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| This baby is finally getting serious about growing and its making me tired! Please excuse my post sunday afternoon nap appearance. Getting up early to attend ward council at 7:15 this morning was a little rough. Although if I'm being honest with myself, thats what I look like in most of these pregnancy pictures. Also, in case you are curious, I was wearing this outfit for week 23 which makes for a fun comparison. |
Overall, another good week here in the Smith home. Lots of feeling the baby move and kick. Although I still feel some strong kicks/punches/who knows what, the majority of the movement is more gradual and constant. It just feels like she is floating around and moving. Hard to explain, but its fun. Also I can tell she is getting bigger because I am now feeling her both on my top right side under my ribs and in the bottom left side at the same time. I know my baby updates tell me what size she is every week but its easy to read over that part and still think of her as just the little thing she started out to be. In case you are curious the average baby this far along is 2 pounds and 14 inches long It is also crazy to think she will probably quadruple in weight over the next three months. Yikes!
Part of being in the 3rd trimester means our doctor visits are now every 2 weeks (instead of once a month). We have a visit tomorrow and are actually scheduled for an ultrasound too! So that is exciting! They weren't able to get a few of the measurements they needed at the last one so we get to see our little girl again! I'll try to update again soon but we will be on vacation for the next two weeks and so the timing of these posts might get a little off.
This week has also brought a few episodes of fear and worry when thinking about how I'm expected to just suddenly be a mom. Sure I've have plenty of experience babysitting and I'm even currently watching a baby 3 days a week and have seen him grow from 4 months to 7 months old. But there is something different about doing it full time (read: during the nights) and being the one in charge of making decisions (with Brett of course). Since the weeks are quickly passing I figured it was time to start reading some books and hopefully get a better idea of what to expect and how to handle everything. Any suggestions on books to read? I'm open for any topics from labor/delivery to healthy sleep habits to breast feeding to anything really. I don't even know where to start!
Have any of you mothers out there read a book you found particularly helpful?
Please share!
7 comments:
Hey lovely girl,
You look great!! Also, books I read were the what to expect books. I have a friend who swears by The Baby Book. Also, I read the Sleep Lady book (I don't know the exact name, but it's aqua on the cover and has a sleeping baby on it. I looked it up on Amazon.). I didn't take everything from that book, but it does have a few good tips, and lets you know about how much sleep your baby should be getting. it seems overwhelming at first because it wants you to schedule EVERYTHING, but I just took the things I wanted from it and left everything else. As far as breastfeeding goes, you should take a class - that really helped me. They offer them at the hospital. Good luck, you'll do awesome!
-Jacklyn
You are looking so cute! Don't get too nervous about being a mother. Truthfully, you will take one look at her and just KNOW a lot of things. The rest you will figure out.
I don't know about parenting books or anything, but I've read a few books on helping your baby sleep which I found really helpful. I don't know if following some of the things those books said actually helped, or just made me feel less helpless because I had more ideas, but either way they were interesting. My favorite was The Secrets of a Baby Whisperer. Baby Wise is also popular and had some helpful tips, and depending on your style might be something you like. Lots of people will probably tell you to read it. I didn't care for it as much. I found it a bit strict and it felt less nurturing than the baby whisperer, but they have some similarities, and there was at least some information in there that helped me. I also recently read The Happiest Baby on the Block which has an interesting perspective as well. I recommend reading several things because what I learned more than anything is that just one "method" didn't work, I needed to have all sorts of ideas to try when something stopped working. I started reading these when Will was about a month old and I'm really glad I did. It would have been nice to have done some reading earlier, but don't feel like you need to cram everything in before the baby is born. Despite the impression that moms tend to give off, you actually will have time to do stuff after the baby is born.
For breastfeeding, depending on how much you already know about it, read up online beforehand. The La Leche League is a really good resource for information. I just went for it in the hospital (being a nurse helped since I've helped teach moms to breastfeed in the past), and then at the hospital they gave me some helpful resources and if you need it you can have a lactation specialist come help you. All the ones I've ever met while working were awesome.
Regarding labor and delivery I always recommend that couples take some kind of childbirth course. You can often find them through your hospital or your doctor's office. Ours was just one day long and $60, but they taught all about going into labor, the birth process, some techniques for managing labor without medication (because everybody has to at least a little bit whether you're getting an epidural or not), and various medical interventions. Even as a nurse the reminders were really helpful, and Matthew learned a TON, because men just don't know about this stuff until they've been through it.
Don't worry too much. A lot of what you need will just come naturally once she's here, and what questions you do have will be either really easy to get answered through your doctor, the internet (just be careful, there are a lot of useless sites out there), more experienced moms (who will be more than willing to give advice even when you really don't want it), and books, or you'll just figure it out yourself because your baby is unique. You just have to go with the flow and let yourself be bewildered sometimes, but it will all work out.
Long comment... sorry! Education for new and expecting moms is kind of my passion, the nurse part of me is coming out. Have fun with it! There's so much to learn and you'll be an expert on your baby in no time!
Whoops... posted as Matthew, sorry. That was Nicole!
Usually I just stalk your blog, but I love reading about what you guys are up to, and seeing how cute you are! Laurel suggested a book to me when Chris was about 4 months old, and it totally saved my life! It's called The Baby Whisperer, and it was just what I needed. Very middle-of-the-road approach - not Ferber (crying it out), but not Sears (co-sleeping, attachment parenting, etc.) either. Just common sense. It helped me know how often he should be nursing, sleeping, and what to do with him in between. :) My advice would be to buy a copy (it's that good, I think) and read it before the baby is born, and then again when things get crazy afterwards.
My own personal advice would be to do your best, ask people for help (especially people like your mom or other ladies who can give you good advice - not necessarily other new moms), and realize that you have to find your own path on this crazy journey of motherhood! Good luck - you'll do great! It's a fun, crazy, emotional, ride - one of the best (and hardest) things I've ever done.
I've never been a mom. I've also never read a book. BUT I was thinking about how you and now Brett and your baby girl remind me of the song "All American Girl" by Carrie Underwood.
here's the video
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