Strange Bedfellow

For the past month, I've had a new sleeping partner. It's big and white and fluffy...
and shaped like this:
And takes up one-third of the bed...
It's a Body Pillow!
Actual size:
(That's an adult in that picture, by the way.)

Why would anyone need a pillow that big you ask? Because it helps to support the fifteen extra pounds protruding out of anyone's pregnant belly. A common question for pregnant people: What's the best sleeping position? The answer from BabyCenter.com:

Although there's no real harm in sleeping on your right side, lying on your left side is actually good for you and your baby: It improves the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta and it helps your kidneys efficiently eliminate waste products and fluids from your body.

During the second half of pregnancy, avoid sleeping on your back, a position that puts the full weight of your uterus on your spine, back muscles, intestines, and the inferior vena cava (the vein that transports blood from your lower body to the heart).

Wifey's used to sleeping on her back, so sleeping on her side took some getting used to. Strangely enough, when she lies on her right side, the baby starts to kick and prevents her from sleeping. When she shifts to her left side, he calms down. The little guy must be reading articles from BabyCenter too.

Growing Pains

A few days ago, wifey was getting some abdominal pains. Pains usually come and go, but this one was lasting for quite a while. Pain relief can't come in a bottle for pregnant women, so we had to open up a book for some advice. The answer in this case came from the essential "What to Expect When You're Expecting."

"I'm very worried about the abdominal pains I've been getting on the sides of my pelvis.

"What you are feeling is probably the stretching of muscles and ligaments supporting the uterus - something most pregnant women experience.The discomfort may be crampy or sharp and stabbing... may be brief or may last for several hours. As long as the pain is occasional and not persistent there's no cause for concern. Getting off your feet and resting in a comfortable position should bring some relief."

At the sixth month, it's good to know that pain wasn't anything serious. If you're the male half in this situation, do what you can to prop her up with pillows to find the ideal position for her, that minimizes stretching of her abdominal area. Sitting up in bed was helpful, in this case. But don't say "I know what you're going through." She probably won't buy that.

Happy Baby New Year

Happy New Year!

Since this blog is about babies, and it's the New Year, it's only appropriate that we explore that phenomenon known as "Baby New Year."

In modern times, you'll hear the first baby born past the stroke of midnight to be the Baby New Year. In ancient Greece, a baby was paraded around in a basket during the New Year in festival devoted to the god of wine. The Germans upheld the image of a diapered baby New Year and brought it over to America in the 14th Century. In the 70's, a giant-eared Baby New Year, named "Happy," was captured in glorious stop-motion, chased by a vulture and rescued by Rudolph:And just last year, Baby New Year became a hoax virus.

I foresee 2008 to be a year of much learning and new experiences. I hope it brings for you as many new surprises as it does for us! But with less drool and poo.

Tis Better To Give

Merry belated Christmas, loyal readers! Another holiday come and gone. Being that this was our last Christmas before the baby, I was looking forward to getting some presents for myself for one last year. Which leads to some advice for expectant parents before Christmas: don't tell anyone you're expecting. Doing so results in presents with your name on them that should really say "To: Your Name('s Baby)." Knowing this will lesson the shock if your inaccurately labeled gift contains onesies that are nowhere near your actual size.

One essential piece of reading wifey received was the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. Probably one of the most important to-do's mom-to-be (and moms that are) will need to do is to learn about sleep, both for baby's growth and mom and dad's sanity, and this book will suggest the best ways to accomplish this so every party gets the rest they need. Other gifts for moms-to-be for any occasion could include body pillows, massaging pillows, and back supports, as her body is increasing in weight and size, in many different directions. (You of course, should never point this out to her.)

I hope your holiday was happy, your festivities festive, and you got all the presents you wished for. Get some rest before the new year, because I predict this will be a big year for many. (Meaning you will likely have to babysit.)

Baby Kickback

At night, wifey's been having me place her hand on her growing belly to feel the baby squirm and move. I can barely feel something move, similar to if you put your hand on my belly after a sushi buffet: you can feel something, but it's probably not a baby. Earlier this week, when she felt the baby wide awake, I put my hand on her belly and there it was: the baby kicked or punched or headbutted my hand. When I finally felt the unmistakable presence of a little guy in there, I was as proud as any dad who's kid was already out of the womb.

Sometimes the baby squirms around a lot and keeps wifey from sleeping. A friend of mine who just gave birth to her son this past Thursday (Congrats S & H!), told me that sometimes the baby will stretch from his fetal position, and she'll feel the pushing in an area of her body that isn't in the tummy. Ouch.

Next time we see any of you, maybe the baby will be awake and jumping. If wifey offers you to feel a kick, I'll gladly let you put your hand on my belly too to compare.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Wifey has begun listening to classical music for the baby, which led me to wonder what the baby actually hears. I told her that with the baby sitting in a balloon of water in her tummy, he probably won't be able to hear much, unless she lied face down on top of a speaker. Then I read about Month 5 in my baby book, which proved me entirely wrong. (It's worse enough when wifey says I'm wrong, but it's worse when it's in writing.)

The next few paragraphs will be taken directly from The Expectant Father:

'In one study...newborns whose mothers had watched a particular soap opera while they were pregnant stopped crying when they heard the show's theme song. Babies who hadn't been exposed to the show had no reaction when they heard the music.

'Nine out of ten newborns selected a story recorded by their own mother over the same story recorded by another woman.'

As a father, 'if you whisper in one of your baby's ears and an unknown man whispers in the other, the baby, who "recognizes" you,will turn toward you 80 percent of the time.'

And the most fascinating piece, from Canadian orchestra conductor Boris Brott:

'As a young man, I was mystified by this ability I had to play certain pieces sight unseen. I'd be conducting a score for the first time and, suddenly, the cello line would jump out at me: I'd know the flow of the piece before I turned the page of the score. One day, I mentioned this to my mother, who is a professional celloist... All the scores I knew sight unseen were ones she had played when she was pregnant with me.'

So all this stuff about prenatal learning is actually true. So next time you see us, or any other pregnant person, be careful what you say - baby's listening!

It's a...

At 20 weeks old, the baby has developed full facial features, hands, fingers, fingernails... And genitalia. I was watching the sonogram at our latest appointment, looking for a hint at any sign of a girl or boy. I saw a spine, limbs, and a beating heart. The sonogram image is always moving, so it's hard to tell what you're looking at because as soon as you can imagine what a yet-to-be-born baby butt cheek would look like, you're all of a sudden looking at some other body part. Five minutes into it, the technician asks us if we were going to find out what it was, and we simultaneously say "yes." That's like asking me if I want to eat that last donut. She says calmly, as I'm sure she's said it a dozen times already that day: "You're having a boy." At that moment, it's almost like finding out you're having a baby all over again. Thoughts of fathering a baby boy rush into your head, and you again want to immediately tell everyone you know.

In other news, baby and mom are healthy so far, and he weighs 13 ounces right now. One of the books we're reading says he should be around 9 ounces right now, so he's a bit above average. (Babycenter.com emails say he's the size of a banana.) I also realized that it's the halfway point and he's under a pound; over the next 4 1/2 months, he'll be ballooning up to least five or six more pounds on average before birth. This will begin the point of an entire closet full of big belly clothes. (For wifey only, and hopefully not me.)