need adrenaline and motivation and a good beat to keep me going. Kelly and Andy are helping me make the CDs :)

Hope everyone is doing well.

Baby Beats

30 Weeks and counting!

Yesterday we hit the 30 week mark. I am experiencing mixed feelings that range from "I need 6 more months to prepare for this!" to "I can't wait to see our little girl's precious little face - come out already!!" All in all, this has been the best 30 weeks of my life and I wouldn't change them for anything.


More about how baby's growing: She is about 16 inches long now, and she weighs about 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)


I've been a little emotional these days, which is supposedly normal for the third trimester. I do think that with everything going on, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I feel great physically for the 30th week (thank goodness) but between getting the house ready, getting things in order at work, and getting myself ready for a baby ... I am exhausted. I have cried at many silly things that probably shouldn't be making me cry - for example, last week I cried at lunch when Andy and I were overcharged in Faneuil Hall for a tortellini dish that only had 4 pieces of shrimp in it (!) and didn't even taste good! Andy’s such a good sport. The poor thing ~ doesn’t even get a warning before the waterworks start. It's all part of the process though and it'll be worth all the stress once she's here:)


At the homestead, Kelly can finally bite into real food again, so we've been celebrating that ... we even went to Big Andy and Ann-Marie's for a meatball feast last night!!! Cafe Amato met all of our expectations and Kelly was very happy:) We have been talking a lot about the nursery and plan to paint it next week and will plan to buy/set up the furniture within the next week or two ... I bought an IKEA cabinet for the kitchen and I forgot to get doors for it, but it looks great so far! Kelly, Andy and I set it up the other night ... quite the bonding experience ... and we've been searching endlessly for Kelly's jeans that she lost. We think someone stole them. It's all very mysterious ... We are thinking of finishing our upstairs this winter so we're looking into that, and we're of course also going through interviews and such for the day care/nanny search. Andy is excited for his next golf outing which he's planning for next weekend ... everything and everyone is good.

This summer is packed with plans - almost every weekend is something. This weekend, Andy and I will be up in Maine with Denise, Stephen, Mom, Dad, and Jeff. And Kelly is in D.C.! We all deserve a little rest and relaxation. So the condo will be empty, if anyone is looking for a place to throw a party. Just clean up before we get back. I don't have the energy to clean! :)

Lots of love,

Jill

Baby Beats

Today is Week 29!!! We are just 11 short weeks away from our due date. Craaazy! Everything is great, and I am feeling great. Lots of baby kicks keep me very happy.

By now, our little girl should weigh over 2 1/2 pounds, like a butternut squash, and should be over 15 inches long from head to heel. I bet she's bigger since we found out at our last appointment that she is in the 74th percentile in terms of size. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. At this stage, she really needs lots of vitamin C, protein, folic acid, iron and calcium so that she continues to grow and develop at a healthy pace, so Andy will be sure to keep me in line with my nutritional needs:) .

We interviewed our first Nanny this past weekend as a first step to our day care research. We are very excited to nail down our day care plans so that we can cross that off of our very long to-do list. We are also trying to finish up some things at the condo before the baby comes, so we have been very, very busy!

This summer is packed with fun get togethers, projects, and plans. Hopefully there will be a little time to relax and soak up the sun as well.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Jill & Andy

Baby Beats

Hey everyone,

Andy and I went to another doctor's appointment this morning, and everything is looking great. We heard the baby's heartbeat again, and it is very loud and very strong! She sounds like a freight train in there! I had to give blood today and I got a shot in my bum! And all without any fainting spells, so all in all a good day.

On August 6 we are scheduled to get another ultrasound to see if things have "adjusted" in my uterus, and hopefully we'll find out that day whether we'll have to do a c-section or regular birth. It'll just be nice to know one way or another so I can start mentally preparing.....

Little girl has been kicking A LOT today, and I just LOVE it! I think we might be brewin' a soccer player in my belly! We're still thinking of names, and we think we might have to see her little face before we can decide. We will start painting the nursery very soon - it'll be a calming green color, with white furniture, and brown teddy bears as a general theme. I'm sure once we have toys and clothes in the room, there will be plenty of pink too:)

We're looking forward to the 3rd (tomorrow), where I am sure we'll see most of you! I doubt the fireworks will happen this year in Danvers, but maybe if we're lucky we can all hop into the Howland canoe and take a ride around the neighborhood.

With love,
Andrew, Jill and baby

p.s. Happy almost Birthday Uncle Jeffrey!!

Baby Beats

I am now at 28 weeks! This means we only have about 12 weeks (or maybe less) to go!

Our little girl can blink her eyes now, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I am now officially in the third and final trimester. I'll see my doctor every 2 weeks now, and at 36 weeks I'll switch to weekly visits. We have an appointment tomorrow morning, so I'll be sure to update you on anything new!

Side bar: this weather is ridiculous. I know, I know, who isn't talking about the weather. But seriously - enough is enough! June is over! Let's get some sunshine up in this piece!