30 weeks - Birth Center Tour, OB appointment & Childbirth Preparation Class

Birthing Center Tour

We got pre-registered at the hospital, saw the labor & delivery rooms as well as the mother/baby rooms, and most importantly found the path of least resistance to get from the car to the labor floor on the big day! It's actually a really good set up. Dusty can drive the car right up to front door, park (they don't let *anyone* park there under normal circumstances!) and grab a wheelchair if I need it, but it's a short walk to the elevator and then down the hall on the OB triage floor, where I will be admitted for delivery!

We also learned about the normal routine for delivery at UK, where we will be delivering. As soon as the baby is delivered, she is wiped off and placed on my chest for skin to skin contact - also called "kangaroo care". We'll snuggle for an hour, and that promotes her temperature and heart rate regulation (and is even supposed to improve blood sugar levels). After an hour, she'll be taken into the ante-room for weighing and measuring, then Dusty will have an hour of his own kangaroo care snuggle time - I'm already in love with those moments!! After that, baby girl can be passed around and snuggled by other loving visitors :) I really enjoyed getting a look at the rooms, and I know we have great nurses and doctors there, so I feel really good about it.

Birthing Center

The UK Birthing Center is the leading facility in Central Kentucky specializing in high-risk pregnancies and deliveries. In addition to the newly renovated labor and delivery facilities we have the only Level III neonatal intensive care unit in the region.

http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/OBGYN/birthing-center-tour/

OB appointment

Another good visit, and little lady's heart rate is 150. Always my favorite part! She is measuring a week ahead, so we shall see if that is a trend that continues... I've told her it's ok to slow down :) I'm not really into delivering a 10 lb baby or anything, haha! From now on, my appointments will now be every 2 weeks, instead of every month... for some reason, that is making my due date feel a lot closer now! 

Childbirth Preparation Class

Dusty got to try out the "Empathy Belly"

This was an interesting day. We did the all day class from 9-3:30, so it was alot of information, but it was presented really well, and in a variety of ways that helped it stay interesting. We learned about the stages of labor, and how to know when to come to the hospital. My take away from that was to stay home as long as possible, because once I'm admitted, I'll only be allowed ice chips. :) We learned some relaxation techniques, including massage - which was my personal favorite! I am trying to convince Dusty that it would be valuable to start practicing now! And every day until...well... ever! haha :) They also had birthing balls to try out, and UK also has "peanut balls" available, which I'm really excited about (weird, I know). They are like birthing balls but shaped like a peanut and are supposed to help the baby get in a good position for delivery. I'm looking forward to anything to help make this a smooth process! :) Surprisingly, I feel pretty good at the moment about the thought of actual delivery... I didn't expect to feel this way, and may very well start feeling more nervous the closer it gets, but for the time being, I think I'm just looking forward to what it will feel like to finally hold her in my arms.

Overall, still so thankful to be feeling good for the most part... we talked in the class about pregnancy symptoms we've had, and I realized I've actually experienced a lot them... morning sickness, difficulty sleeping, round ligament pain, back pain, hip pain, cramping, shortness of breath, even palpitations if I get dehydrated... when I list them all, I'm like, oh, that sounds like a lot, but I guess each one has been short-lived or mild enough to not ruin my life for days or weeks... so I not only feel really lucky, but also really bad for all my preggo friends that have had these symptoms to a much more severe degree! Pregnancy does some strange things to our bodies for sure!  

I did start to have some really intense heartBURN for a couple days... at some points, it felt like my esophagus was on fire! After consuming a hefty amount of tums and rolaids, I drastically reduced my meal size to pretty tiny frequent meals, and that has helped a lot. My OB gave me a prescription to take if I need to, but it has significantly improved.

It's also become embarrassingly difficult to get in/out of the car... and I've noticed a slight 'waddle' when I walk... so I'm trying to intentionally walk like a normal person, but I'm not so sure that's actually working out like I want it to :)

Dusty is out of town for business in Portland, Oregon, so Sadie, baby & I are missing him this week, and looking forward to him getting back safe and sound! We will potentially be painting the nursing this coming weekend, which is an exciting thought!