Go Natural!

Bekah did it! No drugs! Just say no! Seriously, all went well. Here's a video.

Daddy's last nap?

It's been a wonderful morning. Travis was supposed to be reffing some soccer games, but there was a schedule mishap so he got sent home. I've grown weary of being in the house, so we ventured out to City Park. We took a really long walk around, passing by a high school cross country meet, the children's playground (we'll be hanging out there soon), and sat on a bench by the bayou, watching teenagers canoe by. The fall weather here is a treat. It's beautiful outside. Soon after lunch, I found Travis knocked out on the couch...perhaps he is catching his last zzz's before the big adventure?I am feeling pretty well, although pain and pressure in my hips and pelvis is definitely increasing. I may be having some mild contractions, but they aren't too consistent or painful. I'm kind of ready to get this show on the road, and hoping our daughter makes her debut this weekend. But the quiet is nice. I know our lives will never be quite the same. But I am ready for the change and can't wait to experience all the new things having a child will bring.

Bekah gets a gold star

At our last Dr's appointment, the doc said Bekah should get an award for being the happiest 9-month preggers lady in the house.

Family fun

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

37 week belly pic

The site that does the slideshow above is undergoing maintenance (what timing) and so I have posted a 37-week picture below.

We are home now and trying not to stress about Ike too much yet...although if he keeps his path it looks like we'll be leaving again!!! Darn!

What a week

Well, we are leaving Arkansas tomorrow for phase three of our hurricane evacuation. Hopefully, this will be the last phase, but we really don't know. We first left Baton Rouge (phase one) last Thursday and stayed there for two nights. We wanted to see where the storm was going, and because it looked like it would affect both BR and Lake Charles, we decided it was best to go north. We did avoid a lot of traffic by taking this route and leaving early, but it was a far drive. We've been here in Russellville (phase two) since Saturday. We have watched a lot transpire from our post here. First, the mass evacuation from SE Louisiana. Then, everyone waited anxiously as the storm approached, then spared New Orleans - but not Baton Rouge - and barely skirted Lake Charles. The most nerve-wracking moment was when the water started going over the Industrial Canal, but luckily that wasn't as serious of a problem as it could have been. The hours after the storm passed were anxiety-ridden, as it was during those hours that the city had flooded post-K. But we were in the clear and soon the RNC was taking over the news channels, Jim Cantore tooks off his parka and swim goggles, and people started chomping at the bit to go home. It was about this time that I was able to focus on some work, which was nice. I have spent most of the day's hours, however, listening to WWL, which provides a wealth of information for residents hour after hour after hour.

And, all the while, this beautiful girl continues to grow in my belly. I hate to admit that I have not been focusing on her as much this week. It breaks my heart. There are so many things going on, and we are not at all in our comfort-zone, so it's hard to continue preparing mentally for her arrival. Tomorrow we head home, or closer to home at least, and I plan to refocus my energy on the center of my being, my pregnant belly...and then on our beautiful girl (whose name will not be Hanna or Josephine).


For anyone that's ever been nine-months pregnant, you know that all you want is to be home. I just want to be comfortable, eating my own food, sitting in the empty nursery dreaming of our little girl, walking around naked because my clothes no longer fit (even the maternity ones), cramming in those last few chapters of the baby books even though nothing I read will prepare me, spending special time with Travis and my friends.


Travis and I were going to go on a date to celebrate 36 weeks of pregnancy, full term. However, we were in Baton Rouge, already evacuated. We'll have to do that for 37 weeks, or 38 maybe. Whenever we can get home.

I just want to close by saying how absolutely amazing pregnancy is. I'm not saying amazing in a "oh my gosh, I love it" way, but in the fact that I am amazed that the human body is capable of this. Just when I thought I couldn't get any huger, I do. I don't feel that there is any more room in there for her, but I continue to grow. And when she's born, I will produce food for her. That is beyond words...and I can't wait.

We haven't been at home to take a normal belly picture, so here is one from our fishing trip this week. Time to go to bed now - long drive tomorrow.

Gustav

Well, the last and most important lesson I took away from our last childbirth class on Wednesday was simple, "Be flexible." Our childbirth educator passed on that advice from a friend of hers who had her baby in a hotel during her Katrina evacuation. We had learned that day that Gustav might be headed to New Orleans and that we might have to evacuate. As we now know, and as I sit in my mom's kitchen in Arkansas, those are both truths.

Gustav has thrown a nasty wrench into my birth planning. I am nine hours away from my home, my doctor, and my friends. We have spent the past nine months or so building a wonderful relationship with our doctor and discussing how we would like to birth our baby. Now, there is a possibility that I could have our baby away from home, and that is hard to accept. I like to be in control of the situation, and although birth is an unpredictable event, I could never have imagined these circumstances. Sure, I knew it could happen when I found out we were pregnant back in January, but I could never really visualize it. But now I'm living it. One of my biggest fears about the birth is for doctors/nurses to promote interventions that I don't need. I trust that my doctor would not do that - I don't know what kinds of doctors I will encounter if I give birth elsewhere, and that scares me.

Sounds like a sob story so far - but there are many positives. I was able to leave early to avoid traffic, and I have a place to stay with family during this evacuation. My family is together - Travis, Same and me - and that is amazing. One friend of mine had to leave her husband behind because he is essential medical personnel. I cannot imagine being away from Travis during this time. So far, I have had a very healthy pregnancy, and hopefully the birth will be healthy as well - leaving little need for intervention. And I just found out today that my friend who lives near here works at a hospital - labor and delivery is right down the hall from her office. It always helps to know someone on the inside.

Last but not least, whereever it happens, our little girl will be born soon! YAY!

For the time being, we are trying to relax. We know the next days will bring mountains of anxiety and stress. We only hope that the damage from Gustav is minimal and that we can go home...and soon.

Does she know?

Our adorable pooch, Same, has been acting out of sorts lately. We think she may have a sense that change is imminent. In the past week, she has pooped in the garage and the hallway, peed in the stairwell, and torn up some papers in our bedroom. Normally she is well-behaved, and she is definitely potty-trained. We don't know what's up!

Maternity pictures - Sneak Peek!

Yay! Five pictures from our maternity session are online as a sneak peek:

http://imagesbyamy.blogspot.com

Check them out! We LOVE them!

L&D Tour and Maternity photo shoot

It's week 35 and nope, no name hints yet! You all will have to wait until she's born, unless you happen to be around Travis and he blurts it out again. That happened a couple of weeks ago when we were having breakfast with some friends. He was just saying a sentence and where he would normally say "the baby" he said "(the baby's name)". It was TOO funny. Then he had the nerve to say, "I thought it was going to be you who gave it away." Ha! The thing about her name is that we aren't completely sure yet, so we wouldn't want to tell and get everyone thinking it is one thing, then change our minds. We have changed our minds quite a bit during the almost nine months, so there's no telling if we'll change it again. The name we were settled on for about two months was dethroned not too long ago, in fact!

Plus, you're all lucky we gave away the gender! Next time we're going to keep that a secret too. (Look at me talking about next time already!)

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and before the appointment we went to tour the labor & delivery unit, postpartum unit, and the nursery. Our childbirth educator recommended we do that so we will know where to go when the moment comes and also to ask the nurses some questions about procedures, etc. We were pleased with what we found. The l&d rooms are very comfortable, they have a nice big shower, a CD player so we can bring some music, and the nurse there was very nice. I told her about our intentions for a drug-free delivery and she said that it's not common but they do have natural moms. I will have to have an IV inserted (but no drugs put in unless it's an emergency) and have the fetal heartbeat monitored for 20 minutes of every hour. Other than that I am free to move around and labor as I please. For natural moms, I have heard it is imperative to move around - nobody in that much pain wants to be confined to a bed (much less a hospital bed). She told me that I really didn't need to pack too much - that they will have everything the baby or I need. I may decide to bring a nightgown of my own b/c I don't know how comfy it will be to wear a hospital gown for two days (or hopefully just one day). And I'll bring an extra pillow or two.

We then went to the post-partum unit and the rooms there weren't quite as nice. At this point though we won't care about the room because our little girl will be in it with us. Anyway, they are pretty small and the "bed" they have for Travis is inhumane. Luckily he slept on worse in East Timor. It is standard for the baby to be in the room at all times except when she is seeing the pediatrician. They have lactation specialists to help with breastfeeding. It is a very secure unit, in fact the nurse kept referring to it as a 'lock-down' unit, like a prison. I prefer it that way!

The doctor's appointment went well, too. We actually saw the nurse practitioner this time, and we really like her. She said the baby's head is 'way down' which is GREAT because at this point she is not likely to flip and be in breech position. Everything is going as it should be.

I'm still doing yoga and I just started swimming in the apartment pool. It is SO hot here all day so I wasn't really able to comfortably walk for exercise anymore. Swimming is so nice - I wish I had been doing it all along. It makes me feel weightless, which with the 30 extra pounds I'm carrying these days, feels quite nice.

Finally, we had our maternity photo shoot today. We are an exhausted pair (I guess trio) of models as a result. It was about two hours long and part of it was outside (again - HOT!). It was really fun though and the photographer was great. We were part of a promotional deal she is running for maternity/newborn shots so we got a great deal and we will be used in her portfolio. Her website is imagesbyamy.blogspot.com, and she will have a 'sneak peek' of our session posted in about a week. Then, for the grandmas reading this, photos will be available for purchase shorty after (although you may want to wait for the newborn pics - they'll be cuter than my pregnant belly).

That's it for now - I'm off to eat Oreos!

34 weeks!

Well, at this point, the doc said that if labor started, they wouldn't stop it. So, whenever the little girl decides to come out, we'll have a daughter! We are very excited.

I have been feeling extremely huge and tired lately. I don't think it helps that it's a million degrees outside.

We're having some maternity pictures done this week as a part of a maternity/newborn photo package. I hope they turn out.

Feeling big...

I'm feeling big today!

Travis as a dad

Travis found this video and thought it portrayed the type of dad he will be. Please watch!

(a short story)

The following very short story was written for our birthing class. The assignment was "to express the moment of your baby's birth in a medium of your choice."

"The First Meal"

by Travis Leger

THE BEEPING, the orders, the shuffling - they all fade.

White latex gloves hand me a tiny person, no longer than my forearm, naked and feeling the air with its hands and legs like a swimmer underwater.

I bring the little girl to my chest and shade her eyes with my free hand. Her eyes, which have yet to open before this second, appear.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey," she says.

"How are you, little girl?"

As if still underwater, she wipes her eyes with the backs of her clenched fists.

"What just happened?" She turns her head away and then back. "I recognize your voice."

I can feel her heart beating against my arm, on my chest.

"I recognize your heartbeat," I say. "I used to listen to it."

She wipes her eyes again and then smacks her lips.

"I'm really craving. . . something. . . what is it?" she says.

"I think I know," I say. "Nurse, can you get us some fried chicken please?"

30 Weeks!

I have to say it is quite surreal to look at the above slideshow of transforming body. It's amazing. There's a child growing in there. My child. I can't wait to meet her. This miracle of life really IS a miracle!

My body has definitely been feeling the changes. Just in the past month or so. I have had quite a bit of pelvic pain lately, due to normal stretching, so that has been uncomfortable. When I don't sit up straight enough, a small part of my belly falls asleep. Just loses feeling, and it's really weird. And my ribs are gone, but sometimes they hurt anyway. Yoga is my savior. Walking helps, too. I cannot imagine how my body would be feeling if I hadn't been exercising.

Our little girl, who has a name but it's being kept secret, has been growing and changing, too. At somewhere around 3 pounds, I can feel her moving on both sides of my belly at once. The movement is awesome, and I wish I had xray vision to see what she's doing in there. Some women say, "Oh I felt her little foot/finger/head/butt/whatever" but to me a body part is a body part and I can't tell the difference.

What I have detected is hiccups. A few times a day, our little girl will get the hiccups. At first I thought it was just smaller, rhythmic movements. Then I thought, wow she's good to be moving in such perfect rhythm! Come to find out, they are hiccups! And they are so cute. Tiny little bumps inside my belly, and we wonder if she gets as frustrated with the hiccups as we adults do. To be honest, it's the first time I've really connected with her as a person-to-be. (Wow! She JUST started hiccuping!!!! Told you we had a connection.) Until the hiccups it's been hard to connect with what things are like for her in there - it's not like I remember my time in the womb and can relate. But, with the hiccups, it's something we both do. I hiccup. She hiccups. Thus the connection.

I love it. Despite the pain, it's amazing having her in my belly. And it's going to be even more amazing to meet her!

Hiccup!

In case you haven't heard...

The ultrasound two weeks ago revealed that the baby is healthy, likes to sit Indian-style, and is going to be our first daughter. (There are some ultrasound pics on the left. If, like my dad, you can't see her profile, put your nose to the pic, cross your eyes and slowly back away...)

Knowing it's a girl really has changed things for me (Travis). For the better, of course. My imagined little baby is now an imagined little girl and when I see little kids now, and their parents, I look at the girls and imagine our girl doing the same things, spinning around, and looking a little like that, long hair with curls at the ends.

I even saw a father-teenage daughter combo running along Prien Lake in my hometown and I got a bit emotional picturing myself in the man's shoes and my daughter in hers.

update

We went to the doctor on Wednesday for a check up. It seems like these appointments are coming more often, I don't know why! Everything was fine. I am up 9 pounds for those of you interested in that. The baby's heartbeat is nice and strong, and we even got to hear a couple of hiccups while we were listening...they were cute. Only a few more days until the big announcement...that is if the little one is cooperative and lets us see what s/he is!

Baby's First Jazz Fest

Yesterday we went to Jazz Fest, and because the music was so incredibly loud, we are sure the baby heard it. S/he even kicked a few times throughout the day. We saw several artists, the main being Stevie Wonder, which was pretty amazing. Another favorite was D.L. Menard, who sings French Cajun music. It was a wonderful day with great music and yummy food!

My belly is just now starting to show through my clothes. If I see someone I haven't seen in a while, I have to tell them I am pregnant. But my friends are all saying, "You really look pregnant now!" I have a shower coming up next weekend with my friends here in New Orleans. It will be fun.

The baby kicks all the time now; s/he is really active! It is so great - such a neat feeling. We will have another check up this Tuesday, and next week will be the big ultrasound. We are very excited.

My appetite has really increased and I have had some crazy cravings the past couple of weeks. The biggest was a tuna fish sandwich. I was in class on Tuesday night, and someone must have been eating one because I smelled it. After that I couldn't get my mind off of that sandwich. I wanted one for dinner but class let out too late to get it. I settled for a peanut butter sandwich instead, but then in the morning the tuna fish was in my head again. So Travis made a trip to Whole Foods and picked me one up for lunch. Interesting craving, tuna fish, because it's not even something I can eat often! I have to limit my intake of fish because of the mercury, so once a week max, and I try to eat it less often than that. It was a DELICIOUS sandwich. Another craving has been spaghetti, but after three times in two weeks, I may be over it. I also like salad a lot now, just plain green salad with carrots, celery, and tomato, using balsamic vinegarette dressing. YUM!

That's it for now.

Listening to...

So now baby can hear, so we're playing music for him/her. This week, s/he is listening to the original music from Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. American Idol's Andrew Lloyd Webber week inspired momma to download her favorite musicals from her dancing days. Maybe the baby will enjoy musicals, too!

feeling it, working it

Bek and I were watching Grey's Anatomy last night.

"I think I felt a kick," she said. In the last few days she's thought she's felt kicks here and there, but she was never sure.

I put my hand on her belly and she moved it over the the spot. We waited. Nothing.

A few minutes passed.

"I felt it again," she said.

I put my hand on her belly. Waited.

It took me a second to register it, but I felt the tiniest thump on the palm of my hand. I couldn't believe it. Later on, when Bekah said she could feel it again, I felt another thump. So tiny. This joy I feel now, as I write this, is hard to describe. But the most powerful emotions are always hard to describe, aren't they?

17 weeks

17 weeks, and thought it was time to put together a little slideshow. We'll update it every couple of weeks.

We went to the doctor last week and all is well. The heartbeat was strong. We find out the sex on May 14.

Baby and momma are doing well!

Update

Well, we're now at 14 weeks and 3 days, well into the second trimester. It's hard to believe how fast it is going, really! I have been feeling pretty good lately, since about 11 or 12 weeks. I have only been sick a couple of times during that time and once was definitely due to a greasy meal (should've known better). Also, I am not feeling the need to nap in the middle of the day as I was before. I have heard to enjoy this trimester because once I get farther along, I will not only be huge but very tired as well. And then once the baby is born, I think the word tired will get a new meaning.

One thing that I welcomed with the second trimester was the beginning of prenatal yoga classes. I have been going for a couple of weeks now, and I really enjoy it. It's a nice, relaxing time, and I get to be around and talk with other moms-to-be. This past weekend, I met two women whose due dates are in the same week as mine and are delivering at the same hospital! We joked about hearing each other's screams from down the hall. Well, one thing with yoga is focusing on breathing and ways to get through labor. I know it will be painful, but I actually have felt much more comfortable with the idea of labor since I began the yoga class.

I am almost almost almost done with school. Fantastic! Classes end next month, and finals are the first week of May. Graduation is May 17. I am really looking forward to being in the 'real world' with a full time job (which I already have lined up, thank goodness).

We go back to see the doctor next week. I don't think we will have an ultrasound this time, just a check up. Our next ultrasound is at the beginning of May, when we will find out the sex of the baby. I have had three dreams that it is a girl, so we'll see if my dreams are right! I even dreamed the baby's name in my last dream, and we happen to really like it. So if it's a girl, we may use it.

Travis and I babysat my friend's 11 month old the other day, and it was a delight. We were with him for a few hours, so we got to feed him, take him for a walk in the stroller, put him down for a nap, and then be there to feed him when he woke up. Funny thing was, when the baby took a nap, Travis was out, too!

We have bought the crib and changer, as well as some bedding. Not everything is assembled yet, but when it is, we will post some pictures. I'm also going to take a belly pic this week sometime and post it for all to see!

Take care.

Update - second doctor's visit

We met the doctor last week and we're happy to say we feel good about him. Friendly and open. We were kind of hoping to get another ultrasound so we can see just what the little one looks like (so we could argue about who the baby resembles more...ha ha, just kidding - we never argue). But he tried out his Doppler instead. This was news to me, but apparently doctors can use this Doppler, which is basically a super-microphone, to hear the baby's heartbeat.

He rubbed it across Bekah's belly just like an ultrasound device and we listened hard. At first the speaker on the Doppler popped and crackled like a walkie-talkie, much to the doctors dismay. He checked it and cleaned the microphone part and tried again. This time the popping was gone, and within a minute or so, he said, "There it is." I took me another second, but there it was, a strong heartbeat. The doctor said that was a great sign, that at this point things are looking great, the baby seems quite healthy.

So that was a huge relief. I mean, we can only wonder what's going on in there, hoping everything's good. So now we can feel good about it for another few weeks until we start to worry again and then it'll be time for the next appointment.

Oh, and this Friday marks twelve weeks. The end of the first trimester!

Celebrity Gossip a la Perez Hilton

Sexy celeb and 9 weeks-pregnant Bekah Leger was spotted in Central Park earlier this month, where the Louisiana native was treated to a few hours of snow.

She was spending her Mardi Gras break in NYC with her husband, hotty writer Travis Leger.

The couple were rumored to have caught a showing of The Lion King and visited Pinkberry, the Gugennheim, and a maternity shop.

I couldn't help myself.

TP Sunday and profile pictures

So I am on this pregnancy message board on whattoexpect.com. It's a website done by the woman who wrote What to Expect When You're Expecting. I haven't been very active in posting on the group, but reading through what the other pregnant women have to say can be helpful. They have separate boards for the month that you are due, so the ladies on there are all going through the same period in their pregnancies.

One of the posts today introduced a game, called TP Thursday. I just read it today so I am going to play TP Sunday. The idea is to check, once a week, how many squares of toilet paper it takes to wrap once around your belly. So I thought I would try it out and keep my progress on here...9 squares!

And what the heck, while I'm at it, I'll post some belly pics. The first one is at 4 weeks and the second at 8 weeks. This takes guts to post them, so please don't laugh!

Travis got me those running tights (in the pictures) for Christmas. Little did he know I wouldn't be running in them, but taking profile pictures instead!

8 weeks!

If you haven't heard, I am pregnant, with child, expecting, there's a bun in the Leger oven! As proof, I have attached the baby's first ultrasound, done on February 6, when I was 6.5 weeks along. The baby is that blur on the right edge of the big black circle. The first doctor's appointment went very well, everything looks good, and my next appointment is March 4. Too early to find out the sex? I think so, but maybe at the appointment after that! We are SOOOO very excited!!

So far everything has been going pretty well. I have been a bit sick, which is to be expected. I feel lucky, because I know people who have had much worse. I've become more picky about eating than I ever was before...which is hard to believe. Travis has been really patient with me, especially when he spends time cooking a meal only to have me say I can't eat it (usually because the smell is off to me).

Aside from the occassional nausea, I have been exhausted most of the time. I try to spend the weekends resting so that I can store energy for the week ahead. After this week it will hopefully be a bit better...down from two jobs to one, I won't be running around town quite as much.

I have made the changes that all newly pregnant women face. I am not longer drinking, of course, and because of second hand smoke I am not even going out to bars anymore. That's not a big deal to me now, because Saints season is over. The main reason I ever went to a bar was to watch their games. I've cut caffeine out of my diet, which was only hard at first. I was a daily coffee drinker, and sometimes in the afternoon I miss it. I miss Coke, too, but it's totally worth it and I do feel healthier without it.

We are making a huge change as a family, and that is to move to a bigger apartment! We had been feeling scrunched up in our tiny place lately, and the baby news coincided with us finding the perfect 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. We knew we had to jump on the opening when we saw it. We are moving to the Mid City neighborhood of New Orleans on Saturday. It's about a 15 minute drive from where we are now, and it is a really central location for New Orleans events. We will be walking distance to City Park, Jazz Fest, Voodoo Fest, and we will be ON the Endymion parade route. I'll post pictures when we move.

Well, that's about it for now! I am going to go eat lunch, and hope it stays down!