Week 24

Half way through my sixth month! I am now waking up frequently in the night due to hip pain, mostly on my left hip. And because I can only sleep either on one side of the other, there is no relief for my hips. This week I woke up frequently in pain and had to get up and walk around. Soon I'll be sleeping in a chair so my hips don't hurt. I'm only 24 weeks -- I can only imagine what sleeping will be like in another 10 weeks.

Emile has noticed people are constantly looking at my belly now :) It's kind of funny how people immediately go to looking down at my stomach. According to my "Your Pregnancy Week by Week" book, my uterus is now the size of a soccor ball -- that's amazing!

Emile felt our little girl kick this past Wednesday (23w 4d)!! I'm was really excited he finally got to feel her kick. Now if she'd cooperate more so he could feel it again and get more used to the strange sensation. He at first thought it was just me having gas! :)

I also had my first prenatal appointment with one of the doctors who may actually deliver our baby. I'm going to the Blue Ridge OB/Gyn practice in Raleigh. It was recommended by a number of women. Everyone there was super friendly (as seems to be the case in North Carolina). The doctor I met with, Dr. Corvin, was great -- she actually took time to ask me if I had questions and waiting for me to answer before moving on (Dr. Chrisomalis tended to cut me off and Dr. Jin always brushed my questions off). I felt really comfortable with everyone there. There are about 8 doctors in the practice and because you never know who will be on-call when I actually go into labor, I will be meeting with each of them over the next few appointments. This is very different than in NYC where I had the same doctor at the practice the whole time. I think this is a great idea given that it will be nicer at least having met the doctor who may be in the delivery room! I did find out that the Rex Hospital where I'll be delivering allows rooming-in (she can stay in the room with me vs. going back to a general nursery area) and they have lactation counclers on hand. I will be going to tour the hospital in the next month or so to get the lay of the land! (and so we know where the heck where going when contractions kick in and Emile and I are freaked out). Because we got here so late in my pregnancy, the Rex Hospital birthing classes are all full already. Luckily, there is another option through the Carolina Childbirth Classes. We have signed up for the overview birthing class and baby care class starting February 25th. It will be twice a week for two weeks. I'm looking forward to it!

Today, Emile and I also went to the Women's Birth & Wellness Center in Chapel Hill. They are one of the few stores around that carries cloth diapers (you usually have to order them on-line). I wanted to see the different options before we ordered. It was very helpful. The women there walked through the different types (Chinese pre-fold, Kissaluvs, or BumGenius 3.0 were the main ones). Cloth diapers have come along way since Emile and I were babies -- no more pins or plastic covers. With the BumGenius 3.0, you get a fitted cloth diaper inside a waterproof liner all in one that seals using velcro. The Chinese pre-fold are similar to what we used when babies but now you put a diaper cover (not like the bulky ones when we were younger) over it that is more stylish and uses velco (still has elastic around the legs like when we were babies). The Kissaluvs are fitted cloth diapers (unlike Chinese pre-folds) but also require one of the diaper covers over them. The BumGenius ones last for all stages (they have snaps to change the size) whereas you have to get different sizes depending on the age of the baby for the Chinese pre-fold and Kissaluvs. I'm going to look into getting a few of each to try them out and see what works best with our little one!