The Kangaroo Method

I am planning on breastfeeding when the baby comes.  I have been hearing a lot about the Kangaroo Method.  This is the definition I got offline from Wikipedia for those that haven't heard of it before.  "Kangaroo care seeks to provide restored closeness of the newborn with mother or father by placing the infant in direct skin-to-skin contact with one of them. This insures physiological and psychological warmth and bonding. The kangaroo position provides ready access to nourishment. The parent's stable body temperature helps to regulate the neonate's temperature more smoothly than an incubator, and allows for readily accessible breastfeeding."

I am wondering if this really works.  I recently went to a breastfeeding class and they spoke to us about this also.  Research has shown that if you are wanting to breastfeed, performing the Kangaroo method will increase your chances of being successful by 70%.  I know there are many mothers out there that haven't done this method and have been fine with nursing their baby.  But, if there is anything I can do to help increase the chances of being successful I will do it.  I also think that this will be a great bonding experience for my husband.  That has been a concern of mine too.  I want him to be able to bond and most men do that by feeding their baby.  But, if I breastfeed he won't be able to do this for a while.  If anything I think it would be great for him and her to do. 

I'm wondering if anyone reading this has done this method before after giving birth?   If so, did it seem to help?  Please leave comments below. 

What's in my hospital bag :)

Since I am considered a high risk pregnancy I think it's important to be prepared.  One thing I can do is to get my hospital bag ready.  I am in the third trimester now, so it's important to have this in the car in case something was to happen while I was out.  There was only one problem, what should I take?!?  After speaking with many moms I finally came up with what I thought was important to bring on that special day.  To make it easy I'm just going to list them.  :)

~ Baby take home outfit.  I actually have the cute outfit, a onesie that is preemie just encase the other top doesn't fit her.  Plus, one of my friends had a baby and her little boy peed on his outfit before they left the hospital.  So, I have a backup outfit too.  A little overboard I know! 

~ A comfortable outfit for me and shoes

~ Phone charger

~ Camera with extra batteries

~ Socks, 3 pairs

~ Toiletries

~ Undergarments

~ Nursing bras.  I plan on breastfeeding. 

~ Bobby pillow

~ Nursing pads

~ Nipple cream

~ Blanket for the baby.  She is due in November so it will be cold out.

~ Baby Book.  I have this one on here because I have a section in the book were you can get the babies hand and foot prints.  Most of the time the nurses will do this for you.  

Don't forget that you will also be getting a bunch of goodies from the hospital.  Like unused diapers and wipes from the pack they were using for your little one.   If you have any suggestions that aren't on here feel free to leave them in the comments below. 

Spa Day at the Children's Shelter

This past weekend I volunteered again to help at the children's shelter.  It's something that I really love to do.  Seeing the children's faces and how much fun they are having makes it worth it every time.  When I woke up that morning I must admit I didn't really want to go because I was so tired.  Tiredness seems to be a daily occurrence now.  But, I had made a commitment and this wasn't about me.  We had a spa day with the girls.  There were four of us volunteering that day and five girls.  We did mani/pedi's and facials.  They also had little goodie bags to take with them.  They all seemed to love it and to see the smiles on their faces was priceless.  

That previous morning I had to go to the grocery and get the oil changed in the car.  After doing all that I knew it was going to be a long day since I had to go to the shelter too.  I had two hours to rest up after that busy morning before I had to leave again.  The drive to the shelter is an hour total there and back.  I was there for 3 hours.  When I got home my wonderful husband had thrown a pizza and fries in the oven for dinner.  I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 8:30 that night.  

I spoke with my husband about the volunteering and we both think I need to slow down.  Everything seems to be harder on me physically.  Also, if I am on my feet for more than a couple of hours they start to swell pretty bad.  After talking it over with him I think this will be my last time volunteering until after the baby comes.  We only meet once a month, so next couple of times I will be 8 and 9 months.  I just think it will be to hard on me.  In some ways I feel guilty and sad about it because I love doing it.  But, I have to think about my health and the babies health now. 

I just started my third trimester and I'm in the final stretch!  

Glucose Tolerance Test

Since I was suppose to go to the Cardiologist today I decided to go ahead and get my glucose tolerance test instead.  The Cardiologist is on call this week, so he is not taking any appointments.  I'm scheduled to see him next week.  I just hope and pray that everything is okay.  When I was in high school I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse.  It's a heart condition were the valve does not close properly and I can have blood reenter into the valve.  I have a very mild case, which does not require medication.  But, I have not seen a cardiologist since high school.  So it's been around 12 years and I think it's important to have it checked out.  

Since I had an opening today I decided to go and get my glucose test.  I didn't really know what to expect, but it wasn't bad at all.  The hardest part was fasting for 8-14 hours.  By the time I got into the lab I hadn't ate or drank anything for 10 hours.  Once I got in there they gave me around 12oz of glucose to drink.  I only had 5 minutes to drink it, but to me it tasted like an orange popsicle.  Since that has been one of my pregnancy cravings I had no problem drinking it.  After I finished it, it did have a weird aftertaste.  The baby started kicking and moving around, she was on a sugar high I think...lol.  I had to wait around for an hour before they could draw my blood.  I had to give three vials total.  Then after that I was able to go home.

When I got home the first thing I did was eat something.  After that I went to sleep.  I don't know if it was just the sugar rush and crashing from it, but I slept for 2 hours.  I still feel a little groggy, but overall it wasn't a bad experience at all.