GOLD STAR

It's been a busy baby week... I had my first of a long list of "baby preparedness" classes on Tuesday - the Breastfeeding Class. At first, I wondered how the nurse was going to talk about breastfeeding for 2 whole hours, but it went really well (and fast). I learned some things I hadn't read in any of my books, got the low-down on the breastfeeding "procedures" in the hospital, and obtained some fun trivia, such as "Babies go through predictable growth spurts at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months, when they 'frenzy feed' and will likely be unsatisfied for a day or two until the milk supply catches up with their demand", "Newborns go through about 400 diapers in the first month", "Breastmilk contains a natural laxative, so breast-fed babies are rarely constipated", "Babies are born with stomachs the size of marbles, which grow to the size of walnuts within the first week", "Vanilla is an appetite stimulant - our hospital uses vanilla scented pacifiers, and since they can't be purchased anywhere, some mommies dab a bit of vanilla extract high on the breast before feedings". Good stuff, eh?

Then, this morning I had my 6th prenatal appointment, at 26 weeks 4 days. I had to do the gestational diabetes test, which meant a low-carb dinner and no food past midnight last night, then a "delicious" neon-orange concoction of sweetness this morning, followed by a stab in the finger. And I passed! The rest of the appointment went well too: the doctor is really happy with my weight gain and called me her gold-star patient because I gained 5 pounds less over Thanksgiving than all her other patients, Baby James' heartrate was perfect (high 140's/low 150's), my blood pressure was really good (it's been up and down), and my blood count was excellent (so, no anemia). We're heading into the 3rd trimester VERY soon, which means the appointments will now occur every 2 weeks. However, our 4D ultrasound isn't for another week and a half, so until then, you'll just have to deal with another belly photo to complete this blog post.

Here I am today at 26 weeks 4 days. If you thought the belly was big before, check it out now! Mouton wanted to pose pretty with me in the photo this time, but the camera flash blinded him!