Welcome Message to Sally and Sam CdeBaca

Dear Sally and Sam,

Welcome to the world!!! (I'm not sure I'm actually qualified to say this, since I myself am still in the womb, but whatever.)

My Mommy tells me that you were both born on Feb. 13 in South Carolina (wherever that is) and that you are twins. I didn't know what "twins" are, but Mommy explained that's when 2 babies have to share a womb.

I looked around and there's no one else here in my womb, so I must not be a twin. (I think I just heard Mommy sigh in relief.) I can't imagine how crowded it must have been in there for you guys. I guess this means that you two will be "close" your whole lives. That's cool!

Mommy said that you are both healthy and cute and lucky that you were born to great parents! Congratulations on scoring Amy (DeMasi) and Billy CdeBaca to take care of you. I hear they are great people and that you'll be loved and adored and will want for nothing. As it should be!

I'll probably come out in about 6-8 weeks. Let me know if you have any tips for how to maneuver through the birth channel. I really want my birth to be as quick as possible so that my Mommy doesn't have to hurt for too long.

When I get here we'll be close in age, so I hope we get to meet someday because I'm sure that we'll be fast friends. I understand that we have some other future friends coming along soon after me. Baby Ella is scheduled to be born to Jennifer (Lee) and Stuart Hall in May, and Baby Tori is scheduled to be born to Kristi (Whitt) and Kenny Vega in June. Let's all get together some day and have a party and make a big mess and a lot of noise!

Congratulations again on your "birth" day, and be good babies for your new parents. Make sure they get a little sleep every now and then.

Love,

Baby Carly

Baby Carly Growing Fast! She Now Weighs 3 Pounds, 3 Ounces.

I had a scheduled checkup with the specialist Dr. R today and he said that everything looks great with both baby and cervix!

No changes in my cervix from 4 weeks ago, and in this case status quo is the best possible news.

Baby Carly has changed quite a bit in a very positive way! 4 weeks ago she weighed 1 pound 13 ounces, and today she weighs 3 pounds 3 ounces!

Dr. R said that she's not on track to become a "giant baby" but that her growth rate is accelerated above average. A development percentage of 50% is average and she was 64%. I'm not telling you this to be a premature "bragging mommy". I'm just reporting the medical facts of the case.

Anyway, Dr. R said the fact that she is growing this fast is good news because of the likelihood of an early arrival.

Baby Carly was sitting upright in a breach position today with her legs once again crossed. The above sonogram picture is a bit tricky to make out, but basically you can see her face sideways and she has one of her hands pressed to her right (lower) cheek.

My next checkup with Dr. R is scheduled for March 12.

Gestational Diabetes Test Results

Dr. C called today to give me the results of the gestational diabetes test that they gave me on Friday.

He said, "Jen, your glucose is better than mine!"

I celebrated by ordering a piece of chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory this evening. It was YUMMY and I ate nearly the whole thing.

For the rest of the week I'm not going to eat anything worse than a Snackwells cookie.

Anyway, gestational diabetes is an interesting phenomenon when woman who have never had diabetes before, or who wouldn't normally be at risk, have high blood sugar. They they think is a result of the hormones from the placenta blocking the action of the insulin impacting the mother's body's ability to regulate the glucose levels.

4% of pregnant women get gestational diabetes. Thankfully, I'm not one of them. I'm in enough low percentage categories, thank you very much.

Baby Carly's First Handmedowns = My First Baby Clothes Laundry!!!

CHECK IT OUT!!! Baby Carly scored BIG today with her first batch of handmedown clothes, compliments of my friend Lori who used to work at GSK.

There was about 15-16 outfits in the bag, most of which are 3 months with a few 6-9 months. There is not a single stain or tear or mark on any of these clothes, and the outfits are adorable!!!

As you can see from the top picture, there's even a onesie with a giraffe on it. Baby Carly's Mom has turned into quite the giraffe freak. And there are 2 outfits with little monkeys, which is Storm's favorite. Couldn't be any more perfect.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO LORI!!! (She's also the one who got me the free crib and glider that you see in the nursery pictures.)

I've already washed these clothes in Dreft (Mary ... thank you for telling me that you shouldn't wash baby clothes in regular detergent!) and ironed them (yes, really) and hung them in Baby Carly's closet. Definitely the highlight of the day.

A Week Of Baby Classes

This week I went to Plantation General Hospital for 4 baby classes.

1) Baby Care Basics (feeding, bathing, diapering ... basically your Baby 101)

2) Breastfeeding

3) Baby CPR

4) The Happiest Baby On The Block!

I took pages and pages and pages of notes because I want to get it all right for Baby Carly. Here are some of the interesting tidbits that I learned.

-- Babies don't cry much in the first week. It kicks in strong at week 2 and peaks around week 6.

-- If you play a couple of songs over and over for the baby before birth they will recognize and be comforted by these songs after they are born. Can you say playlist!?!? I've selected 3 Carly Simon songs that I'm now going to play for the belly every day for the rest of my pregnancy, which are "Tranquillo", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Hush Little Baby."

-- Babies lose weight when you first take them home (hopefully moms do too) and return to their birth weight around 10-14 days.

-- Use a toothbrush to wash their hair.

-- Wine in moderation while breastfeeding is fine. Really!?!?! I made the teacher repeat this one. She said yes it is A-OK to have an occasional glass of wine while breastfeeding. That is very good news!!! I hope Baby Carly likes red.

-- If babies are breastfed their poop doesn't stink. Talk about incentive!

-- The Baby CPR procedures were changed in 2005 for the first time in 40 years.

-- I learned the 5 S's of baby comforting which include swaddling (to mimic the womb environment which they are used to), the side position (their "feel-good position"), shushing, swinging and sucking. They gave me a 2-hour DVD on all of the above that they said I should watch 6 times before Baby Carly gets here.

So I'm all done with my baby classes. Now I have about 2-3 months to study for my final exam!!! I hope Baby Carly will give me an A+.

Today The Scale Was My Friend!!!

As I was leaving my appointment with Dr. C today I felt like I was as fabulous and glowing as the pregnant woman above. Why? Because I've only gained 4 more pounds in the past 3 weeks!!! This is good news when you go 12 weeks in a row of gaining an average of 2 pounds a week.

My total weight gain is now at 32 pounds. I do miss running and Beach Boot Camp.

They test all pregnant woman around 28 weeks for gestational diabetes, so I had that test today which involved drinking a really sweet drink and then having blood drawn an hour later. I'll get the results of that test on Monday afternoon.

I didn't ask how many calories were in that drink. I wonder why I couldn't have just eaten a half pint of Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream instead???

Also because my blood type is RH negative I had to get an injection of RH immunoglobulin today, which prevents my body from developing antibodies that could attack Baby Carly's blood. If she is born with RH positive blood (Storm's blood type) then I'll get another one of these shots soon after I give birth.

Since I'm now in my third trimester I start seeing Dr. C every 2 weeks now. My next checkup with him is scheduled for 2/22.

7-Month Belly Shot

I'm 28 weeks pregnant this week, which officially marks the beginning of the third trimester!

I personally don't see much of a difference between my 6-month and 7 month belly shots. Do you?

My photographer paid me a compliment during our photo shoot. He said, "I don't think your butt has gotten any bigger since last month!" May not sound like a compliment to you, but it was music to my ears!

I guess we'll find out for sure when I step on Dr. C's scale on Friday. I don't weigh myself in between doctor's appointments, so I have no idea what to expect.

I'm going to put the over/under at 5 lbs. I have tried very hard in the past 3 weeks to be good. If I've gained 4 lbs. or less then I'll be happy. If I've gained 5 lbs. or more then I'm going to throw in the towel and drive to the nearest Krispy Kreme and eat a donut.