36 Weeks

We're at 36 Weeks already, time is definitely flying by.  We had a doctor's appointment last Wednesday, and everything looked great! Our next one is October 13th, and we have a ultrasound that day too.
With only four weeks to go, we're getting excited and a little bit nervous too. We started birthing class last Tuesday, and it has been an interesting experience, LOTS of breathing! Since Neil has taken a job in Norfolk, my Mom gets to go with me to the next one, hopefully she can limit her laughing. : )

We were happy when we finally got everything set up and ready for Baby Alex, though now it looks like we may be moving a few hours away after he's born, and will have to re-do everything we've done. Oh well, we will just have to take it a day at a time and see where things lead from here. I know I can't decide when he will arrive, but I am praying I go into labor on a Friday, so I know Neil will already be on his way back to Farmville. : )

Two weeks ago I didn't think it was possible for my stomach to get any bigger then it was... But now even some of the maternity shirts are getting snug! It is amazing though how Alex's movements have changed, instead of feeling little feet and hands, I'm feeling as well as seeing whole arms and legs when he moves around. He doesn't so much kick, it's more he rolls around now, there's simply no way to describe how it feels other then amazing. : )

34 Weeks

So we're now at 34 Weeks and 3 Days!  How exciting, less then 6 weeks to go!! We had our doctors appointment this past Friday, and it went fairly well. He was a little concerned about me having hot flashes, but all of the labs came back normal, so no worries. We go back to the doctor this coming Wednesday, (Sept. 30th) and have an ultrasound sometime after the first of October. We're pretty excited about that, this one will be in 3D!


As for baby, we picked a name back in June, Christopher Alexander Orange, but we weren't sure exactly what to call him... After some debating, and getting others opinions, we've decided to call him Alex. :) Several people have told us that his activity level in utero will give us some idea of what his activity level will be after birth... This worries me a little considering he rarely stops moving! We've gotten lots of "baby toys", that will hopefully help keep him occupied, but either way we're anxious for him to be here! After all, what fun are baby toys, and cute outfits without a baby to put in them??

33 Weeks

We're now in week 33, only seven more weeks to go! 

Up until I actually became pregnant, I really didn't see what the fuss was about... Sure your stomach gets a little bigger, but is it really all that bad? Well no, it's not bad per say. It's been an amazing experience, it's incredible how he went from looking like a tadpole, to a actual baby... And I never thought I would be as excited as I was to see a fuzzy little picture on a screen, that really looked more like a teddy bear then a baby. Then there have been the kicks, that went from feeling like flutters, and being cute, to sharp pains that wake you up in the middle of the night, and I can only imagine how much stronger they're going to feel over the next few weeks.
With all of the cute and amazing experiences also came the headaches, morning all day & night sickness, hot flashes, and night sweats of course... Not to mention the early contractions : /
Overall I've enjoyed being pregnant, though I'm not so sure about the labor and delivery part... 


We have our next appointment on Friday, hopefully all will go well for it. At our last appointment I was told I needed to gain a "significant amount of weight", so hopefully I've gained some.
We're doing "pregnancy pictures" this weekend I believe... (Not too sure exactly what those are going to be)
And last this week, we have our Breastfeeding class! I have no idea how they plan to teach you to breastfeed with out you actually having a baby yet... But we're going to give it a try. :)

Alternative Vaccine Schedule

Over the past month or so we've been looking into Newborn care, and when vaccines are due... If you were to follow the vaccination schedule made by the American Board of Pediatrics, infants get up to 6 vaccines at one time. Usually four with alluminum, and up to three with live virus'. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, for multiple reasons. So we're considering using the Dr. Sears schedule. I was wondering if anyone else has used this, and what they thought about it.


Dr. Sears Alternative Vaccine Schedule

With all of the talk of vaccines causing autism and whatnot I thought I'd post this alternative vaccine schedule by Dr. Sears for other parents. He spaces the vaccine's out throughout their youth so that they aren't getting too much medicine at one time.
The months with an * are shots-only visits b/c most doctors don't do well baby check ups at these times.
Please use this list as a tool to discuss vaccinating with your pediatrician.
Dr. Sear's Alternative Vaccine Schedule



•2 months: DTaP, Rotavirus

•3 months*: Pc, HIB

•4 months: DTaP, Rotavirus

•5 months*: Pc, HIB

•6 months: DTaP, Rotavirus

•7 months*: Pc, HIB

•9 months: Polio (IPV)



•12 months: Mumps, Polio (IPV) (See 3rd UPDATE)

•15 months: Pc, HIB

•18 months: DTaP, Chickenpox

•2 years: Rubella, Polio (IPV) (See 3rd UPDATE)

•2 1/2 years*: Hep B, Hep A (start Hep B at birth if any close relatives or caregivers have Hep B)

•3 years: Hep B, Measles (See 3rd UPDATE)



•3 1/2 years*: Hep B, Hep A

•4 years: DTaP, Polio (IPV)

•5 years: MMR

•6 years: Chickenpox

•12 years: Tdap, HPV

•12 years, 2 months*: HPV

•13 years: HPV, Meningococcal (once Meningococcal vaccine is approved for age 2, Dr. Sears will move it there and delay Hep B by 6 months)

A NOTE FROM ME: The MMR vaccines are no longer split up into 3 different shots. As a result I have chosen to wait until my son is over 3 to get the MMR shot. He has to have 2 MMR vaccinations before starting public school so I will wait as long as possible. However, if there is an outbreak in my area of any of the 3 diseases, I will consider vaccinating him immediately. - Shari



****UPDATED ****

It was brought to my attention by an anonymous reader (thank you) that the IPV vaccine is actually included in the above....it is the Polio vaccine.

Baby Orange

I suppose I'm starting this a little late, but better late then never! Neil and I found out we were expecting on March 7th 2009, and boy were we suprised... A good suprise though. We had our first doctors appointment and ultrasound on April 17th with a doctor in Lynchburg Va. where they told us we were due on November 7th 2009.

We went to two more appointments there, but it just didn't feel right. After discussing it, we decided it was more important for me to be comfortable with the doctor we saw, and switched to Dr. Basco at Southside Community Hospital. We had our first appointment with him on June 3rd and he has been absolutely amazing!

On June 9th we had our second ultrasound, and found out we were having a boy, and he is due on Nov. 3rd! In addition to Neil and I, my mom, sister and two brothers were at that appointment. I was not-so-secretly hoping for a girl, but Neil seemed a bit relieved to hear it was a boy. :) We did have a bit of a scare, the sonogram technician found two cysts on his brain, and we were sent to a specialist at CJW, thankfully at that appointment all appeared well!

Over the last two months, we have had to go into the birthing center a few times for contractions, but they seem to be under control now, and all is going well.

We're now at 32 Weeks and 6 Days, over 3/4 of the way there!!