25 weeks!

Baby Charlotte is about 13.5 inches long by now and weighs at least 1.5 lbs. - about the weight of a rutabaga. My family loves rutabaga so I thought I should at least mention it. So, this week we had our monthly OB visit and everything went great. We have one more "4 week" visit and then we are in the third trimester so she sees us every 2 weeks. We will do that for a few weeks and then I think once I am about 32-34 weeks she will see us every week! We are getting close. As the OB was leaving she even said, "We will see our baby Charlotte very soon!" That made me a little nervous.

I feel like there is so much to accomplish before Charlotte arrives - gathering all the necessities, getting her room ready, securing a day care, getting my FMLA/STD disability figured out, childbirth classes, CPR classes, etc. The list goes on and on! Each week I try to accomplish a new task and that seems to help a bit. This week we registered for two classes - Baby Care ABCs and Preparation for Childbirth. The Baby Care class will teach us the basics of caring for a baby - diapering, bathing, first aid, etc. Yes, I am a nurse but I am more familiar diapering 80 year old men than an 8 week old infant! I say if there is a class, take it! This one we take on June 30th so hopefully we will have some hilarious pictures of Robbie with a plastic baby!

The Preparation for Childbirth class is later in July and it should be good. It is an intensive weekend long class that talks about baby care, childbirth, labor, etc. We are really excited about that! This brings me to the subject of actually having the baby. I haven't really established 100% a birth plan but my plan for right now is to play it by ear. I have never had a baby before, I have no idea what it will feel like, and what one person experiences could be different from the next. With this in mind, how can I honestly say, "yes I want an epidural" or "no I do not want one". What is odd is that I discuss the idea of not having an epidural with folks and you would think I had a third eye. "What? No epidural? You are crazy!" I get this reaction more than a positive reaction. I don't know what I am going to do. I will say this, at my work I see a lot of patients that take pain medications simply because they are available - this will not be me. If I am dying from pain and cannot live one more second with it - I will get the epidural. If I am in pain but I am managing, and I am awake, and doing okay - I will not. Why commit to getting something before you even know how it will feel. My mother did not have painful childbirth, although she is super woman and I think can withstand any amount of pain. I am hoping that trait is genetic. Also, I ran 26 miles. I cried the last 4 of them but I finished. I pushed through the pain, the fatigue, the frustration, the irritation, and the chafing! I am going to approach this childbirth thing the same way - as THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE, to date, OF MY LIFE! Also, BTW, when people tell me I won't be able to have my baby without an epidural they are basically issuing a Bill Cosby style challenge, it was a good episode. I just have to see to how it goes. No definite decisions really can be made until my cervix is dilating and that baby is coming!! I do know I have the greatest husband in the world when it comes to this issue - he supports me in whatever decision I make. He believes it is my body and knows I will do what is best for the baby. He is so supportive and when Team Wagoner gets together we can accomplish anything!

Let's talk about my fabulous husband for a second shall we?? Tomorrow, June 14th, we will have been married for 7 years (anyone have some benadryl? JK!). We have been together about 11 years!! They have been the best 11 years of my life and I can't wait to share a million more years with him. The first seven years of our marriage we did a lot of growing up. We moved to a new place together, struggled in the beginning, but eventually found our niche with the help of some fabulous friends and an amazing running group. The next seven, according to Robbie, will be spent with me pregnant...the whole time apparently! One at a time please! 2010-2011 will be a challenging year for us as a family and a couple - we will welcome the newest member to our team, Robbie will be on a job hunt, and we will plan to move again! I am nervous but I can use the last 7 years as reference to know that Robbie will always be there for us. He is a great husband, a good provider, and soon to be the best Dad in the entire world (no offense Bob!). I am 100% the luckiest woman in the world to have him. I am not the easiest person to deal with sometimes but he does it and has me laughing all the way. I think most of his jokes are at my expense but they are still funny! BTW uncontrollable fits of laughter while pregnant is bad news! I pee my pants a lot now!! In all seriousness, he is the love of my life and I would not want to have a family with anyone else. I trust that together we will raise a beautiful family filled with love, support, encouragement, and tons of laughter!

So, I will post some belly pics next week at 26 weeks (6 1/2 months)! Have a great week! Also, look at that onesie we custom made for Charlie!! ADORABLE!!