Dixon Baby Newsletter Vol. 11 (2/12/2004)


Joseph suggests the following names:
  Louise
  Erin

He also suggested "Sonic."  But, since we couldn't agree
on whether the child would be named after Sonic the 
Hedgehog (from a video game) or after the drive-in 
restaurant (my preference), we've decided to throw that
name out.

Wee One and I have been up to some secretive mischievous
stuff.  We got a BIG surprise over on Daddy Joseph!  :) 
Joseph's birthday was Friday (Jan, 30th), and just when 
he thought the celebrations were over...
he had a party on Saturday night.
Joseph is suspicious of me and Wee One, now that he knows
what we are capable of.  ;) So, officially it is my duty to 
teach Wee One how to be sneaky.  I may just wait and see if
that comes naturally, though.  

Wee One has taken up karate.  I think he/she will be a black
belt by the time they get out.  

I'm going all round.  My cousin made the comment the other 
day after not seeing me for a while..."There's more there
than there was before."..referring to my belly.  I replied,
"Wee One isn't so 'wee' anymore."  :)

As soon as I say this, I'll probably jinx myself..but it
has been weeks since I have had nausea!  I am so happy.
  
Although, the fatigue is back.  It doesn't take
many hours before I feel like I have had a full day.  At 
first, I thought that it may not be so much hormone related 
as it is just related to my extra girth.  After taking 
countless naps to recuperate from washing my hair, I think
hormones must be playing a part as well.

A friend of mine suggested cotton dresses to solve my 
maternity clothes problem.  (Thanks, Kellie!)  
I think that is going to be an excellent solution.  
The less I feel restricted, the better I feel.  :)

We've signed up for our child birth/parenting class.  
That will be mid-April. It will be a one day event.  
It occurred to me the other day that I spent alot of 
high school and 8 years of college learning how to use 
a computer.  But, these folks are going to teach me how 
to birth and care for a child all in one day. Seems like
a baby would be more complicated somehow, than a 
computer.  :)

What Wee One is up to lately...
- weight is around 2 pounds
- opening eyes some
- he'll/she'll turn his head in response to light
- making breathing movements
- there are taste buds
- Wee One can cry...although we hope there isn't alot of 
  that going on in there
- there are little fingernails

Friday, Joseph and I had to go to Hattiesburg, and he ended
up taking me maternity clothes shopping.  Thank you, Sweetie!
He got me two pairs of comfortable pants.  So, now, I only 
have to wear my pajamas to the grocery store if I want to...
not because I have no choice.  :)

Also, he got me two pairs of slip on dressy shoes.  It is 
getting harder and harder to bend over to tie my shoes.  So, 
now I have these nice pairs of shoes that I can just slip on
and go.  

My dad has been thinking of accommodations to make for the new
baby.  For those of you who don't know, my dad uses his 
lawn mower for his main means of transport when in the yard
or in the woods around the house.  But, since he hasn't been
able to fashion a sidecar that he thinks suitable, he is
thinking of upgrading to one of those setups like a John
Deere Gator.  I've already offered to provide him an infant
car seat for the passenger's side.  :)

I got a call from the doc's office, and they did verify that
I had passed my gestational diabetes test.  Yeah for us!  So,
that is one less thing that I will put on my doctor visit list.

As we get nearer to the big day, I've been thinking about
formulating a birthing plan.  It's just an informal document
saying what you want and expect for the birth.  It can cover
just about anything, but some of the more important points I've
been thinking about is my pain relief options, breastfeeding,
and keeping the baby in the room with us.  Joseph and I are
going to sit down and work something up and review it with our
doctor.  We also plan to make copies to take to the hospital 
with us so that the nurses can have a copy...as well as the "new"
nurses if there is a shift change during our stay.

If you all have suggestions for things to include in the plan,
I'd be glad to hear them!  One tip that I have picked up already
is that your birthing plan is always more enthusiastically 
recieved if you make the copies available with a basket of 
homemade treats.  :)

One big question I have right now is...how long can I stay at
home before I have to go to the hospital?  It will be 45
minutes to the hospital, so it is a considerable trek.  But,
I want to be at home as long as possible.

Hope everyone is having a good day.  Happy Valentine's if I
don't get to talk to you again before Saturday!

Kay