The Growing Caldwell Family

We have mostly been planning to do disposable diapers because I felt that cloth would just be too much work when I go back to work.  Then, we saw these diapers called happy heiny's ( www.happyheinys.com ).  These looked much different than what I envisioned cloth diapers to look like.  Mom used cloth diapers with me and Jeanne', so she felt totally up for using them while Sarah Graves is at her house.  I started looking into the cost comparison and depending on what type of cloth diapers you buy, you can save anywhere from $1200 - $1700.  That is pretty attractive, not to mention knowing that you aren't filling up a landfill somewhere.  There are lots of different varieties of cloth diapers out there, but the ones that seem to be a good investment and user friendly are diapers that have snap closures, with a pocket for an insert to absorb the contents, and they are one size that adjusts as your baby grows from a newborn up to 35 pounds.  You can also purchase the traditio...

Last night, my cousin Lynsey gave birth to a little boy!  His arrival was a bit of a surprise to everyone as she wasn't due until January 10.  Lynsey went in for a check-up and her doctor was concerned about low amniotic fluid levels, so she went to the hospital and they induced labor.  Fortunately, all went well and their baby boy arrived late last night. They named him Wyatt Oneil Clark.  He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and is  20 inches long.  Mom and baby are doing wonderfully.  Such a blessing!

I mentioned that we received some gifts for Sarah Graves for Christmas.  Her grandparents bought her two big things that I think she will really appreciate, her stroller and her swing.  She's a lucky girl! You know that we had to put them together.  I even tested Lucy out in the stroller around the house!  My parents gave us the stroller and Aaron's Dad and Beverly gave us the swing and the accessories for the stroller.  The stroller was super easy for Aaron to put together and he has all the accessories on it that we may need for our first outing.  The diaper bag attaches to the side of the stroller so that you don't have to reach for it under the baby's seat.  He has the adapter for her infant car seat all hooked up so that we can snap it in and be off.  I love how big the canopy is on this thing.  It has another section so that it can come down almost entirely over baby, perfect for napping on the go.  I am still so impressed by ho...

Here's the update on Sarah Graves this week: With just three more weeks to go and at about six and a half pounds (though weight and height vary from fetus to fetus), your baby is doing just fine. You can expect weight gain to be about half an ounce per day. (Boys, though, are likely to be heavier at birth than girls. And here's a bit of boy baby trivia to back that one up: Moms carrying boys tend to eat more than moms carrying girls — a foreshadowing of teenage refrigerator raids to come.) Since your little one is considered full-term at 37 weeks pregnant, if your baby was to leave the wet nest this week, he or she would likely thrive. That's because Mother Nature and you have done such a fine job. So what's keeping your little one busy while waiting it out until D-day? Practice, practice, practice. Your baby is simulating breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, sucking on his or her thumb, blinking, and pivoting from side to side (one day you feel the tu...

We had another check-up today and all looks good.  We met with Margaret and really liked her a lot.  For me everything looks good.  Blodd pressure is right on, weight looks good, and the measurements show good growth.  Baby girl had a good heartbeat and is now positioned with her head down and anterior.  She hasn't dropped yet, but her head is getting low.  Margaret expects that she will drop about 2 weeks before delivery.  I can't believe how close it is getting!  I am getting so excited to meet her!

We had a truly wonderful Christmas!  On Christmas Eve we went to one of my parents' neighbors for their annual Christmas party and had a nice time visiting with their friends.  We went to Christmas Eve mass at St. Benedict's and really enjoyed the beautiful service.  I was pleased that we sang so many pretty carrols, including Silent Night by candlelight.  We all spent the night at Mom and Dad's and woke up together to open presents on Christmas morning.  We received so many nice gifts from both sides of our family.  I'm sure I will soon be posting pictures of some of the cute things for Sarah Graves.  We had Christmas dinner at some friends', the Currans.  It was a lovely dinner and their family was really kind to welcome all of us.  After dinner, we had a dessert party at my parents' house.  This was probably the icing on our Christmas cake!  Mom's friend Jacquie's brother Roland plays the piano and will play while everyone sing...

I think this time of year every Christian has thoughts about Mary, Joeseph, and the journey they set off on that changed our lives forever.  This year I have thought a lot about Mary and her situation.  Probably because my own pregnant belly has grown quite heavy, the Braxton-Hicks contractions are more frequent than they were a month ago, and my sweet baby girl has now grown large enough that I can feel her every move inside me.  So, I feel like I can identify with Mary more now than I have ever.  When I think about her setting off on a donkey on a trip, my heart goes out to her.  How her back must have ached on the journey, the constant need to find a place to go to the bathroom, and the constant desire for something to drink.  I know she was used to a life that required a lot of work, but that journey must have felt endless.  Then, I think of how much I have read and tried to prepare myself for the work that lies ahead and how she probabvly had little more knowledge of the process...

Our friends, the Mayfields, sent this sweet friend for Sarah Graves.  She is a little fairy complete with wings and a wand!  What a sweet toy for a baby girl.

I did a lot of baking on Saturday and these were two of my creations, iced sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.  I could eat my weight in the iced sugar cookies!  I just love them so much!  I only make them around Christmas and I think it's because I know I can't stop myself from just eating and eating them. We'll just blame the weight gain on the baby :)

Through our doula I found out about how you can encourage your baby to rotate to get positioned for labor.  The site is www.spinningbabies.com and it is really amazing to me how exercise and posture can encourage them to rotate.  It also taught me a lot about how I can get an idea of her position based on being conscious of movement.  You can start try to position your baby quite early in pregnancy, but I only just found out about it.  I have been using some of the exercises and suggestions to encourage Sarah Graves to get into an anterior position that will make my labor easier.  Based on her movement, I can't tell if it has been successful yet.  I will ask how she is positioned at my appointment on Monday.  Our new midwife does not think that is a pointless question like the last one did. :)  

This adorable hat came as part of a baby gift from my cousins, the Tadlocks.  I can just imagine us taking Sarah Graves out for a walk wearing this!  It's cute as a button. 

Here's the update on Sarah Graves this week: Your baby's skull isn't the only soft structure in his or her little body. Most of your baby's bones and cartilage are quite soft as well (they'll harden over the first few years of life) — allowing for an easier journey as your baby squeezes through the birth canal at delivery (and less prodding and poking for Mom along the way). At 36 weeks pregnant, the skull bones are also not fused together yet so that the head can easily (well, relatively easily) maneuver through the birth canal. So your little bruiser (who you've now learned won't be bruising you all that much with those soft bones) is now about six pounds in weight and measures slightly more than 20 inches in length. Growth will experience a slowdown now, both so your baby will be able to fit the narrow passageway to the outside and also so he or she can store up all the energy needed for delivery. By now, many of your baby's systems are pretty m...

Last week amidst all of the activity of finding a new caregiver and hospital, we received a Christmas present for Sarah Graves from her Aunt Lexie.  It is so cute and we can't wait for her to be here to be all snuggly warm in it!  Thanks for the pink warm-up, Aunt Lexie!

We had a very busy afternoon and evening last night.  We met with Pam for our prenatal visit in the afternoon and attended a class on water birth and looked at the hospital where we will now be delivering yesterday evening.  The prenatal visit with Pam was really good.  Mom met us so that she could met Pam and be a part of the discussion about the birth.  We focused mostly on what my ideal birth might look like and talked a lot about the different options that are there and different things to consider for coping with labor.  Mom and Aaron both noted that I am irritable when I am in pain, so we are grateful for someone like Pam to be there and try to help me without Mom and Aaron having to deal with a grump.  Pam has a very calming way and I feel so grateful that we found her.  She also has some really cool products that you don't see in stores.  One of the neat things is called a Moby wrap  and lets you wear your newborn and baby up to 35 p...

Wednesday we went for a visit with a midwife at Intwon Midwifery .  Aaron and I were both very pleased with what we found.  We met with Anjili and their practice and the hospital seem like a good fit for us.  She was very patient with my questions and she took a look at my birth plan and didn't have a problem with it.  What a relief to go for a check-up and feel like they want the same thing you do!  I didn't realize before how exhausting it was to have to constantly stand up for what I want and try to convince the caregiver that it is the better way for me. We also did all the regular check-up things and all looks on track.  I am measuring right about where we should be, my blood pressure is good, and Sarah Graves seems to be positioned with her head down.  Anjili thinks that she is a little posterior, so we need her to rotate a little more in order to be just right for delivery, but there is time for that.  Aaron and I both felt very comfortab...

This week has passed in a blur and we are a little behind.  We took the belly shot, but this is the first chance that I have had to post it.  Here's the update for Sarah Graves at 35 weeks. At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department). Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now at 35 weeks pregnant, that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft. Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby...

The first year that we had Lucy, Jeanne' was looking after her one Saturday for us and decided it would be fun to take Lucy for a picture with Santa Paws.  The local PetSmart does it every year as a fundraiser and the picture came out so adorable.  We have been taking her back each year and she just loves to go.  PetSmart is for Lucy what Toys R Us is for a 6 year old, pure joy.  She loves all the attention that she gets from the employees and other shoppers and sometimes we meet a nice doggie who will let her get a good sniff.  Oh the thrill! On Sunday, we took Lucy for her third picture with Santa Paws.  Our little puppy is growing up!

Baking Christmas cookies is probably one of my favorite things about the holidays.  I like sending the cards and decorating the tree, but the cookies are the best.  I baked these cookies for a cookie exchange that Jeanne' and I went to on Sunday.  Through Jeanne' I met a nice group of girls who get together every year to do a cookie and ornament exchange.  I love getting to try everyone else's recipes and find a few new favorites!  The recipe that I tried this year is a chocolate mint cream.  They turned out tasting pretty yummy and the bright green mint chips give them a nice bit of color.  This could be a keeper! Aaron and I made these last night.  They are a toffee crinkle.  They didn't turn out exactly like the picture in the book, but they taste pretty good!  I'll be bringing these to an ornament exchange for the women's group at church tonight and Aaron took a batch for his holiday luncheon at work.  Hopefully this weekend...

I wanted to update that I was able to get an appointment with Margaret Strickhouser who comes very highly recommended.  I wonder if this was meant to be because when I called I was told that she had one opening left for a January birth.  Hopefully this is where we're meant to be and that will be the end of the search!  Our appointment is on Wednesday, which is right on schedule from my last check-up.  I was also able to get us signed up for a water birth class and hospital tour at Atlanta Medical Center on Thursday.  I am not at all familiar with this hospital, so I hope that we have a good feeling about it.  I kind of like the idea of being able to labor in water.  That's something that I had written off because Northside does not permit it.  Now I just have to get all the records transferred and insurance information changed. 

This Saturday we went to a breastfeeding for couples class and we really learned a lot.  Aaron learned that his job is going to be to get the baby good awake when it's time to eat so that she will be ready.  We practiced a few techniques for how to get them awake like rubbing their palms and the bottoms of their feet as well as doing little baby situps.  The class covered some other good things like positions for holding the baby to feed, how to know if you're baby is getting enough, and that it should not hurt.  The instructor also showed us several different newborn feeding schedules and how each was different, but still perfectly fine.  One thing that I appreciated is that she covered with us how to feed your baby from a bottle in the case that they need the bottole in the first few days (e.g., baby can't maintain her blood sugar well, mom's milk has not come in), but you still want them to breastfeed.  I would really recommend this class.  Aaron and I both felt ...

I came home yesterday to get ready for my office holiday party and as Aaron and I went through the mail there was a letter from my doctor's office.  I opened it expecting a bill, but was taken aback when I started reading that they regret to say they will no longer provide me with medical care because they feel that they can't meet my needs.  It seems that all my questions really did have me labeled as the problem patient and I was taking up a lot of their time with all these questions, so they terminated me.  I never in my life expected such a thing to happen.  I don't think that I have been kicked out of anything before.  In fact, I like to believe that others usually find me likable (no need to comment if you disagree with me here :) ).  The timing of this is quite unusual because when we met with our doula, Pam, I mentioned some of the concerns I had about the practice I was with and delivering at Northsdie.  She made mention that it wasn't too late to find anothe...

Throughout my research on birth I have read about the benefits of doulas.  Doulas act as a support person for the laboring woman and her partner.  They don't provide any medical intervention, but they do stay with you throughout labor and will provide suggestions for positions you might try and other things to make you more comfortable during labor.  We have talked a bit about having a doula and even asked the midwife at one of our appointments.  She felt it was more for people who don't have a partner to support them in labor.  After my last appointment with the midwife that I don't care for, I decided that I would be better off having all the support that I can get.  There is a group of doulas that have a practice called A Labor of Love  and that is who I contacted to find out about hiring a doula.  Pam was recommended to us and after reading her bio we felt she would be a good fit for what we want.  Aaron and I met with her for...

Here's the update on Sarah Graves' growth: Your baby could be as tall as 20 inches right now and about five pounds. Need a visual? Hold a five-pound bag of flour in your arms and imagine it's your soon-to-be-born baby (cradle it, and you'll only get strange looks in the baking aisle). Then stack three such bags one on top of the other (and get ready for some more strange looks, maybe from the same clerks who saw you grinning and holding that one-pound box of sugar a few weeks ago). That's how tall your baby is at 34 weeks pregnant. (Now go bake some oatmeal raisin cookies with all that flour!) If your little doughboy is, well, a boy, then you'll be pleased to know that this week his testicles are making their way down from his abdomen to his scrotum. (Some baby boys — three to four percent — are born with undescended testicles, but they usually make the trip down sometime before the first birthday.) Your baby's fingernails now reach the end of the finger...

Saturday evening at our house was spent putting up Christmas decorations and watching championship ballgames.  Lucy likes to watch football and will sit there with Aaron for quite a while. I'm not sure if it's the fast movement of the players or the constant petting that she loves most!  Aaron is looking forward to having baby Sarah Graves sit with him next year and we're both hoping that the tigers will be the team we cheer for at the SEC Championship.

Yesterday we went to a newborn care class.  I think that we have both read enough that we were familiar with a number of things that they went over, but there were a few new things.  One thing they mentioned is that all newborns have a startle reflex called the Moro reflex and they basically bring their arms up all of a sudden.  I guess many parents have mistaken this startle for their newborn having a seizure.  The other thing is they give you a DVD of "The Happiest Baby on the Block", which covers some good soothing techniques to calm a newborn.  It also demonstrates how to swaddle a baby so they feel secure.  All good things to know.  We were hopeful that we might meet some expectant parents, but the other couples in the class were extremely quiet.  Maybe the husbands were all just hoping to get home in time to see the championship football games.

Today I had a check-up and Sarah Graves and I are both doing well.  My blood pressure is great and my weight is looking good.  We listened to her heartbeat and heard it loud and strong.  She is positioned so that he legs and arms are near my ribs on the right side, which would explain the discomfort that I am in with all of her movement.  She is kind of laying sideways, so she hasn't gotten into position yet, but there is still time for that.  I brought my draft of my birth plan to go over with the midwife and that was an interesting experience. I think my record has me labeled as the problem patient because the midwife came in noting that she read that I don't trust the hospital and would like to have a home birth.  I felt a little like Elaine on Seinfeld when she wants to steal her medical record from the doctor because it labels her as difficult and she doesn't want that to follow her.  I met with a new midwife today and she is not my favorite....

Here are pictures from the Shreveport shower.  We did a little better job remembering to take pictures, but I still wish that we had taken more.  We received lots of nice gifts and I picked out some of them to show pictures of. Aunt Lynn did these adorable labels for water bottles that say "Natalie's baby shower for Sarah Graves Caldwell". A friend of Arden's did this cake and it looked so cute and tasted so yummy! Here's a shot of the food table all decorated like a present! This smocked dress is so adorable!  I can't wait for her to be able to wear it! Aunt Arden had this picture made for Sarah Graves' room and it matches her bedding perfectly! Here's a high chair that fits on your kitchen chair.  This will be perfect for dining at Mom and Pops'! I am so excited to be able to watch her enjoy this doorway jumper!  She is going to have a blast. These two dresses in pink were made for Sarah Graves.  The lace and embroidery is just s...

This week your baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length and weigh more than four and a half pounds. At this stage in fetal development, your baby could grow a full inch more this week alone — especially if he or she has been on the shorter side. Weight gain can range from a third more growth to a full doubling before the big debut. The level of amniotic fluid in your uterus has reached its maximum at 33 weeks pregnant, making it likely that you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason why you're probably feeling lots of nudges and pushes — there's less liquid to cushion the blows. (Of course that means you're even closer to your baby now!) If your uterine walls had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his or her eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and ...