Destination Bremen

Officially overdue

amyformolo — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:16:53 +0000

It’s official – I’m overdue. Yesterday was our due date, and still no action. I was hoping the German punctuality trait would rub off on this little one, but now it’s looking like we’ll have an October baby after all. Everyone is telling me not to rush it and to enjoy these last peaceful days and sleep-filled nights, but the fact is I’ve been enjoying a whole month of relaxation, and as great as it’s been, I’m ready to see my baby!

Mike is also ready and on full alert for a call on his “baby phone” at work. He dreamt last night that the baby was born, so he was convinced today would be the day. I guess the day’s not over yet. Germans don’t induce until 10 days after the due date, so in an effort to get this ball rolling I’ve already gone for an hour-long walk this morning, drank two cups of raspberry leaf tea, and I’ve got some pineapple for an afternoon snack. I know this baby has its own arrival plan, but a gentle nudge never hurt. Fingers crossed we get somewhere soon…

The waiting game

amyformolo — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:59:39 +0000

I’m now 6 days from my scheduled due date, and trying so hard to be patient. On the one hand I know I can’t (and shouldn’t) rush nature on this one, but on the other hand I’m feeling ready to get this show on the road. Fortunately I’m feeling much more comfortable in this last week than I thought I would. I really can’t complain at all – I’m sleeping well, my back doesn’t hurt anymore, I don’t feel that huge, and I don’t even think I’m waddling too badly. So it’s not discomfort or tiredness of pregnancy that’s making me anxious – I’m just ready, after 9 months, to meet this little one who’s been occupying space in me for so long. But since I have a feeling I may go past my due date, I’m trying to heed the advice of the increasing number of strangers now eyeing my belly and advising, “Get as much sleep as possible” or “Enjoy every moment now!” Since I’ve learned that Northern Germans aren’t typically loquacious or quick to strike up conversation with strangers, I’m assuming the ones who have made the effort to pass on these tidbits of advice deem it extremely valuable and worth mentioning. So now every time I feel myself starting to wish Gummi would just come already, I take a nap instead.

39 Weeks

Closing in

amyformolo — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:44:31 +0000

Today marks 37 weeks of pregnancy, which means Gummi is considered full term! We’ve made it smoothly and healthily to this point, for which I’m truly grateful. Now comes the realization that this baby could literally come any day now – most likely not in the next week or even two, but it’s actually a possibility and the reality of that is setting in. The hospital bag was packed yesterday, and various nesting rituals have been taking place: washing and organizing the baby clothes, cooking extra food to stow away in the freezer, putting all the baby bits and bobs in their place, and so on. I’m feeling pretty much as ready as I’ll ever be, and I’m so excited to meet our little one.

Fortunately I’m feeling a lot better than I was two weeks ago. The foot is almost fully healed and my back pain has lessened. I’m moving around a lot more easily and comfortably, albeit still more slowly than I’m used to, which is an exercise in patience for Mike and me. We’re both typically brisk walkers and not great at strolling, but stroll we must at this point. But no matter – I’m just so relieved to be feeling better and moving around comfortably at all. Mike has been so great through my little bout of immobility, insisting on doing the cooking, dishes, grocery shopping, and whatever else would keep me off my feet. And I must say even now that I’m feeling better, he’s still dishing out the royal treatment. What a guy, and what a great dad he’ll make.

35 Weeks

amyformolo — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:55:12 +0000

Yesterday marked my 35th week, which means only five weeks to go until our due date. I visited the Dr. today and he confirmed that Gummi did indeed flip into head-down position! We’re very pleased about that, and now I can stop thinking about an automatic c-section and hope for a smooth and natural birth. Our little one has cooperated so far, so we’ll see what happens when it comes time for him or her to make that grand entrance.

Unfortunately I can no longer boast a perfectly comfortable pregnancy. Over the last couple weeks I’ve developed some annoying aches and pains, starting with my right foot which I somehow seem to have sprained, followed by pretty intense back pain on my right side. The combination of the two has me hobbling around like a 90-year-old, which in turn has me tired and frustrated since I’m not used to feeling this immobile. This morning my obstetrician prescribed me some paracetemols for the back pain and referred me to an orthopedic doctor for my foot. Fortunately the orthopedist’s office is in the same building as my obstetrician, so I visited him directly after my first appointment and was seen right away. He wrapped my foot in a bandage and said to see how it feels in 5-6 days. I realize I’ve probably been too active and need to start slowing down, putting my feet up, and resting while resisting the urge to run around town doing this or that in preparation. Now we’ll just see if I can actually practice what I preach.

Obedient baby

amyformolo — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:45:49 +0000

I’m hoping our recent turn of events proves our baby is at least somewhat obedient. Gummi seems to have flipped! The midwife came over yesterday morning for the third round of Moxen acupuncture, but before starting she examined my belly to try to discern the baby’s position. Normally when she’s done this previously, she could feel a hard bump up top where the head was. But yesterday it was softer up top and she could feel something hard down by my pelvis, but she wasn’t sure if it was the head or the bum. I didn’t let myself get too excited since Birgit wasn’t sure, but she decided not to proceed with the Moxen at the risk of flipping the baby back to breech if it had in fact turned. I did recall that after our last round of Moxen on Monday, Gummi was bouncing off walls all day. I had never felt so much movement in one day, and had to attribute it to the Moxen. It seems the pressure point on the baby toe really does stimulate movement, so I guess these Germans know what they’re talking about.

Birgit left with instructions to call her after my next Doctors appointment in a week. I wasn’t thrilled about having to wait a whole week to find out if we were still breech, especially considering we were going to suspend all those DIY turning tricks in the meantime. But it turns out I was in luck. Last night we went to the hospital for a private English tour of the facilities. A British midwife who works at the hospital had kindly offered to meet with us privately to show us around and answer our questions since we were a little leery of the weekly group tour in German. After telling her about our breech situation and our uncertainty about baby’s current position, she offered to examine me herself and after poking around the belly, she was pretty certain that Gummi’s head was in fact down. I couldn’t believe it – I assumed this little one would hold out on us and refuse to move, but apparently it’s not as stubborn as I thought. It could very well have been the Moxen or the turning exercses I was doing for the past couple weeks, but a few days ago I also started talking to the belly and asking Gummi if it would please turn for mom (couldn’t hurt, right?), and I like to think that’s really what did the trick.

So things are looking good. It’s still possible that the midwives were wrong, or that Gummi will flip back into breech, but I still feel victorious for the time being. Mike and I also felt really good about the hospital tour. We were impressed with the staff and facilities, and we were able to pre-register to get most of the paperwork out of the way. It was reassuring for me to see what everything looks like so I can better visualize the whole process, and the midwife gave us a lot of really helpful information about what typically happens during and after the birth. I still can’t believe I’ll be in one of those delivery rooms in roughly 6 weeks.

Now I just need to make it through this scorcher of a Bremen day (it’s in the mid-90′s), so I think one of my favorite pastimes is highly appropriate – a little soothing classical music accompanied by a nap on the couch.

Turn baby, turn

amyformolo — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:52:37 +0000

As of yesterday’s doctors appointment, Gummi is still sitting comfortably breech. I guess the pelvic tilt position I’ve been doing for the past week didn’t do the trick, so it was on to the Moxen treatment today. Moxen is a form of acupuncture without the needles. My midwife came over this morning with her gear, and basically it amounted to her lighting an herbal stick and then slowly bringing the smoking stick toward my outer baby toe and back. She repeated this for about 5 minutes on each toe while I was positioned on all fours on the floor. For any of our neighbors with a view into our living room, it must have looked pretty interesting. But apparently this spot on the outer baby toe can stimulate movement when heated or touched, and sure enough Gummi started jiggling around shortly after we finished. Could be coincidence, but I’m happy to give it a try and see what happens. After all, Gummi doesn’t seem to want to move on his/her own. I like to think he/she is an independent thinker who doesn’t conform to the mold, but then again you could just call it stubborn.

However, Gummi did finally get over those camera-shy tendencies it’s had lately and we got some great facial shots yesterday. It’s pretty unbelievable to see this little being looking more and more like a real baby. I mean, it already has chipmunk cheeks and everything! We were so excited to catch some glimpses of that adorable little face.

Last night was a little rough in the sleep department. I fell asleep easily enough, but then had total insomnia after waking up to go to the bathroom at about 1:30 am. I’m hoping this will be an exception rather than a norm, because I had actually started sleeping better the last week and was hopeful that my restless nights would just be occasional. I guess we’ll see. One thing I did notice during my sleepless night was that Gummi was awake for almost all of it. Uh-oh. Usually I feel tons of movement at about 11 pm when I’m settling into bed, but then we go to sleep (or so I thought) and I don’t notice it again until 6-8 am when baby seems to be waking up. But now that I know Gummi likes to move around all through the night, I’m hoping it isn’t too accurate an indicator of its sleep patterns after birth…

In other news, Monday was my last day of company teaching. I was only down to one class a week, but I was spending about 2.5 hours of total travel time for a 1.5 hour lesson, and it just didn’t seem worth it to keep going for much longer. I’m still seeing my private students, which is much more relaxed and low-key, not to mention convenient for me since they come to me. But I’m completely content to take it easy for the next 6 weeks with plenty of socializing, relaxing, and nesting. I realize I’ve been so fortunate with my situation throughout this pregnancy; most pregnant women have to endure fatigue, moodiness, and discomfort while working a full-time job, and most women (Americans, anyway) work right up until the end of pregnancy. I’ve had the luxury of only working part-time while being able to enjoy a completely relaxed pregnancy with plenty of time to spend the way I’ve wanted to. I know my situation will be different the next time around, so I’m counting my blessings and trying to take full advantage of it now. Mike also plans to live it up while he can. He’s calling the next month his “freedom month” – which basically amounts to drinking as much beer as he wants to whenever he wants to, and staying up ’til the wee hours with his Playstation like an irresponsible teen.

Here are the lastest pics of baby and mama Formolo:

33 Weeks

Hail to the Hebamme

amyformolo — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:31:50 +0000

Two days ago I had my first meeting with my Hebamme, or midwife, Birgit. She came here to the apartment, and it ended up being a really nice visit. We chatted and got acquainted as I attempted to make her a decent cup of coffee with Mike’s french press (she drank it all, so it couldn’t have been too bad) and served some homemade blueberry muffins (her response: “ooh – ganz typisch amerikanisch”). We then proceeded to the baby talk, and she asked me some questions about my pregnancy, our preparations for the birth and baby, what types of things we already have or will need, etc. We talked about the breech situation, and she recommended a “vier Füße” – or “four feet” – position in which I get on all fours with my pelvis up in the air for 10 minutes, morning and evening. This position may allow for Gummi to turn naturally, but if we’re still breech at my next doctor’s appointment on Wednesday, we’ll most likely proceed with the acupuncture next week.

Since I’m mentioning my midwife, I thought I should comment on some of the differences here in terms of pre- and post-natal care. Here in Germany, a pregnant woman is expected to have an obstetrician and a midwife, and although the obstetrician is responsible for your medical care throughout the pregnancy, he/she doesn’t actually deliver your baby. You can opt to have your midwife deliver your baby (at home or at a hospital if she has an affiliation with that hospital), or in most cases (and in our case), your baby will be delivered by whichever hospital midwife is on shift at the time. It’s a little confusing, but basically my midwife Birgit will be available to me for advice and consultation before and after the birth, although neither she nor my OB/GYN will be delivering Gummi.

My impression is that unless the midwife is needed for specific reasons pre-birth, such as my case with the breech situation, her main purpose is to assist the new mother after the birth. She’ll come over for visits after the baby arrives (daily for the first week we’re home, then as needed) and help me adjust to motherhood by answering any and all questions and generally keeping me sane with sage advice and words of encouragement (at least, that’s the idea). She’ll also do practical things like weigh the baby and perform medical exams to make sure I’m healing well. I think it’s a great system, and I feel reassured knowing that an expert will be helping me through those first uncertain days in the comfort of my own home. And best of all, this is all covered by our insurance! I love German health care.

So, after my visit with Birgit I was feeling pretty good. I feel confident in my choice of midwife, she seems confident with our level of baby preparedness, and I even managed to get through it all auf Deutsch. Now we’ll see what next week brings…

2 months and counting

amyformolo — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:33:06 +0000

July 29 marked two months until our official due date. We had a doctors appointment that day and Mike and I were both eager for another ultrasound and some pictures of little Gummi. However, we experienced some déjà vu with the little stinker. Gummi has apparently inherited a stubborn streak (this can actually be attributed to both its parents, so we’re not too surprised) and again refused to show us his/her face. The baby is actually in the exact same position as our last appointment 4 weeks ago, which means it’s still breech (frank breech to be exact, with the feet up in front of the face, hence the lack of photo opps). The doctor said not to worry at this point since we still have 5 weeks to see if baby turns, but in the meantime he suggested I try some “soft methods” of coercing this baby to flip. One method is a form of acupuncture I’ll do with my midwife which involves something like touching the outer tips of my little toes, which apparently stimulates movement. I’m meeting my midwife next week and I’m interested to see how it goes. I’m not sure if this is something that would be suggested in the States, but I know Germans are fans of alternative medicines, herbal remedies, and the like, so I’m all for giving it a try.

I do want to put in writing, for the record, that Mike is officially convinced we’re having a boy. He thinks he saw the tell-tale sign during our ultrasound, although I definitely didn’t see it and I’m not convinced he knows what he was looking at (after all, he thought it was a third arm at first). So even though I’ve sort of suspected it was a boy from the start based on nothing other than gut feeling, I’ll still be surprised either way and ecstatic with either outcome. But, since Mike is so convinced of what he saw, if it is a girl I get to tease him relentlessly.

Now that I’m nearing 32 weeks, I sense my body telling me to slow down. Just in the last couple weeks I’ve noticed definite changes in how I feel, which is still great for the most part, but a lot of things just seem a little bit harder now. I get more winded when I walk, I’m feeling the weight in my belly which I didn’t notice before, it’s harder to sit or lie up and down, and my sleep pattern is getting disrupted by 2-3 nightly bathroom breaks followed often by tossing and turning while I search for a comfy position. It worries me a bit that I still have 2 more months during which my sleep will probably only get worse, but I guess the bright spot is that it’s some form of preparation for the sleepless nights I’ll have when Gummi arrives. Here I am at 31 1/2 weeks.

I don’t mean to complain, though, because there are still plenty of things that are really fun. I’m still feeling lots of kicks and squirms, but now the baby seems to have a somewhat regular schedule so I know when to expect him/her to wake up and start playing. And it’s still fun to see my belly growing, and oddly fascinating to see what must be the head or rear end sticking out on one side from time to time – this round, hard mass that makes my belly look totally askew and asymmetrical for about a minute before the baby moves again. And Mike and I are interacting more with the baby now – Mike reads to the belly every night, and we’ve started trying to play it classical music, which could amount to absolutely nothing (but hey, we’re striving for genius here), but I figure if it’s calming me then it’s at least benefiting one of us.

We’ve also started to accumulate more baby gear, which compared to most new parents is probably not much at all, but in our cozy little apartment we’re definitely noticing the takeover. Our friend gave us her son’s crib the other night, so that’s now snug in its corner of our bedroom. And we managed to get our new stroller back with us after our trip to the States, so Mike got right to work assembling that and taking it for test drives around the apartment. I love it for many reasons, but Mike loves it for one – a bottle of beer fits quite nicely in the cup holder.

So, we’re having a great time speculating, expecting, and anticipating while enjoying our last childless summer and awaiting all the excitement to come. If there’s going to be a sheer panic moment, it hasn’t happened for either of us yet. But, we still have 2 months…

Saving face

amyformolo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:59:51 +0000

I had a doctors appointment yesterday to test for gestational diabetes which, fortunately, I don’t have. It was a long visit because you have to sit in the office for two hours after drinking a glucose juice, and during that time your blood is drawn twice and analyzed. About halfway through my waiting period, my doctor saw me and did his routine checkup, but also offered to do a quick ultrasound to see if we could get some pictures of the baby to bring home to the States tomorrow. I didn’t expect to have another ultrasound until our next appointment in four weeks, so I was really excited. However, baby wouldn’t play along. Although I know my child will be perfectly cooperative and well-behaved once he/she enters the world (I can dream, right?), Gummi refused to give us a cute little facial shot yesterday. Its feet and hands were obscuring the face every time, even after the doctor poked and jiggled my belly to try to get a change in position. We even tried again an hour later, but still no cooperation from baby. So, Gummi’s little face has eluded us this time and the best we could get was a profile shot. Hopefully when we go back for our next ultrasound at the end of July we’ll have better luck.

Next week I enter my 3rd trimester, so we’re down to three months. Everyone is telling me to enjoy this time while it lasts, which I fully intend to do. After a cool and rainy June, it’s finally summer in Bremen. Yesterday I enjoyed a lovely picnic in Bürgerpark with a couple friends and their babies. Tonight Mike and I are going out for our expat meetup, and then we fly off to Chicago bright and early tomorrow morning. With visits to both our families, my baby shower, and my sister’s wedding, it promises to be a great trip!

25 Weeks

amyformolo — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:33:13 +0000

As I’m closing in on the last three weeks of my 2nd trimester, it’s really hitting me that we only have 3 1/2 months before Gummi arrives. I used to think nine months seemed like such a long time to wait for a baby, but now I realize how quickly the time flies – and there’s no pause button to stop and regroup. I’m getting more and more excited as the weeks go by, but I’m also conscious that life will change drastically for us in a matter of months. But now that Mike is back from the research cruise, we can start enjoying our last summer of freedom by soaking up all the dinners out, mornings sleeping in, and all-around peace and quiet we can manage. I intend to spend so much time with Mike that he’ll be completely sick of me and praying for the baby to arrive just to provide him with some fresh entertainment.

It’s been such a fun stage of pregnancy. At this point I’m still excited about watching my belly grow (I know that won’t always be the case) and the thrill of feeling those little movements hasn’t waned. I’m told it will get old in the last few weeks when space is extra tight and your ribs start to take a beating, so as of now I’m just enjoying it. And fortunately Mike is finally back and around to enjoy it with me. After five weeks away, he came home to a much-enlarged belly and plenty of kicks to witness.

I’m feeling great and still have a good amount of energy, but I’m noticing that I’m not quite as spry as I once was. Things like getting up from a sitting position or rolling out of bed take a little extra time and effort. Fortunately I can still swing my leg over my bike to hop on, but even that’s getting a bit trickier and I’m wondering how long I’ll be comfortable riding, not to mention how long my equilibrium will stay intact. Better hope I can make it a while longer without wobbling, before Mike starts threatening mandatory helmets.

Here I am at 25 weeks – doesn’t look like much of a change over the past couple weeks, but then again I swear the belly fluctuates. Some days the bump feels big and other days small, so I guess these photos can be considered an average…