I might get my way after all...

Which always pleases me. Remember several months ago my company changed insurance providers and i had to change my OB/GYN (sad) and the hospital that we would have our baby in? And that this change caused me no end of sadness? Well, since the change I have actually grown to like my new OB/GYN much more than my original and am much calmer about that aspect...the hospital change however has always been a thorn in my craw.
Well I've had a possible bit of luck and i may just get that hospital that i want! Our plan was always to add me to Cheyenne's insurance so that we would have double coverage for the pregnancy and birth and so that i don't have a gap in coverage after the baby is born and I'm not working. Well, his open enrollment is coming up in a couple of weeks and i have been looking at this matter more closely...
Only this morning (I'll blame baby brain) did it occur to me to check his insurance coverage to see if "my" hospital (Legacy Good Samaritan) is covered...and it is! Not only is it covered but it's one of the preferred hospitals.
Since i have always had trouble making heads or tales of insurance red tape I'm not 100% sure if this means that i can have our baby at Good Sam without it costing 7 million times as much as having our baby at St Vincents...but if it's all the same then I get to have my cake and eat it too! Which lets face it, has always been my goal :-)

Week 24 begins...

At a weight of 1 1/2 pounds and a length of about 8 1/2 inches, your baby has outgrown the fruit references and is now the size of a standard letter (but that would take a lot more than a standard stamp to mail). Baby's weekly weight gain is now about 6 ounces - not quite as much as you're putting on, but getting a lot closer. Much of that weight is coming from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscles. By now, your baby's tiny face is almost fully formed, and achingly adorable - complete with a full set of eyelashes and eyebrows and a good sprinkling of hair on that head. Is your baby a brunette, a blond, or a red head? Actually, right now, he or she is snow white, since there is no pigment in that air just yet.

Updates & Such...

I haven't been blogging much these days because quite frankly things are nice and smooth while I'm in the midst of my heavenly 2nd trimester. I still have bouts of nausea (i threw up my whole bowl of cinnamon toast crunch right back into said bowl last week) but at this point I'm such a pro at barfing that it barely makes me blink.
The baby has been growing so much and likes to sleep cuddled up by my lungs so that i gasp and wheeze like a asthmatic walrus when i do super active things like turn from my right side to my left side while in bed or walking up the stairs to the living room. The wee also may be some kind of gymnast...normally when he/she kicks me it's either straight out towards the world (that's right little one, stick it to the man) or inward towards my spine (hey you! Mama is NOT "the man"!)but once in a while it will now do a kind of movement that i can only imagine as up and down jumping that hits straight down on my uterus. Weird.
Our birthing classes are going well, we've had two and still like the instructor/doula and the other couples. Also, we are clearly the most prepared people and i don't mind saying that this makes me gloat more than a little bit.
For extra preparation i have been reading

this book.

and I'm loving it. I really feel empowered by it and other drug free birth stories and teachings and am pretty convinced that this is the best option for me and my baby.
This past weekend we went up to Vancouver and met with the stationer to discuss the baby shower invitations and favors. The proofs were EXACTLY what I wanted and i cant wait for them to be done and in the mail so that i can share them with everyone!

Week 23 begins....

A window into your womb would reveal that yours baby's skin is a bit saggy, hanging loosely from his or her little body. That's because skin grows faster than fat developes, and there's not much fat to fill that skin out yet. But don't worry - the fat is about to start catching up. Beginning this week, your baby (who is about 8 inches long and just over 1 pound in weight) begins to pack on the pounds (which means that you will too!). In fact, by months end, your baby will be double the weight he or she is now (fortunately, you wont be). Once those fat deposits are made, your baby will be less transparent, too. Right now, the organs and bones can be seen through the skin, which has a red hue thanks to developing veins and arteries just underneath. But by month 8, no more see-through baby!

As if I needed another reason to gloat about Portland...

Here is a link to the Fit Pregnancy Magazine's "Best Cities to Have a Baby" report...surprise surprise Portland is #1 baby! Click on the star representing your city (or the one closest to you) to see how yours stacks up...

http://www.fitpregnancy.com/bestcities2008/

Head of the class

Last night we went to our first (in a 10 week series) prenatal education class. It was a lot of fun and I can tell will be such a help in a number of ways. All of the other couples were really nice and funny and it was nice to be in a room full of other people going through the same thing at the same time (we're all due between December 25 & March 2) both for me being prego ("oh you have that too?") and for Cheyenne being the spouse of a prego ("your wife cant remember a thing either?"). The teacher is really great and has been a doula & midwife for years and years so I'm assured that the class will be extremely informative and will cover all aspects of pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, and newborn care but will also cover these things with regards to alternatives that interest our little (but growing) family.

Week 22 begins...

Forget about ounces, baby! This week, we're talking a whopping weight of 1 pound and a length of nearly 8 inches, about the size of a small doll. But your doll is a living one - with developing senses, including touch, sight, hearing, and taste. What's your baby touching? He or she may grab onto the umbilical cord (there's not much else to hang onto in there) and practice the strong grip that will soon be clutching your fingers (and pulling your hair) What's your baby seeing? Though it's dark in the uterine cocoon - and even with fused eyelids - fetuses this age can perceive light and dark. If you shine a flashlight over your belly, you might feel your baby react, perhaps trying to turn away from the "bright" light. What's your baby hearing? The sound of your voice and that of your partner, your heart beating, the whoosh-whoosh of your blood circulating through your body, those gastric gurgles produced by stomach and intestines, the dog barking, sirens, a loud TV. And what's your baby tasting? Pretty much everything you're tasting (so pass the salad).

Week 21 begins...

How big is your baby? About the size of a large banana — and speaking of bananas, if you eat one this week, there's a good chance your baby will get a taste, too. That's because he swallows a bit of amniotic fluid each day (for nutrition, hydration, and to practice digesting), so he eats whatever's on your menu. In other (not so welcome) news, you may start to notice some stretch marks as your body expands and your belly and breasts just keep on growing. These pink, red, or purple streaks appear when the supporting tissue under your skin gets torn as skin stretches (and stretches and stretches) during pregnancy. Not every woman gets them, though you're a likely candidate if your mom had stretch marks during her pregnancy or if you've gained weight rapidly

The monthly OB appointment

We had our OB/GYN check up and 20 week ultrasound. Everything went perfectly well. The baby was swimming and kicking up a storm which was really cute to see. And for those of you that will ask, no we did not cry, we have yet to cry at a single OB appointment. There were plenty of smiles though as our baby kept kicking at the sonogram tool as though it was annoyed by the pressure. The tech knows the sex of our baby but was nice enough to have us look away when she had to check out the baby's nether regions so Cheyenne and i are still blissfully unaware of the gender. The size and organs and such are all perfectly healthy looking and right on track for our February 18th due date (though i have the sneaking suspicion that I'll have a procrastinator that stays a week or so late).
Our next appointment is the first Friday in November.