Postnatal Parents Group

He estado iendo a un grupo postnatal que se reune cada semana en el pueblito de Oundle. Obviamente, todo el mundo en el grupo ya tiene un bebe (de un edad menos de un ano), pero mi comadrona me alentó a asistir a las clases con una otra mujer embarazada de Upper Benefield (el pueblito donde vivimos – bien cerca de Oundle). La semana pasada, aprendimos a atratar a un infante cuando se esta ahogando – la semana que viene será CPR. Hoy discutieron como destetar. Algunas de las madres en el grupo tenían caras cansadisimas, pero no obstante lograron asistir a la clase. Me alegro mucho que tenemos un red social del apoyo, así que no vivimos cerca de familia. La sistema de cuido en los EEUU debe notar el éxito de programas así en Inglaterra. Perdona los errores gramaticas!

I’ve been going to a postnatal group that meets once a week in Oundle. Obviously, everyone there already has babies (under 1 year) but my midwife encouraged me to go with another pregnant woman in the village who is due around the same time as me. Last week Pedro went also and we learned how to deal with choking – next week is CPR. Today they talked about weaning – it’s amazing how many things you need to consider for babies that you would never otherwise think about! Some of the mothers in the group look so, so tired but they manage to make it out each week just to get together for a little social support – I’m really glad that I’ll have that, especially without any family living anywhere remotely nearby. The healthcare system in the US should really take note of this sort of thing!

The Baby Shower

Hoy tuve mi baby shower. Habían nueve mujeres quienes me dieron regalos lindos y preciosos. Katherine se lució con toda la preparación – de la comida, los juegos que jugamos, y todo. Recibí un monton de ropita linda y muchos consejos de las que eran mamas entre ellas. Jugamos un juego donde todo el mundo trata de adivinar la medida de mi cintura – me dio mucha gracia cuando algunas de ellas adivinaron que tenia una barriga gigantesca (y yo era una de ellas!). Pasamas un buen tiempo comiendo y bebiendo (ellas tomaron un cocktail de champaña y jugo) – y me impresionaron con su generosidad incredible.

I had my baby shower today. There were nine women who gave me sweet and precious gifts (Corrine, Kat, Kara Lee, Indira, Emily, Mirka, Julia, Juliet, and Janine). Kat went all out on the setup – the food, the games that we played, and everything! I got a ton of cute baby clothes and a lot of advice from the mothers among them. We played one game where everyone tries to guess the size of my waist – it was hilarious (albeit slightly disturbing) when some of them guessed an enormous waist size for me (I was actually one of them!). We had a great time eating and drinking (they got to drink a champagne and juice cocktail) – and they all touched me with their incredible generosity.

37 Weeks

We just got back from walking the dogs and it was incredibly windy! I don't think the belly looks much bigger though, but the baby inside sure feels bigger each day.

Baby News

I had an appointment with my midwife this morning and she informed me that the baby's head is very well engaged. That's exciting news! At least now I know it's not going to flip over and go breech on me! Don't worry, it doesn't mean I'm about to go into labor, but my body is getting ready for it to definitely happen within the next few weeks...

36 Weeks - 9 Months!

Bueno, ya pasaron nueve meses del embarazo! Ya que el embarazo dura, en realidad, 10 meses (40 semanas), todavía tengo cuatro semanas mas. Mi amiga Katherine me va a organizar un baby shower la semana que viene, y estoy soñando de la comida que ella va a preparar – como ves, soy toda barriga.

Well, nine months of pregnancy are gone! Since pregnancy is actually 10 months (40 weeks), I still have about four more weeks to go if all goes according to plan. My friend Kat is throwing me a baby shower next weekend and I’m dreaming of the food she’s going to make – as you can see, I’m all belly.

35 Weeks

Before seeing Shakespeare play (Merry Wives of Windsor)
with a friend last night

Bueno, ya llegó la semana numero 35 del embarazo y me siento como un bloque de madera - completamente solida, gruesa, y pesada. Yo camino un poquito mas lento cada día que salgo con los perros - pero por lo menos todavía puedo ejercitarme. Esta mañana me desperté y me levanté a las cuatro y media de la madrugada - no podía dormir ni conseguir un citio comodo en la cama - así que en vez de tratar de dormir me entretuvé mirando el website de eBay. Tenemos una cena formal de la compañía de Pedro en el 2 de Febrero - solamente dos semanas antes de la fecha del parto. Hay que comprar un vestido lindo (y grande) que cubra toda mi barriga enorme - solamente por una ocasión! Es increíble pensar que vamos a ser papa y mama en cuestión de semanas!!!
It took me forever to make the above Spanish translation, but I did it! I'll try to keep up with it.

I'm 35 weeks pregnant now and I feel like a big block of wood - totally solid, thick, and heavy. Each day I left the house to heft my weight around the neighborhood on dog walks I go a bit slower - but at least I can still get myself some exercise. This morning I woke up at 4:30a.m. - I couldn't sleep or find any comfortable position so I just got up - and surfed eBay. I have to find a formal dress for Pedro's company party on February 2nd, which is only two weeks prior to my due date! So after finding nothing fitting in my closet, I have to find a nice (and big) dress that covers my big belly - and just for one time!

It's incredible to think that we're going to be parents in only a matter of weeks!

34 weeks

33 Weeks

We finally got around to getting a photo during daylight hours - the days are so short here in winter that by the time we remember to take the weekly photo, we're stuck with poor indoor lighting. It's not warm here, despite my wearing a short-sleeved shirt - it's cold and it's windy!

Christmas has already come and gone! We spent a quiet Christmas at home - just Pedro, me, the dogs, and the little baby in my belly - and it was very nice. I cooked all kinds of Puerto Rican holiday food along with some apple pie for dessert. Now we have a New Year's Eve party to go to in only two days and I'm a little worried about finding a fancy dress that I can actually fit into.

My neighbors are down in Cornwall (southern England) and they've left me to take care of their four Bantam chickens while they're gone. Walking out to the chicken coop every morning to take care of their chickens amidst sprawling English farmland is so wonderful that it reminds me of how much I can't wait to show little Isabella the beauty of the outdoors (and so much more).

Eight months down!

32 weeks!

31 Weeks

Here is a photo of Pedro setting up the new nursery furniture. He and his friend Ben hauled everything over from Kiddicare, then Pedro put everything back together. I was so proud! It looks really nice. As soon as I get things more organized in there, I'll post a photo of the completed project.

And here is your weekly belly shot.

Jazz Concert

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would get around to putting up a few pictures from Thanksgiving and the jazz show we went to the following week. Here they are - these were taken by my friend Kat. As you can see in the last photo - the belly button is barely hangin' on, despite Pedro's daily pleading with Isabella to hold onto it!

30 weeks

Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers these days are nothing like the old terry cloth towels you had to fold and pin. These days they have all-in-one diapers that work just like a disposable, that, once soiled, you dump a flushable liner into the toilet, and put the diaper into a lidded bucket. Once the bucket is full, you just dump the diapers into the washing machine. Since we don't have a clothes dryer, we'll have to remove the liner for it to dry. I've done a test run of the ones I bought and they dried easily overnight, despite it being fall/winter in England. It's a few more steps than a disposable, but we'll see how it goes. I'm very realistic about it, and plan to use disposables when necessary and possibly also in the first few weeks until we get used to the routine of taking care of the baby.

When some people first hear that Pedro and I have decided to try cloth diapering, I tend to get some raised eyebrows. I've talked with a few women here in England who have successfully used cloth diapers from birth to potty and our local council will even reimburse us $100 of what it costs to pay for the diapers themselves. After talking a lot about it, our reasons for wanting to try it out are baby health, economy, and the environment. I could paraphrase all the research I've done here, but I'm not out to preach to anyone since I have yet to try it out myself. While I'm not yet 100% certain that it will work for us, we're committed to give it a good try - a bit more than that, I think. If you're interested I will leave you with some good links at the end of the post. I also have a lot more information if anyone is more curious.

The Nappy [Diaper] Lady website: http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/

“Pocket” diapers (the kind that is probably best for us since we don't have a dryer): http://www.weecarediapercompany.com/weecart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7

Green parenting / diapers http://www.grizzlybird.net/labels/diapers.html

Cloth diaper care, step by step: http://www.grizzlybird.net/2006/03/how-to-wash-cloth-diapers-at-home.html#links

Natural baby wipes http://www.naturodoc.com/library/children/newborn_skin.htm

More general info: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/12/ecotip_nappies.php

29 weeks - Third Trimester!!!

We didn't get a chance to get a photo for my 28th week and my official entrance into the third trimester. If I go to full term, I still have another 11 weeks - but technically, the baby is ready to go after 37 weeks!

We went to a jazz concert (Koop) at the Jazz Cafe in London yesterday and the baby got another taste of great music (since hearing the opera Aida in Verona this summer). I'll try to write more and post a couple more pics later in the week.

Trip to Greece at 27 Weeks

There's no special belly shot for this week because when I hit 27 weeks we were on our way back from Athens. We spent three wonderful days there, ate lots of cheese and savory foods, and had excellent baklava. It seemed like the perfect time of year to travel there - no crowds and temperate weather. The Greek people we met were always extra nice to us after seeing my protruding belly - people gave up their seats, smiled a lot, and I even got two good luck gifts from a couple of shop owners (including one to ward off the evil eye)! Now that we're back, I have a couple of appointments to monitor my low platelet count - hopefully all has normalized - I feel great. I am beginning to slow down a bit more though, and I had to take a lot of rest stops while we were walking around Athens.

In other news, this coming Thursday is also not only Thanksgiving but our 7th wedding anniversary!!!

26 Weeks, more classes

We had our last parentcraft class on Thursday at the hospital - I thought it was better than last time, but three hours of the evening does get to be a bit long. We got a tour of the hospital and got to see the facilities for delivery, which were pretty nice. Next week begin the classes just for pregnant mothers-to-be at the smaller, local clinic. I'll get a chance to meet other women who are as far along as I am, which will be really nice. Other than that, the belly doesn't seem like it's getting a whole lot bigger these last few weeks, though the belly button threatens to pop out at any moment.

Prenatal Classes

We had our first prenatal class last night at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, where I’ll be having the baby. The class lasted three hours! There were about six other couples there and we were all at varying stages of pregnancy. Since I’ve read so many books, the class wasn’t as helpful to me as I think it was to Pedro – but it did answer some of our questions pertaining to giving birth specifically in England.

It was reassuring that the midwife giving the class didn’t seem to promote any one type of pain medication, like I expected. I had heard that they don’t really like giving epidurals and encourage drug-free births – but this was clearly just hearsay. As for me, my mind is pretty open about it. Before I got pregnant, I always just assumed that I would go straight for the epidural, but I like the idea of having an active labor and being able to move around a lot more outside of the bed to aid in delivery. So we’ll see when the big day comes just how I feel about it!

Tuvimos nuestra primera clase prenatal anoche en el hospital (tres horas!), donde yo voy a dar a la luz. Habian seis otras parejas ahí, y todas las mujeres estaban en varias niveles del embarazo. Desde que yo habia leído muchos libros sobre el embarazo, la clase no era muy útil para mi, pero creo que Pedro la disfrutó mucho – aunque yo creo que esa clase contestó nuestras preguntas sobre como es a parir especificamente en Inglaterra.

La comadrona no recomendó ningun tipo de droga contra el dolor, como yo pensé. Yo habia oído que la sistema aquí alienta nacimientos naturales (sin drogas) – pero, eso no es la verdad. Nos dio mucha información, y tengo una mente mas abierta.

25 Weeks

24 Weeks

Well, I've got six full months of pregnancy under my belt, so to speak. Things are going really well, I feel good, I have high energy, and I've been trying to do a little bit of pregnancy yoga to ease my constant leg cramps (as well as eating tons of bananas).

One thing that I've been really preoccupied about is the issue of diapers. Pedro and I both agreed that we are willing to try using cloth diapers, so I've been doing lots of research into the easiest ways of going about it. For those of you who have used cloth diapers - what brands, if any, do you recommend?

Ya pasaron seis meses del embarazo. Todo esta bien, me siento bien, tengo mucha energía, y habia tratado de hacer un poquito de yoga para aliviar los dolores de las piernas (y como muchas bananas). Una cosa que me preocupa es la cuestión de pañales de tela. Pedro y yo estamos de acuerdo que queremos usar pañales de tela, y he hacido unas investigaciónes en las maneras mas fáciles en hacerlo – pero hay tantas opciónes…. ¿Hay alguien que nos pueda recomendar una marca distinta?

23 weeks!

This is the ultrasound scan picture that was taken back during my 21st week of pregnancy, when we found out that the baby is most likely going to be a girl. I finally got around to photographing the picture (our scanner isn't working), so here it is! I think she looks a little like Pedro, but when I told Pedro that, he reacted as if I thought she'd come out of the womb with his mustache and beard!

Esta es la foto del sonograma segundo (de la semana 21 del embarazo), cuando averiguamos que la bébé es una nena. Yo creo que ella parece a Pedro – pero cuando yo lo dijé eso a Pedro, él reaccionó como ella iba a salir con su barba y bigote! Jaja...

Esta es una foto de hoy - la empezada de la semana 23 del embarazo. Doña Aida me regaló esta camisa (no es una camisa de maternidad, pero me queda perfectamente bien). He recibido muchos regalos de todo el mundo para la maternidad y la bébé – GRACIAS at todos!!! (Si alguien sabe un shortcut de poner las letras correctas – con acentos, etc – dejame saber por favor! Tengo muchos dificultades con el teclado y el mecanographía.)

This is a photo of me on the first day (today) of my 23rd week of pregnancy. Doña Aida sent me this top from Puerto Rico (it’s not a maternity top but it fits me perfectly!). I have received a lot of gifts from everyone for my maternity and for the baby – again, thank you all – it really means a lot! (On a side note – I’m trying to practice my typing in correct Spanish but it’s taking me forever to figure out the keyboard accents – so if anyone knows any shortcuts, please let me know!).