24w5d. I have days where I feel tons of movement and days where he is lazy. He is just like his mamma in that respect! LOL. His latest achievement is jabbing me hard enough so that I can feel it on the outside of my body. The first time this happened, 2 days ago, I had just woken up and was laying in bed, thinking about what I was going to do that day. My hand just happened to be resting on my left side- where baby boy like to hang out. All of a sudden I felt a little bump! So I kept my hand there and waited. Sure enough- bump! He did this like 8 times in a row!! I actually think he had the hiccups because they were pretty rhythmic! I told Darrell and he is SO ANTSY now to feel his boy move! The baby gave another couple of bumps this morning too! I love it!!!
There was a lot of info on car seats at the class we went to last Wednesday! Even DH was impressed! The lady was not only a car seat installer, but an instructor as well (like for Firemen, police, etc. She knew her stuff! At the end of the night she asked us all what kind of car we drove. DH said '95 Ford Explorer- and she immediately replied that we wouldn't get a car seat in the middle of our back seat!!! She said for us, the back seat side would have to do. Also, if you drive a Toyota Tacoma Truck- there is not a single car seat made that fits it!!!!!! Good thing no one in this class had one. We learn a bit more next week and then we are all taught how to install our own seats in our own cars. That'll be a hoot.
Some of the stuff we learned- Don't buy any car seat with a shield (the cushioned bar that goes across it).
Infant car seats are for babies 5-20 lbs AND 1 year old. Buy one with a base or you will have to "properly install it" every time you use it- which is a lot of work!
Convertible Car Seats are Rear-facing for infants 5-20 lbs then you turn them around and are Forward-facing through 35-40 lbs. (So if your baby hits 20 lbs BEFORE they are 1 year old- you have to get a convertible seat so it is rear-facing). She also said convertible seats are just fine to start off with if you don't want to also buy an infant seat.
Forward-facing Car Seats are for 20 to 40 lbs (unless baby is under 1 year old.) There are only 2 brands of car seats with straps that have been tested for up to 60 lbs- the Britax Roundabout was one. Otherwise, you must use a booster after 40 lbs because the straps aren't strong enough for more weight.
Booster seats are for 40 to 80 lbs and until 4"9' (but realistically, try to keep your child in it until 2nd grade.) If you use a booster with no back, make sure the seat belt goes over the middle of the shoulder and chest- otherwise you need a booster seat with a back- they have seatbelt guides that positions them correctly.
Things like suction cup window shades and suction cup see-the-baby mirrors become projectiles in accidents and she's seen many cause a lot of damage.
The chest clip needs to be positioned at the breast-line level (which is pretty high). If your baby is "Houdini" and can move it down on their own or get out of the seat, you can buy a replacement chest clip at many stores that is more difficult to manipulate for about $4.
The seat belts ends must be positioned so that the car seat does not sit on one or the other of them or are really far away from the car seat. I f that happens, you need a different model. Some car seats fit very few cars because they have such wide bases- the new Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 was an example.
And one of the most important things is that the safest way to use a car seat is to buy a kind that the straps are easily adjustable from the front (top). You are supposed to loosen them before you take baby out and tighten them after you put baby in. If you can take baby out without loosening the straps (w/o a struggle anyway) then you are using it too loosely.
I had my 24 weeks Dr. appointment last Friday. First, I drank the Glucola for the Glucose Screening- actually not too bad of a taste at all- just a flat Sunkist soda. When I was giving the blood, the tech had trouble (as usual) and told me I had better not fail it- hahaha- we'd never get enough blood on four separate draws for the 3 hour test you get if you fail this one!
So I went on to my Dr. appt. The Dr's first comment was, "What happened?!" I was confused for a moment until she said, “I saw your chart next in line and then it was gone, I thought you'd left!” I explained that we waited in the waiting room until just before I had to be back at the Vampire's to give that GS blood. So I was next in line but I had asked the secretary to pull it until I got back. She replied, "Oh, that's okay then." She seemed relieved (it WAS 12:00 for a 10:40 appt!). I plan for that though so I am almost never mad about waiting.
I only gained 1 pound!! But I also was sick for 2 weeks this month and I hadn't had anything to eat yet- I was starving!! I asked her what I should be gaining (I've never brought this up) and she said 15 lbs. was good. So I joked about going to Burger King for lunch (since I have a lot left to gain) and she changed it to 10 lbs. Hahaha. Officially, since pg I am still 1.5 lbs. in the hole- but since my first OB appt I have gained 3.5. I may use that discrepancy to my advantage later! LOL. My BP was 122/74, which is great. She measured my uterus this time for the first time and immediately said, "BIG Uterus!" Blush! I said, "He's a BIG boy!" I measured 26 cm- or 26 weeks. Then she attempted to find the heartbeat- it took a LONG time but she finally managed! Before this she had never found it successfully and we were discussing that while she looked. I joked that LBB was making some very good armor plating in there! But she finally found it and it was in the 140s. “It keeps going down!” I remarked. She said that was normal- anything over 160 is really high for after 20 weeks. So all was well.
Now the plan is to get my 28 week standard blood work done next time (I'll actually see the Nurse Practitioner) and if I passed this GS then it'll be Glucola-city for me again at 30 weeks. I'll know any day now whether I passed it or not. One more appt to go and then I go every 2 weeks!!! That’s the beginning of the end of pregnancy!! Son, we just can’t wait to hold you and kiss you!!
