A lot of the pregnancy books I've read have talked about starting to learn more about your baby, their awake and sleep routines, their temperaments, etc.  Obviously this may and probably will change once they are out of the womb, but I am finally starting to pay more attention to some things, and here is what I'm learning so far.

1. She is a gymnast at heart and she has the strongest kicks.  At times I swear she is doing back flips and cartwheels!  At my last OB appointment the Dr confirmed to me how she was positioned and when she stretches or kicks/punches out, her bum usually pushes out the other side.  This has obviously gotten more frequent and stronger as she is growing bigger (nearly 5lbs now) and running out of room.  It has been fun to feel more frequently, unless of course it hurts, gets me in the ribs, or if I'm trying to fall back to sleep after struggling to turn over to find comfort for the 5th time by 4am.  She gets quite a ride from me at night though so it's understandable.  The best part about her kicking is not only me feeling her and knowing she's healthy and also Dan being able to feel her more regularly, but others reactions to it as well.  Particularly those who have never felt a kicking baby in a pregnant belly.  For instance, on Sunday I had 3 of the young women feel my belly as Madelyn was moving and you should have seen the looks on their faces!  It was a Kodak moment!  They were so in awe and thought it was so fun!  I loved sharing that with them.

2. In regards to her kicking, she is usually her most active whenever I'm sitting upright in a chair, to eat, teach, or work on the computer.  And also, whenever I lay down at night.  Sometimes it seems she gets more rambunctious when I feel hungry.  I have no idea if her hunger is related to mine or not...I guess I missed that in the books.  But it seems to be timed pretty closely so maybe so!

3. Dan tries to talk to her or shine a flashlight on my belly to get a reaction from Madelyn.  I can't say it really works.  I think she mostly just likes to listen/observe, like it keeps her attention.  I never really know what her movement, or lack of movement means.  Docs say movement is a sign of a healthy baby, so I guess we're in the clear there.  But does she move because she's frustrated, uncomfortable, happy and playful, or in distress???  Does she not move because she's sleeping and content, or in distress?  It seems like any of those could apply.  Basically I won't feel 100% settled until she's out and I can see her I think.

4.  For a while the books have said I may notice her having the hiccups.  I have no idea how to differentiate that movement from other movements, except to say I'm pretty sure I felt them last night.  I was sitting up and I just felt a fairly subtle and consistent thump feeling near where her back is supposed to be.  It was regular and lasted quite a while so I'm going to document 2/25/08 as the first day I felt her hiccup. 

5. So I'm not a soda drinker, and it's worse having carbonation while pregnant because your body just can't handle it, or mine can't at least.  Well, Dan is, when it's around at least, and he ended up bringing home a 2 liter of Diet Dr. Pepper.   So not only does it have caffeine, but aspartame as well, which I have avoided most all of my pregnancy, though I'll drink light drinks with sucralose or Splenda, but it's harder to come by.  Anyway, I just really wanted a sip of Dan's Dr. P drink and I can't even say it was a sip, I didn't fill my mouth, it was more of a trickle.  I don't know for sure, but I think even that little bit of caffeine had an effect on Madelyn.  She was active like usual, but it lasted a LONG time, no breaks in between.  Dan didn't want to believe that so little would do anything, but it was abnormal behavior...from what I know of her "normal" behavior.   I'm not really concerned I did any damage since they say pregnant women can drink caffeine everyday, within limits.

Anyway, those are the things I'm learning about her.  Every day I grow more and more excited for her to be here, but also more and more nervous...  I have my "ward/YW" baby shower to look forward to this weekend, so that's my excitement for the week!

Due to troubles with the website and my procrastination, this is a long overdue post.  I had my friend/family shower on Feb. 9 and it was SO fun!  My sister was planning to visit from Chicago with her husband that week so we planned the date accordingly.  She and my sister-in-law took the reigns and organized a really great celebration.  We played some cute games, ate lots of good food that was enhanced by drenching it in melted chocolate, I got to open some much needed and appreciated gifts, and we decorated onesies for Madelyn.  Below are some pictures of all the great stuff Madelyn got!

This is a close up of the gifts my mom HANDMADE for Madelyn.  A "rag" quilt, burp cloths, hooded towel, and a "taggie" blanket!  So cool!  My mom is truly talented.  She kept telling me every day I talked to her, "I made something else for Madelyn today" and would never tell me what!  I never expected all of this!  What a great Grandma!

I have great sister-in-laws and 2 of Dan's sisters live out of Arizona but were very thoughtful and sent gifts for Madelyn even though they couldn't be here for the shower!  Thanks Ginny and Julie!

And this is Dan putting together the great gift we got from his mom, our travel system!  She ordered it for us after we saw a deal online and Dan put it together the night we got home from the shower.  He's an excited Daddy!  It looks even better in person and we're really happy with it!  Dan got it put together in about an hour - despite poor directions - and here's the end result!

So I have lots to blog about, mainly my fun baby shower last Saturday, but until I have all the pictures of things I received I'll wait to post it so I don't leave anyone out!  For now I'll proudly display my belly shot.

This is at the start of 32 weeks!  I know the picture is blurry, but the other one we took  didn't seem to show much of a difference from my last picture, so I think this more accurately portrays my true girth.  I'll spare you the bare belly shot :o)

Last Wednesday was our first childbirth class!  They tell you to register to attend during your 7 month mark, but I missed the window.  So I was surprised when at least 2 other women were due in less than a month!  Maybe they are even worse procrastinators.  I usually work until about 6:15 trying to fill in reports and what not, but this day I knew I needed to rush so I had Dan meet me at work with apple and lean pocket in hand for me to inhale as we raced off to the hospital where they hold the class. 

There were 6 women in all, though one left early due to having early contractions.  After doing introductions we learned that 4 of us are all using Dr. Messer!  I heard she was busy, but yikes!  I did finally meet Dr. Messer at my last OB appointment and she was very nice.  I've now met both Drs. that may deliver Madelyn (Messer or Bullaro) and so far I feel good about them!  I've also heard good things from my sister-in-law who has now had 2 children delivered by them, and a couple  nurses I've been able to talk to that have worked with them.

So the class was 3 hours and the majority of the class covered anatomy and the terminology used when you're in the labor phase of pregnancy.  And of course, the birthing video.  The final hour we practiced some breathing techniques with our coaches and had a tour of the labor/delivery floor.  So how did Dan do you may ask??  Well, as far as I knew, he was doing great, learning things, etc.  Until we got to the breathing techniques and they have the mothers lean against the coach and well, Dan just couldn't hack it without his own back support.  I asked the nurse instructor, "What if our coach needs a coach??"  Everyone found that very amusing, and I'm pretty sure Dan took it all lightheartedly, so no embarrassment was felt.  Besides, it got him back for his many comments asking me, "What about my massage?  I'll be working hard too!"  What a kidder he is...

Dan told me later that he was actually feeling very queasy during some of the discussions AND the video and almost had to leave the room.  Here I thought he was absorbing it all and learning lots while I'm the one trying to think about it all medically so as not to freak out at the thought of ACTUALLY having to do all of this...  He's supposed to be the rock right moms??  Well I guess the fact that he didn't actually lose his lunch was a good sign.  And he says he'll be fine when it's "show time" because it will be me and we'll be going through the experience instead of watching it or talking about it.  I hope so!!!

No I'm sure he'll be great when duty calls.  We are both so excited and Dan just can't get enough of my belly.  We both get such a thrill from watching and feeling all of Madelyn's movements and can't wait to finally have her here!  We love her already!