Bargain Hunting, Cranky Uteri, and Sickie McSick-face

*Warning, this is mainly a pregnancy post:


Hey Ladies,

I'm finally settled in my new place, and though I'm down with a nasty head cold today, I'm also eagerly expecting delivery of my baby's new co-sleeper bassinet!  This was a major find on Babyearth.com (one of my new favorite sites), as it was sharply discounted simply because the packaging is damaged.  I had really wanted the Arm's Reach Co-sleeper Mini Convertible, but after scouring ebay and Craigslist, had failed to find a used one at a good price -- plenty of Minis to be had, but no mini-convertibles.  I saw this listing and almost cried at my good fortune (a brand new bassinet, extra sheets and mattress cover all for less than the original price of the bassinet = happy Kerri and even happier husband)! 

Actually, in total this week I should be getting my dresser/changer table (a gift from my mom who finally caved on the whole no buying anything for the baby before birth thing), the bassinet and our bedroom/living room furniture (courtesy of a local chain's factory clearance center), so I'm super stoked and looking forward to having things a little more together.  Also, in case anyone else is thinking of buying a Bob Stroller, the company is having an all strollers 15% off sale from now till Sept. 19th.  These strollers NEVER go on sale, and coupons are useless on them as there is always a little "not for use on Bob Strollers" clause, so buy now if you can or encourage that wonderful family member who was planning to buy you this crazy expensive stroller, to buy now while it's on sale -- that's what I did and I am not ashamed...truly (insert mildly sheepish expression here). 

In other news, I am 27 weeks today and baby seems to be doing just fine.  I had two midwife visits recently, one in the emergency triage room at labor and delivery and one normal one.  The pains and everything I had been describing earlier had continued, and then I started having light spotting over a weekend when my usual midwife office is closed -- hence the trip to labor and delivery where the on-call midwife was.  They did one of those FFN tests and it was negative, which was a huge relief, and said my cervix, though a little short, was still completely closed. 
The explanation for the symptoms: a "cranky uterus" (I thought this silly, but apparently there is such a thing as an irritable uterus which is what my midwife was talking about) and a rather low lying baby. 
The solution: I am taking it more easy, drinking lots of water, and wearing a maternity support belt whenever I'm out of the house.  I've also started a prenatal yoga class, which I'm hoping will help strengthen up some of these muscles and bring the baby up a little more. 

I also wanted to mention, in case some of you pregnant ladies are still debating between labor techniques, that I've started doing the Hypnobabies Home Study course (Home study because there aren't any instructors here in MA).  Hypnobabies is kind of similar to Hypnobirthing - if you've heard of that - but it is an "eyes open", active birthing type of hypnosis, as opposed to Hypnobirthing, so you can easily move, change positions and communicate during your labor.  I only know about it because my sister, the Doula, is also a certified Hypnobabies instructor back in NY, and she used this technique herself with her last baby and swears by it.  So far I really like it, though I think I will need a lot more reinforcement before being able to actually feel the level of "anesthesia" or "peace" during my contractions (or "pressure waves") that they like to talk about on the cds.  

If anyone out there is particularly interested in having an un-medicated birth and wants to try something a little different from Bradley or Lamaze, they can let me know and I can either try to answer your questions, or send questions along to my sister who knows a lot more about it than I do.  What I do know about it is that whether the technique ends up completely working for me or not, it is regardless preparing me for labor as well as any birthing class (and costing me about the same too) - including explanations of the stages of labor and everything that will happen in my body - and completely relaxing me whenever I listen to any of the cds.  I fall asleep to them every night - within minutes - and I love doing the scripts at various points during the day when I'm feeling like I need a little rest and extra attention.  Hmm, I'm sounding a little like a commercial, so I'm going to leave it at that. 

Love to all my ladies out there in the Blogosphere.  I can't tell you how happy it makes me that so many of my fellow IF Bloggers, many of whom I've followed for so long, are now pregnant or successfully navigating the adoption route, and yet I know many of you are still waiting on their miracles.  The little sanity I have left I owe to all of you, and I hope to see you ALL with your take home babies before too long.