A very full day!

Okay, so today was eventful. This morning we had an appointment with a doctor at Rady Children's Hospital. Then later this evening we had our very first baby class: "Getting Ready for Baby - Part 1".

Rady Children's Hospital - Dr. Maya Pring

http://www.childrensspecialists.com/body.cfm?id=545

Our first meeting with Dr. Pring was absolutely wonderful today!! She put us at ease with the situation & took a lot of worry off our minds. Although she unfortunately didn't have the ultrasound pics from last month (long story), she was able to give us a little insight...which was all we needed for now at least. Luckily, I had a photo on my phone of the 3D foot pic...I didn't think it would be useful, but after looking at it, Dr. Pring said it was very helpful and told us that the foot appeared to be extremely "fixable". She was very confident that this was something that they'd be able to correct either with a series of castings a few months after she's born...or possibly surgery (they try to do whatever they can first, before turning to surgery.) We have another ultrasound scheduled for next Friday, 2/20/09...so we'll have those pics sent to Dr. Pring to evaluate & discuss further with us as well. James & I are definitely looking forward to that appointment...as it'll have been 4 weeks since the last ultrasound & we can see how our baby girl is progressing. We're going to try & see if we can get an ultrasound done every few weeks if possible...just to ease our minds! Getting Ready for Baby class - Part 1

When we first arrived to this class, we were instructed to pick up a baby doll & an extra diaper...we named her "Betsy"...although I have no clue why/where I came up with that name! The teacher told us to always treat this baby as if it were a "live" baby....some people clearly didn't understand this concept, as they grabbed the baby by it's neck or feet, or left it on the floor or chair!

We learned how to:

• Hold & transfer "Betsy" from one of our arms to the other safely
• Sooth a crying baby
• Look for 'cues' that our baby is giving to determine what she needs
• Look for areas in our home that need to be 'child-proofed' and what to keep out of reach

James also had the privilege of putting on his first diaper & swaddled "Betsy" perfectly. The teacher loved his "french twist" that he somehow managed to maneuver with a corner of the blanket! All in all, this class was educational for us...but we still have a few to go!