Dixon Baby Newsletter Vol. 14 (3/22/2004)

First off, it has been a VERY busy past week for baby. 

On the 13th, Misty, Jenn, and Mrs. Hickson threw an
awesome baby shower for Wee.  The food, fun, and company
were all great.  We had guests representing four different
states.  :)  Wee got lots of goodies.  We are a little
worried that we may have no room to put the baby in the 
nursery with all the stuff that is in there now.  We might 
need to build on to the house.  :)

Joseph and I are going to take a day to go through 
everything and organize it the way we think we want it.  
Looks like everything is ready for Wee's arrival, though. 
Besides diapers, I think we are completely covered.

The following Wednesday, we met with Dr. Elizabeth
Washburne.  She is the wife of our regular doctor.  They
are rotating me around to meet all the different doctors
in the clinic in case our doctor is out when Wee decides
to appear.  Dr. Elizabeth was SO nice.  On the way out,
Joseph and I said Dr. Joe did really good...as in 
marrying her.  :)  

This was the first visit (excepting the VERY first visit
when we didn't know if we were pregnant or not) where I 
was harboring a little trepidation.  There were several
issues on my list that had me concerned.  Joseph, of course,
was sure everything was normal.  He's very confident and
cool that way.  ;)  

I hadn't been taking my iron supplements very regularly.
It was hard to find a time to take them.  The prescription
came with this sheet of warnings:  Do not take with food.
Do not take within 2 hours of eating.   Do not take within
3 hours of consuming dairy.  Well, I'm always eating and 
milk or yogurt is a staple in my diet.  I was considering
setting my alarm clock for 1 AM to get me up to just take
my iron.  After talking to Dr. Elizabeth, she told me that
those warnings just indicate that the absorption of iron
will be decreased.  There isn't any real danger.  She 
suggested that I just take the iron when I take my prenatal
and not worry about it.  So, that is what I've been doing.

Also, everyone has been saying I don't look 7 1/2 months 
pregnant.  They don't think I am big enough.  So, I asked
Dr. Elizabeth is baby the right size for his/her age.
She said baby was right smack in the middle range for its 
age.  She said just tell people I carry babies well. ;)

I am swelling...my feet especially, but my hands, too.  I've
swelled a couple of times off and on, but it would always
resolve by morning.  But, now, I just wake up swollen, and 
it gets worse by the end of the day.  My shoes don't fit, 
except for some snuggly house slippers given to me by
Kelly.  Again, Dr. Elizabeth said this was all normal.  She
suggested that I stay off my feet as often as possible and
keep them up when I do.  She also said to lay off the extra
salt, which I had already started doing.  Only with 
excessive swelling and an accompanying headache that doesn't
go away is there a need to be alarmed.  I've had no headaches
and my blood pressure is always normal, so it looks like I
am just like the other 75% of preganant women at this stage.

To add to my worry, when they weighed me, I had gained 7 
pounds since my last visit.  That is almost twice the 
"legal" limit. I've really changed the types of food I 
eat since my last visit.  I've cut back on the fried stuff
and sweets.  But, I had still gained so much.  Again,
Dr. Elizabeth wasn't worried.  She said over the course
of the pregnancy I've only gained 17 pounds, which was
in the normal range.  She said that we'd continue to watch
it, but that it wasn't indicating a problem right now.

Then, I had a flash of panic when they searched for the baby's
heart beat.  Usually, Wee is right there ready to show off
its 150 beats per minute.  But, that day, the nurse was having
to look around.  I started getting nervous, but then I thought...
"Well, the little stinker had just been kicking before she
started looking.  I know Wee is in there!"  :)  Then, of course,
she found Wee.  150 beats per minute.

Looks like we are on the search for a pediatrician.  Dr. Wagel
was recommended to us by Dr. Elizabeth.  Although Wesley has
several pediatricians with good reputations, we think that traveling
45 minutes to Hattiesburg with a sick baby won't be such a good
idea.  So, we are trying to find a doctor in Laurel that we
can see.  If you have any recommendations to us for a good 
pediatrician in Laurel, please let us know.  

On the 20th, Joseph and I attended our birthing class.  It 
was really good.  Our instructor was on the ball and very 
nice.  The only downside to the class was that she had so much
to cover, that she never stopped for potty breaks.  When you have
a room full of pregnant women, potty breaks are a must.  I was
afraid to leave because I might miss something.  But, I managed. 
:)

The instructor also had the anethesiologist come down and talk
to us about pain medication options.  We were the only couple in
the room who are trying to avoid pain medications.  One lady wanted
to know if the anethesiologist could be bribed for more medications.
Our instructor said 99.9% of people who deliver at their facility
use some sort of pain meds.  

She also told us a story about a 16 year old girl who came in and
was adament that she didn't want to use any pain meds.  Whenever 
she would have a contraction, she would slap the rail on the side 
of her bed.  That was her signal to everyone that she was not to 
be talked to or touched.  When her contraction was over, she would
resume talking or doing whatever like normal.  This nurse was sure
she would end up asking for something, but never did.  She was
quite amazed.

Joseph has already suspsected that he will have to cower in a corner
during my contractions.  When I am hurting, I don't want anyone
touching me.  I've been known to go violent about it.  ;)  But, 
this pain may be different.  I would much rather be holding on 
to Joseph than having him standing to the side in fear throughout
this.

During the class, we learned alot.  We also got to watch films where
babies were popping out.  Those illustrations certainly explain
part of the pain.  ;)  Also, our instructor is also the nurse who
does breastfeeding consultations and birthing plans.  So, we plan 
to make an appointment with her to go over both.  

The birthing plan we came up with is very simple.  So, I don't 
expect us to have to change anything.  Hopefully, she will just help
us think of something we have forgotten.

Sunday, we took Wee fishing.  We caught several small bass.  Joseph
caught a big bass, but the bass got off before he could get him in.  
It was very exciting to watch, though.  It jumped into the air.  

It was a very windy day, which made it harder to cast.  So, we 
came back to the house and 
got our kites.  Also, when we got back to the house, we saw 
Butterbean outside the fence by herself.  Either when we moved the
goats, we didn't get her in the other pasture, or she sneaked up
under the fence.  So, while Joseph got the kites, I crawled up on
the 4-wheeler with Butterbean.  Joseph didn't even complain.  He 
just asked, "Is she going with us?"  I nodded.  ;)  So, Joseph,
Me, Wee, and Butterbean road back across the road to fly kites.  
While Joseph was putting together a new kite of his, I flew my Pooh
and Piglet kite.  I flew it for a good while, but then the wind
changed and it dive bombed into some trees.  That is where I had to 
leave it.  :/  By this time, the novelty had worn off for Butterbean
and she was ready to get back with the rest of the goat heads.  So,
she took off down the trail to the house.  I followed her and moved
everybody to their old pen. 

When I got back, Joseph was ready to fly his new kite.  It is a 
really cool boat kite...looks like an old Japanesee boat.  But, 
he could never get enough wind to get it to lift off.  He tried
running, too.  We worked on getting it up together.  But, although
we could get it higher together, we could never get it over the tree
line and let the wind take it off.  We even tried pulling it behind
the 4-wheeler.  We just kept running out of runway too quickly.  :)
So, we decided we would probably try it again at the beach or another
more open location.

For fun, we took baby on their almost first camping trip this 
past Sunday night.  Joseph made a very comfy pallet in the back of 
the Jeep, and we drove across the road.  We made a fire in the
fire pit and roasted marshmellows.  I eventually had to make
Joseph hide them from me.  It had been a long time since I had
made roasted marshmellows, and I was making up for lost time.  
While the fire died out, we sat and listened to the bass striking
in the pond and a lone frog.  There were also some creatures crawling
about in the woods, but we never were able to identify them.

We then retired to the Jeep, where we curled up in the back and 
watched *The Man Who Knew Too Little* with Bill Murray on Joseph's
laptop.  It was alot of fun, but baby and I were sleepy. Daddy Joseph
was having a harder time of sleeping than Wee and I, so we decided 
to drive back home and finish out the night in our comfy bed.  Our
outing was quite a treat!  I hope we can do it more often.  

And, now, I have finally taken the time to write this newsletter.
It has been a while.  But, seems like so much is going on lately.

Wee has been kicking and rolling steadily.  Wee should be all there
now with all its parts, except maybe for some toenails.  Wee is just 
growing fast. These last weeks will show a very large growth spurt
for Wee. 

Hope all of you are doing well!

Kay