C-Section Scheduled

So after many different doctor’s appointments and crazy flipping baby techniques. We still have a breech baby.  We went ahead and scheduled a c-section on December 29th when I am 39 weeks.  We saw last  week on one of my many ultrasounds, that her lungs, which are usually the last organ to develop, are already functioning. 🙂

I am beginning to wonder if I will last until the 29th.  The last two nights I’ve had ‘false labor’ a mixture of braxton hicks (fake) contractions and real contractions lasting for hours  (from about 6pm to 2 am) and coming every 4-5 minutes.   These episodes are so uncomfortable and slightly painful, that I am hopelessly nauseous for hours. No fun!  It is tricky to know if this is real labor or not but there  are two reasons why I doubted the authenticity: 1. The pain did not get increasingly worse 2. When I lie on my back there is no pain during the contractions.  I only feel the pain when I am walking, sitting or lying on my side.  True contractions will hurt no matter what position you are in!

With a normal pregnancy all this is normal and fine, just extremely annoying and uncomfortable.  However in my case, it makes it a bit difficult to know what I should do, stay home or go to labor and delivery since we do not want my labor to progress as I need to have a c-section. I think there is only a fine line between what I’m experiencing and the beginning of real labor and how do I know when I’ve crossed that line?  I’m scared I’ll labor too long at home and Hazel will start to come out the wrong way and get stuck!

I’m dreading this evening and hope it is not a repeat of the last two nights.

On another note, I think my stomach has tripled in size in the last 3 days!  I’ll try and get a photo up soon 🙂

Has anyone else had false labor like this?  Did it last for weeks?

Baby Shower

I just got back from the doctor’s.  Our little girl has still not flipped.  The doctor is  confident she will flip and tells me to ‘just wait’.  I’ve tried so many things to flip her, I’m wondering if I should back off a little.

Last Friday I went to an acupuncturist/midwife to have an ancient Chinese technique called Moxa performed.  While  I was there, the midwife checked the position of baby and she was transverse or lying sideways.  But she is now back to breech.  Christian has been burning the moxa (mugwort) by my little toes every evening and so far it has not helped but we’ll keep trying until the little sticks burn up!

Saturday was my baby shower. I had a great time and Hazel got lots of great gifts!  One of my best friends, Linnea, came all the way from Sweden  (  Just a reminder to the Americans, we are living in Switzerland not Sweden and they are not right by each other or remotely the same thing)! I forgot to take any pictures but I was clever enough to set out the camera and some helpful hands picked it up and took pictures. However, all the pictures are of me and not many of my friends 😦

We  played a few different games including; guess the flavor of baby food (the chicken flavor was a real winner !) , guess the size of my belly with a string and then I  had a list of different scenarios one encounters with a baby and asked the players to find a solution to their problem in their purse/handbag.  Whoever had the best solution won.

Some food:

I swear he likes me!

Michelle, explaining that inside this bag is a T-shirt with our daughter’s future occupation on it.

She will be a game show host.

Playing with toys.

Moxa by Linnea:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had some friends over for dinner last night and boy am I glad I hired a caterer. After cleaning all day, I was in so much pain in my stomach and my back. Guess I’ll just have to lie around for the next few weeks 😉  I meant to take pictures but completely forgot!

Today I am 34 weeks pregnant.

Hazel is probably about 5-6 pounds and 17-19 inches long.  I am up 18 pounds from my starting weight but after last night’s Thanksgiving Dinner it might be more 😉

I think our little girl is still in the breech position, I am still trying to make her flip.  I held an ice pack by her head for an hour yesterday and she moved it a lot but did not flip. However, last night there was an elbow or shoulder or foot where her head used to mainly be and I’m not sure now if the hard part I’m feeling up high is her head or her bottom. Tomorrow I have an appointment with an acupuncturist who will burn moxa by my little toes which should help the uterus relax allowing for breeched babies to flip.

Saturday is my baby shower, I’m very excited.

Thank you so much to those who sent gifts for the baby shower!  It is so thoughtful of you and I wish you all could come! I’ll try and remember to take pictures.

Operation Flip Baby

At my 33 week appointment on Thursday, Hazel was in the breech position.   Only 15% of babies by the 33rd week are breeched.  She still has until approximately the 37th week to turn head down and then after that the chances goes down drastically as the baby is usually too big to make such a big transition.  In the US,  at this point, they will manually turn the baby from the outside, it looks extremely painful for the mother but works about 50% of the time.  This procedure can also lead to an emergency c-section. They do not preform it in Switzerland.  I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about that because the procedure looks so awful for the mother and the baby.

It is possible for babies to flip right before labor.  I asked my mom if she had any experience with a breeched baby and apparently one of her kids flipped the night before she went into labor.   If Hazel does not flip, I will have to have c-section. Which I do not want.  I am so excited to go into labor and would be disappointed to miss out on that experience.

After reading much information, the most common reasons a baby is breeched is due to a ligament in the mother’s stomach being too tight, a sacrum that is not in its correct position, stomach muscles that are too strong, if the mother’s thyroid is low-functioning  or a heart shaped uterus.  A chiropractor is very helpful in fixing the first two problems with something called the Webster Technique, which then creates more room in the uterus allowing the baby to turn head down. But of course the chiropractors here do not do preform that technique.  I will seek out a acupuncturist Today which also may help.  As well, as someone to preform moxibustion (burning incense by my little toes. It should help the baby flip?)  I’ll try anything!

In the meantime there are many things I can ‘try’ which some ladies have sworn work.  These include:

-Holding a frozen bag of peas at the top of the stomach so the baby will go away from the cold

-Playing soothing music at the bottom of the stomach to attract baby

-Shining a bright light at the bottom of the stomach

-The pelvic tilt: I lay on the floor, put my hips on the couch, support my back with pillows  3x a day for 5-20 minutes

– Chest to knees: Also 3x a day 5-20 minutes

-Inversion: done for 30 seconds at at time, many times a day. This helps stretch the ligaments.

Techniques are encouraged to be combined and best done when the baby is active.

I still have a few weeks left, and am hopeful she will flip.  Only 3% of babies do not flip by labor.  But if the umbilical cord is wrapped around their neck, there is nothing that will get them to flip.  Hopefully, we are just dealing with a stubborn baby  who will eventually flip 🙂

32 weeks

We haven’t been up to much the last few weeks, just relaxing and preparing the nursery.  I don’t know if it’s because I am getting old or because I am quite pregnant, but when it turns dark outside at 5pm, all I want to do is watch TV/movies and crochet. We went to Germany on Saturday to stock up on diapers and wipes.  I think we now have everything we need.  Of course there are many more things I want…

I am in the 32nd  week.  I feel fine during the day but at night my back aches very badly.  I literally can not find a comfortable sitting position and have to lay down.  The hour walk/hike (5.5 kms)  I  do several times  a week on the Zugerberg (the mountain we live on) is getting more difficult and I find myself walking slower and slower but I am determined to continue with it!

This week baby is the size of a squash or a jicama (whatever that is?) She is getting much bigger and cramped so her movements don’t feel as frequent as a few weeks ago when she had plenty of space for her kung fu moves. However, her hiccups are still occurring multiple times throughout the day 🙂

Due to my poor state in the evenings, we hired a caterer for Thanksgiving!  We’re having a few friends over to enjoy the meal with us and I could not be happier that I get to be a hostess without all the stress and unfortunately, pain, that goes along with multiple hours of cooking.

Here are some projects I’ve been up to:

After a long search for twine, the bird mobile is finished!

It’s slightly blurry as the birds didn’t want to stop swaying!

I’ve improved my limited knowledge of crocheting.  I still have much more to add before this baby blanket is completed. This would have been impossible without Youtube.com videos 😉

And here are the new curtains for the nursery. I did not make these. These come from Urban Outfitters.

The next doctor’s appointment is Thursday morning.  I think we’ll just have the typical ultrasound without any measurements.  I also should get  a new box of  baby samples! Last time they forgot so maybe I’ll remind them this time 😉

Pregnancy: 30 weeks

I just got back from the doctor and the baby is not too big or not too small, just right in the middle of the average heights/weights. Everything (her femur, head, stomach, etc.) was measuring at her estimated due date of January, 5th. She is approximately 3.5 pounds and 13.5 inches long.

We’ve finally toured both hospitals and made our decision. Both were quite similar but one offered a family room, we can pay extra for, which is more like a hotel room than a hospital room and Christian can stay the night there, too. Since we’ll be staying there for 3-5 nights, we wanted to be comfortable 🙂

It also offers a nice view of the mountains (not shown in the picture).

I do have a little belly but I am still quite small for someone who is 30 weeks pregnant.  I was at a baby store with my friend yesterday, who is due about 3 weeks after me but is much bigger than me, and she was approached by a lady who offered her a free box of baby supplies.  The lady did not even look at me, so I shyly asked if I could have a box too as I was also expecting.

Weekend in Denmark

We had a lovely weekend in Denmark. We originally went there so Christian could participate, along with all the men in his family, in a 12km ‘Man Run’.   A ‘Man Run’ is a race that only allows ‘men’ to compete.  It is not just a typical race.  They have to run through mud, mud filled ponds that come up to the chest, climb over walls and piles of tires and many other obstacles.

There is Christian on the far right. This is obviously before the race

random guy

They guys had a lot of fun but I’ve never seen Christian as sore as he was yesterday!

We were supposed to go to Denmark for Christmas this year but as I won’t be able to fly anymore in a few weeks, we decided to have a little Christmas for us this weekend.  We ate the traditional Danish Christmas dinner of roast duck and exchanged presents.  I have been slowly collecting the expensive and beautiful Royal Copenhagen porcelain so I received two serving platters to add to our collection.

And……

Hanne has been busy knitting.  Look what she’s made for Hazel:

This pattern is more than 100 years old!

Hanne also made this sweater but bought the mittens for us when we were baby shopping

Now that we’re back in Switzerland it’s time to get busy on the ‘to do’ list!!!!

Hello Third Trimester!

I can’t believe that I am now 28 weeks and officially in the third trimester!  I don’t know where the second one went  (Ah! A little panic as I remember we still have no where for the baby to sleep!) ! I have, however, noticed a big change which happened in one week.  I am so tired, out of breath and achy.  I still have a pathetic stomach for someone who is officially in the third trimester but I feel like it is huge.  This last week, I’ve had SEVERE round ligament pain.  The ligaments in my stomach have to stretch and move away for my growing stomach.  It hurt so badly, some days I could hardly walk and the pain almost made me throw  up a few times.  I guess this  occurs in some women when they are undergoing a growth spurt.  But my growth spurt is not visible yet…

Saturday we went and toured a private hospital’s birthing unit.  It was a nice hospital. I guess I really have nothing to compare it to as I’ve never had to stay in a hospital before.  The food is really good there, though.  Overall, it was very nice but I found out I’d have to get a different doctor than the one I already have which sounds like a pain and I like my doctor.  So we’ll go tour the other hospital at the end of the month and see how that one compares.

Here’s another purchase we made for the nursery.

One of the only rocking chairs available in Switzerland.  And gliders?  Forget about it. Non-existent.

But do you see the little thing sitting on the rocking chair?  That is the owl I made for Hazel 🙂

Today,  I  got a package of American food from a supplier here in Switzerland!  In the mix;  Canned pumpkin, so much easier than roasting a whole pumpkin!  Peppermint extract, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Banana Cheerios, Seriously they DO NOT have Cheerios here! Of all things!  I also got, a little teeny can of eggnog,  pre-made graham cracker pie crust, Helman’s mayonnaise  and candy corn.  Which may be a mistake because they are so addictive!  I was sooooo happy when I received my package!  Now if I could just find some maraschino cherries……..

Tomorrow we are off to Denmark for an early Christmas celebration with Christian’s family.  In a few weeks I will not be able to fly!!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m having difficulty dealing with this fact.  I may not get on another airplane until March or April! Yikes!

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Bars

The other night we had a pumpkin night.  Pumpkin streusel pancakes and pumpkin smoothies for dinner.    I had a bit of pureed pumpkin left-over so I decided to try these bars.  All the other ingredients I had on hand. They are currently in the oven but the batter is AMAZING!  I could’ve eaten it just plain without baking it.  The recipe also suggests the bars be topped with  frosting or caramel. I want to wait and see how they taste before I decide which topping will be the best.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars 

From: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/10/pumpkin-peanut-butter-oatmeal-bars.html

(Vegan, Gluten-Free)

1/2 c peanut butter

1 c pumpkin puree (i.e. Libby’sin a can and if you don’t have pumpkin puree in your market, use sweet potato puree either canned or sweet potatoes that you boil/puree yourself)

2 c oats (whole rolled, not quick cook)

1 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c white sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (reduce/increase to taste)

1 tsp cinnamon (reduce/increase to taste)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Optional: Add raisins, nuts, chocolate/white/peanut butter chips to the mixture.  Start with 1/3 to 1/2 c and going from there based on taste preference.

Optional frosting ideas

Cream Cheese Frosting; add a pinch of pumpkin pie spice + cinnamon if you’d like

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Caramel Sauce, either jarred or homemade Dark Rum Caramel Sauce

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir by hand.  Spread batter (it will be pretty moist) into a foil-lined and spayed 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan.

Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  The bars may still look underdone, but that’s ok because they will continue to set up as they cool.  Allow to cool very well before slicing (yeah, right. I don’t think I’ve ever done that!).

Notes: All measurements are approximate and if you love peanut butter or pumpkin puree, add a bit more of either.

Reduce the sugar amounts if you wish or even attempt a sugar-free version by making with stevia, stevia “baking blends” or try other powdered forms of nonsugar sweeteners.

 

****I added Chocolate chips and thought that made the bars sweet enough.  No frosting or caramel required.  I think that would be too sweet!

Tomorrow morning is our next appointment with the OB!!!

Happy Birthday Sherri!

Baby Shopping in Germany and Korean BBQ

Saturday we made the one hour drive to Konstanz, Germany to do a bit of baby shopping.  Everything in Germany is about 1/3 the price it is in Switzerland so if you need to buy a lot of stuff, head across the border! I was hoping to get much more checked off my list but we were fairly successful in purchasing some of the more pricier items we’ll need.

First and most importantly, Our car seat/carrier!  I love the colors!

Here’s a close up to see it has green dots on it

Before I picked out the car seat, I picked out these toys to be attached to the car seat/ carrier and they match perfectly!

The electronic baby swings/bouncers are almost non-existent here so we got a baby bjorn bouncer. The baby makes the bouncer rock with its own movements. It is supposed to help develop motor skills and it has great reviews.

We were lucky enough to get a Moby Wrap from Sherri! Which should be great to carry Hazel for the first few months but after that I’ve been told an Ergo carrier is great. So we bought one. I think it will be perfect for going on hikes.

I also bought a Medela breast pump, a changing pad and a Diaper Champ but I don’t think we need photos of those 😉

These little birdies I made are for a mobile in the nursery.

And last but definitely not least! A recipe EVERYONE must try. I must be honest. I’ve never had Korean BBQ so I can’t tell you how ‘authentic’ this recipe is and I don’t know how it compares to others, but this recipe is one of the BEST I’ve ever made.

Crockpot Korean Beef Tacos

 

 

From: http://www.mylifeasamrs.com
Yield: 6-8 servingsPrep Time: 15 minutesCook Time: 8 hoursTotal Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Makes  EXCELLENT leftovers!

ingredients:
For the Cucumber Slaw:
2 hot house cucumber (the wrapped seedless kind)
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 pinches of salt
crushed red pepper flakes to taste

For the Korean Beef:
6 1/2 pounds (roughly) beef back ribs (you can use short ribs, but they are WAY more expensive)

1 1/2 cups low sodium soy sauce
1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar
10 cloves garlic, grates
4 tablespoons grated ginger
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil (or other mild vegetable oil)
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

For the tacos:
16 small flour tortillas
bean sprouts
cilantro
sriracha (for some H.E.A.T.)

directions:
For the Cucumber Slaw:
Slice cucumbers as thin as you can get them (I used a mandoline slicer to help, but it’s not necessary) and place in a bowl. Add the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and crushed red pepper; toss to combine. Set aside until ready to use. You can make these the night before if desired!

For the Korean Beef:
Spray a 7 quart slow cooker base with non-stick cooking spray and add the beef back ribs. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until combined; pour over the ribs. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. I rotated the ribs on my lunch break and also used a turkey baster to do a quick baste on the ribs with (the majority of the ribs will be submerged in the sauce & juices). When ready to serve, take out of crockpot, remove bones, and shred.

For the tacos:

Warm taco shells in the microwave (or my personal favorite – on the grill… just a few seconds each side). Add shredded beef, cucumber slaw, bean sprouts, and cilanto. If you are feeling extra frisky, drizzle on some sriracha for a nice kick!