I Think I'm having a Contraction...

I'm fairly certain that I had one of those Braxton-Hicks contractions tonight.  These are those false contractions where the uterus tightens up in preparation for labor, which, dear reader, is just over two months away!  Yikes.  Anyway, I felt this pressure in my belly, and when I touched it, my protruding gut was rock hard.  It didn't hurt, but I certainly noticed it.  It relaxed after about a minute.  My mom said that she used to get painful ones with my sister and I that would stop her in her tracks.


As an aside, she also said that she would sit on the steps of our patio when she was pregnant with me (and then later with Mary) and cry because she was so fat.  We made our mom pile on 60+ pounds each time, most of which was water weight.  I think our older brothers were much easier for her.


Birthing class #2 was pretty exciting, mostly because there were two women in labor while our class was going on.  One gave birth right as class started, and the other woman was audible throughout class.  The looks on the faces of the dads was priceless.  I'm not sure when she delivered.  I could certainly feel the energy!  The night before was a full moon, too...


We talked quite a bit about exercise and many of the benefits of keeping up with exercise during pregnancy.  There are all sorts of statistics about the benefits to both the mom and the fetus.  I found all the myths that we discussed rather interesting.  Here are a few:

MYTH: Pregnant women should not exercise more than three times per week.

TRUTH: Following a doctor’s approval, it’s recommended that pregnant women engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily, five or more times a week.

MYTH: Pregnant women must keep their heart rate under 140 beats per minute during exercise.

TRUTH: Instead of counting beats per minute, use the Borg Scale (measures perceived exertion) or a simple talk test to assess intensity.

I currently swim once a week, use the elliptical machine about 2-3 times a week, and take a weight training class twice a week (Power Flex).  Oh yeah, and my homework was 200 Kegels a day for the next week.  So exciting...

Birthing Class #1

We made the trip up to Menomonee Falls Well Rounded Maternity Center Saturday morning for our first birthing class.  Our instructor, Coral Slavin, is a seasoned Bradley Method instructor, but has since modified the class because the true Bradley course was too rigid for her tastes.  So she created a hybrid class.  There were about seven other couples there, all of us first time parents except for one couple.  We talked quite a bit about the importance of relaxing during labor so that the body can do its job.  Next week's topic is about diet and nutrition.

I also had my 30 week appointment this afternoon at the Midwifery Center at Aurora Sinai.  Things are good...baby's heart rate is 142 and my fundal height is 30 cm (right on target).  My blood work from last time showed that I'm not producing any antibodies, and I think that means that Mr. Belvedere and I have compatible blood, but that conversation was too much for me to follow.  I'll put that on my list of questions for next time.

Fundal height--things are getting cramped

It's hard to believe that there are just ten weeks left (give or take a few).  It's gone by very quickly so far, but I've heard from others that this last trimester can get long...