Baby O Update, vol. 1

So the idea for this blog was born when I sent my first “Baby O Update” email to my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. Heather commented that I should definitely file away these update emails somewhere so that I could easily print them in the future and they would serve as a nice memoir of my first pregnancy. I figured why not put the Baby O Updates in a blog instead and preserve the memories that way while also updating everyone at once? The rest is history.

So here’s my first Baby O Update from January 21, reprinted here:

I thought I'd write and give you all an update on my first doctor's appointment yesterday. It was rather anticlimactic, I must say. I had a physical exam, had to pee in a cup, and they drew some blood. They do lots of tests to make sure that I'm healthy. They asked me lots of questions about my health history and our families' histories too. We talked about pregnancy dos and don'ts (I can continue to get my hair highlighted if I want and 2-3 cups of caffeine a day is OK (who knew) but since I've already cut it out, I'll stick with that and just maybe have an occasional diet Coke!) She estimated my due date to be September 14 but at this point that is just based on the same calendar that you can find online.

The exciting news is that on February 17 we get to go back for the first ultrasound! We'll get to see the baby (she said it would look like a baby with arms and legs and all of the recognizable parts but just very small) and we'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat. Keith will go with me to that appointment...and I am pretty sure we even get those little ultrasound pictures. I'll be in my 11th week by then. During that ultrasound they will also be able to estimate the due date more precisely. And then around week 20 we can have the ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby!

On a different note, we visited our first daycare on Monday and we've got other visits scheduled. The first one went well, I would say. We were happy with what we saw. In the infant room there is a 1:4 ratio of teachers to babies. There were three teachers and 12 babies. Your baby has a dedicated caregiver/teacher. Each classroom including the infant room has a lead teacher who has a four-year degree in early childhood development or something similar and most of the other teaches also have applicable schooling. All of the babies were smiling and happy (or sleeping) so that boded well for the care they were receiving. Everything was sanitary (wearing gloves during diaper changes and cleaning the changing table after a change), as homey as possible (wooden furniture and floors instead of brightly colored plastic), and seemed safe (a thumbprint reader to get in the front door!). You get a daily report of your baby's naps, feedings, even diaper changes and any activities that they may have done. They are very open to abiding by your instructions with regards to what and when they eat, when they should nap and all of that. In addition to daycares we also want to try to find some private homecare options to check out but we probably won't get many recommendations for that until we actually start telling more people! My sister's babysitter is still an option although that would make our commute longer. So we'll see!

Keith pulled out his edition of "The Expectant Father" last night to start reading (a hand-me-down from my sister and brother-in-law) but he's already doing great in that department. He is very patient with my mood swings and food aversions and he is attacking his to-do-before-baby list with enthusiasm!