Nola in 3D

So our normally disgruntled ultrasound technician (we've seen him twice now, for a heartbeat and gender check) was unusually chipper the day we came in - paying - for our 3D ultrasound. He gave us a good 25 minutes worth of video, when our package only covered 15 minutes or so. This is a little segment within the ultrasound video in which Nola is playing coy with us, the paparazzi.

She looks so squishy. She's orange, too -- but that all seems to go with being a little celebrity these days.

I can't wait to play with her little dimpled fingers.

Hospital Tour de Force

From our hospital's maternity tour, we came away with three general observations of note:

1. CMH has something called Kangaroo Care, which we're really excited about, and will explain momentarily.
   
2. Are teenage pregnancy statistics on the rise? Half of our tour had to be high school-aged girls.


3. It's probably best that Nick and I were never in school together.

First, we'll focus on the good news: Kangaroo Care. Basically, rather than be sucked, smacked, sanitized and swaddled before Nick and I would have a chance to hold her, the hospital puts her in direct contact with you for a good hour or so before all of the check-ups. We are very excited about that... especially because it's being true to the tenets of the Bradley Method we learned about over the past few months... most of which I'm not going to miss once that epidural starts dripping. Sorry, Dr. Bradley, I don't think I want to feel the experience of childbirth.

Other than the Kangaroo Care, the only noteable observation from our hospital tour is the high number of pregnant teenagers who were there. We probably had 8 - 10 waddling ladies on the tour, and 4 or 5 of them appeared to be under 20. Maybe I'm just getting old, and everyone is starting to look young to me, but a few of them were with their moms. On a positive note, it does seem that they've timed their pregnancies to deliver in the summer -- so as to not interfere with their studies, I assume? So, we could have some very smart young ladies who are passing these very smart genes and commitment to education on to the next generation.



Lastly, for the past few years, Nick and I have been going to classes to teach us how to best approach the next big step in our life. We took dancing classes prior to our wedding, premarital counseling, dog obedience classes and, of course, our recent Bradley Method class. During our hospital tour, it became evident to me that we may be at the end of our co-ed rope. Basically, this is due to the fact that I am one of those very annoying questioners who decides to prolong the agony of the entire class with lots and lots of questions that pertain solely to my situation. Nick, on the other hand, is one of those students who likes to get through something with very minimal interaction and attention from the instructor. I like a lot of eye contact from the teacher -- and affirmation that I am doing well as a student -- even if it's an hour-long hospital tour. Nick, realizing that he's stuck with me, and knowing by now that I'm going to do this at every single class that we attend, has started finding seats that fall right behind a fairly large person (not tough to do during our maternity classes) so that he can comfortably check his e-mail on his Blackberry.



Sigh.



Nonetheless, I'm signing us up for an Infant-Child CPR class to ensure that we're equipped for the next step.

More very important baby preparation

So, I have bags and bags of onesies and dresses too small to imagine being draped over a living, breathing human being. I've been holding off on washing them (with our *first* jug of Dreft), as we've been holding out for a lifetime supply of baby hangers I ordered on ebay. Well, they just came today, which means I've got start washing the itsy bitsy clothing... and I can't continue to troll my i-tunes for songs that have some ironic reference to laboring and delivering (I am open to all suggestions, by the way.)



To distract ourselves from tiny-clothing-hanging duties, and enjoy the homestretch of pregnancy, we decided to make a belly cast of Nola's uterine domecile. I fear it's a tad indecent, but decided to post our belly cast picture anyway. Tell me if it needs censorship bars or pasties. I guess the question now is, where the heck do we put this thing in our little home?



We're off to register with the hospital, and to go on a little tour of the maternity ward! I'm sure I'll have the boring details ready to post tomorrow.

Adding twigs to our nest

How wonderful our gestation has been! I mean, despite the swelling, stretch marks, acid reflux, anemia, varicose veins, carpal tunnel syndrome, occasional nervous breakdowns and incessant breathing constraints... we've been so fortunate to have family and friends who have been so generous to us as we prepare for our little baby.

Thank you to Kim and Carole, Nola's aunties, who have little girls of their own -- both under two -- and have been so generous with baby supplies and clothing. Thank you to Melissa, our dear friend, who just delivered her little boy right before we found out we were pregnant -- she probably saved us thousands of dollars in maternity clothing alone. We've had neighbors and coworkers who have brought by bags and bags of baby gear. We are so grateful to you all!


I just came back down from my sister Kim's house, and got to hang out with her little ones while talking about labor pains with their mommy. I got to stay with them during our major flooring renovation, and it was so nice to spend quality time with Kim, Taylor and the kiddos. The twins are adorable, and while her baby, Eliza, kept on giving me the stinkeye (as if to say, "Why are you still here, Prego?"), she's equally adorable. I've posted a picture of the kiddos here... the twins are playing outside & Eliza is making sure they stay out. It was really nice having a home away from home during that time. I love having family nearby.


Labor day is looming, and I'm filling my time with very important details, like making a "Labor & Delivery" mix, as per a discussion from our birthing class. So far we've got a pretty discordant mix of peppy "pushing" songs (i.e., "Push It" by Salt N Pepa) and lullaby-type ballads to little girls (not in the creepy Pete Townshend sense, but in the "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder sort of way). So far we have enough songs to cover about 50 minutes of labor -- which is about the average length of your first delivery, right?


Oh boy, we certainly don't know what's in store for us -- despite the sage advice of those who have been there before us; however, we'll have really good music to listen to while we figure it all out.

Our first official blog

Had it not been for Kama's recent visit, I would have remained blog-less for a much longer time, but here we are! The Akl family (which is about three weeks away from adding another member) is online!

To update: Nick has been working feverishly to get the house in tip-top shape for our little girl. I will post pictures of the home improvements as my blogging savvy increases. Needless to say, he can build a piece of IKEA furniture blindfolded at this point. Lots of home-changes have taken place, most noteably the wood floors -- which not only allow us to see of all of the dog's fur, but they provide lots of hours of entertainment to Nick and I as we watch Rocky slipping and sliding around the house.

We're very excited about meeting our little baby! We are in hyper-nesting mode, but still have a lot of to-do's before the due date.