Prenatal Fitness

It's been a challenge to keep fit during pregnancy. My doc told me to do 30 minutes of exercise everyday to maintain strength and endurance for labor and for a faster recovery afterwards. Since I didn't exercise everyday before I was pregnant, it is hard to find the motivation and time for it now. I have been doing something active on most days. I either walk my parent's dog, go to the gym, or do one of my prenatal workout dvds. I found two that I like, Prenatal Fitness with Erin O'Brien and Yoga for your Pregnancy with Kristen Eykel Minkz and I access the library of books and dvds at DayOne by our house.

Punk Rock Baby

Minkz and I felt like very bad parents-to-be last night. We went to a punk rock show at Kimo's in San Francisco to support a friend's band, Jokes for Feelings. I know that extended periods of loud noise are not good for the baby, but I thought we could handle about an hour. Unfortunately, Jokes for Feelings was the last band playing, so we had to wait it out through two other bands. There was a quieter downstairs area to escape to, but the downstairs had another hazard for pregos, second hand smoke, wafting in from outside (and ex-con looking guys). During the band, Gutwrench, I felt the baby kicking a lot. Maybe it was dancing or maybe it was trying to run away from the noise. Sorry baby!
We did not stay for the whole show and felt relieved when we got out of there. At home, we immediately turned on some classical music and relaxed, hoping to off-set the effect of the punk rock.

home for baby

We finally started looking at rentals again. We saw a nice townhome in San Mateo, but it is right off of El Camino. Minkz is starting to consider what would best for the family (thanks to the movie The Groomsmen). I don't want to miss out on the fun part of setting up a space for the baby. Right now, we don't have anything for the baby besides a set of onesies and a couple of blankets. But, I imagine the baby will need a lot of stuff and we are growing out of our apartment. It will be sad to leave our Sacramento St. spot where we have been for four years now. Hopefully we will be able to find a new place to call home before the baby comes... wish us luck!

22 weeks

I am starting to feel the baby move more frequently now. Minkz was even able to feel it a couple of times. Also, I'm looking and feeling more pregnant. I have difficulty putting on and tying my shoes because my belly is in the way. I have gained about 10 lbs so far!

Midwife relief!

Minkz and I met Lin Lee, one of the midwives at El Camino, today for a consultation. She made me feel comfortable and addressed all of my concerns before I even expressed them. She, or one of the other two midwives (who we will meet), will be with us and help us during labor. It is clear that her philosophy of trusting the body in childbirth matches ours. I almost cried when I told her about our conversation with the ObGyn. I didn't realize how uneasy I was about it until I told someone that understood. So, we have decided to switch prenatal care and delivery to the midwives. Now, I feel like we are in good hands and there won't be any unnecessary interventions. As she put it (in her English accent), "we don't cut bottoms open".

Baby names

Dawn and I have been trying to figure out some names for the baby. We're trying to get a couple names for boy and girl so we aren't locked into just one name when the baby comes out. You know, we want to see the baby before giving it a name. It's been difficult trying to find names. You want them to be easy names, but at the same time, you want them to be unique. Have any suggestions?

Met with ObGyn

Minkz and I had an appointment with my ObGyn and asked questions about labor and delivery. She showed some hesitation when I mentioned "natural labor". She said that she wasn't sure what an "unnatural labor" was and asked if I would go "natural" for a c-section. Also, she rotates with four other ObGyns for delivery, so it seems like the chances that she will be the one to deliver my baby are low. She did assure us that the nurses are great and that we wouldn't be influenced to do anything that we didn't want to do...