My wonderful husband

[rkold]

Hopefully LJ is no longer wonky today.

I wanted to share how amazingly wonderful my husband is. I don't always post that much about him but lately, I've been feeling even more in love with him than before and just being near him makes me incredibly happy. He tells me he thinks it is hormones, but in the end I don't care what it is, I just appreciate him so much more! Since the morning sickness started 5 long weeks ago, he's brought me breakfast in bed every morning to help me feel well enough to get out of bed. He doesn't mind I'm not cooking much anymore, and did most of the Passover cleaning as well as really helped me put together seder. He comes with me to every one of my doctor's appointments and holds my hand when I get nervous or excited. Every week he sends me reports on the baby's development based on the internet pregnancy sites and lets me babble about purchases I want to (and need to) make for the baby. He runs errands for me and picks me up whatever I am craving without complaint, even if I later develop an aversion to it after puking it up one time too many. He holds me and rubs my back, in bed and when I'm puking and never just sleeps through or ignores me when I am feeling ill and miserable. And yesterday, he gave me a card to let me know that he's thinking of me and sorry I've been so sick and unhappy.

I just feel so lucky!


This was our baby, "Ryuu-chan" back in early March at around 9 weeks. Yeah I know he/she looks like just a blob lol However not that you can tell form this picture, but there was a heartbeat! The second round blob by itself was/is the future placenta


This is our baby from Thursday, notice it actually looks more... like a baby!


Two tiny baby feet


And my favorite image, since Ryuu-chan really looks like a baby here. You can even see one of the ears and they're now in the right place!

Comments

wow! congrats!

[aboutallmydolls.livejournal.com]

Rachel!! - I've just read the news! So sweet - it is truly wonderful - I'd say you guys are ready for it. Wow! In the back of my mind I was wondering when your day would come. is this at all connected to selling the house? are you in another place now? I can't recall for sure. You will probably get the nesting feeling about the baby's room... a couple of my babies' room were in apartments but they were still memorable babies' rooms.

You will be a wonderful mother, Kennis will be a great dad - yeah I did the natural child birth thing twice in Japan - then for number 3 I had something called intrathecal - so natural was really better imo, but by the third time I did actually feel I didn't "need" to do it again! Plus in the USA there was some "guidance" to do what the doctors were used to doing.

So do what you want & what feels right to you guys. I hope you feel in snyc with your care providers. Maybe a nurse midwife?? #2 (Samantha) and #3 (Jackson) were fast! My mom said I was fast (and I was her 2nd baby) so based on what your mom says - that is good to focus on - you might be a "fast birther!" maybe - but still first baby - who can say? Nick (#1) was Not So Fast but it was the most world changing event for me - so it was ok it took some time. Sort of added to the monumental feeling of the occasion.

Maybe you can find the book The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth - it is from the 1960s but not a lot has really changed about birth of course. Overlook the dated bits - it has some good exercises and positions and massages for Kennis to do.

I went to two breastfeeding classes - one at about 16 weeks when I was visiting the USA and another at the Tokyo Childbirth Education Association - it's worth doing - I'll try to find the title of a helpful old book about nursing - I used a it lot back in the day - when Nick was a baby in Japan there was no real resource except this book and it was so real and so helpful - especially about different kinds of nursing depending on the age of the baby.

For me I didn't mind using disposable diapers (at all!) yet I was more the earth mother type about feeding - so it was baby lead weaning and that meant age 2 years 6 months, then 2 years 10 months, then 3 years almost 3 months - it's so hard to believe now - but at the time it felt so right and natural - it all depends - also the Baby Food Mill was the low tech "machine" for the baby food.

I expect breastfeeding will click for you and if it doesn't - it doesn't. There was a lot of support from doctors, nurses, other mothers and even the general public in Japan for nursing for the first year. People used to say the doctors told mothers to do it for 12 months and so they did - because it was Japan.

Congrats again and I hope you are feeling good at least some of the time - keep those dry crackers by the bed - I don't think that could hurt - and try the raspberry tea - might help?

take care,
Susan

Re: wow! congrats!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

No we're not somewhere new, yet. We're in the process of moving to a rental while I house hunt. It will prob be good to be in the rental while we do work in the new house since I know Hubby is going to want to do another insulation project, and living in the house during something like that is just awful. I'm also determined to have a kitchen I like and walls painted colors I love as well. And with the pregnancy it is just better I am not there for all that. So my baby is likely to end up with two rooms lol Right now I am obsessing on strollers and car seats.

I'd like to do natural in a birthing center if I can remain low risk. ^_^ I doubt I will ever have 3, so...

My provider is nice right now, but I know I am going to be changing when I move since I'm not willing to drive over an hour just to see an ob/gyn. My mom says we were all pretty fast. I think she was only in the hospital like 4 1/2 hours before I came. Though honestly, my brother was the perfect baby by all accounts lol

Another friend was recc'ing the Bradley Method. Probably once I move I will look into actual classes.

I'd love any advice on breastfeeding since I would very much like to. I am pretty sure the Birthing Center has Lactation classes and I was hoping to attend one. :)

I'm not sure when I will wean, but I'd like to nurse for at least 1 year even if some time during that I start to mix some other food in with. I am not sure what we are going to do for diapers yet. Kennis says there is some method where you encourage baby during the day to use the toilet when possible, and I think we are going to try to learn baby sign language.

Saltines don't agree with me ^^;;; I've puked them up one time too many and now I have an aversion to them. It's so hard to figure out what works, my Mom says I should consider acupuncture. At this point, I might.

It's very very exciting for me though and all a bit unreal lol Time is also just flying by. I think I've just completed 13 weeks.