Operation Turn Baby Reiter

I decided in this third trimester that I may not be one of those women who love being pregnant.  This probably has to do with the fact that my first and second trimesters were a breeze and now I'm starting to suffer.  The heartburn, difficulty breathing, and constantly being uncomfortable are breaking me down.  I'm always hungry...I don't mind the eating, it's the gaining weight that I have a problem with.  And on top of all of this, I am stressing out because Baby Reiter will not turn.  He/she has been breech my entire pregnancy and I'm worried this will never change. 

At my 24 week appointment, the doctor discovered my uterus was mildly heart shaped.  I got put on a magnesium supplement in order to relax it.  At my 28 week appointment, a different doctor (you don't always see the same one) informed me that the baby was breech and this was the time for him/her to turn.  I started doing some exercises at home to hopefully turn the baby, but nothing worked.

Well, at my 32 week appointment (2 weeks ago), I had a sonogram and sure enough, the baby is still breech.  The head is under my right ribcage, one arm is punching me in the left side, and the feet are kicking at the bottom of my belly.  We asked the doctor if she thought the baby would turn and before she even answered, we could tell by the look on her face that the news wasn't going to be what we wanted.  While many babies do turn after 32 weeks, she isn't optimistic about Baby Reiter turning because of the shape of my uterus and my small stature.  We asked what we could do, but she said there is nothing.

My entire pregnancy, I have prepped myself for a natural labor and delivery.  I've read books and watched videos.  I knew I didn't want the drugs and ultimately decided on having a water birth.  In my mind, I knew the pain was going to be excruciating, but this is the experience that I decided I wanted.  A breech baby definitely changes that plan. 

I'm willing to try anything at this point (unless it requires the use of drugs) to turn the baby so I can go forward with my plan.  I've Googled for weeks now and have been busy with many of the exercises already.  I'm putting cold on the baby's head and heat on the feet.  I'm laying at an incline.  And now I'm into the serious exercises where you combine everything...heat, cold, incline.  A few days ago I read that peppermint oil can be used to turn a breech baby so now I'm searching for it.  Apparently, they don't like it so they try to turn away from it.  I'm going to slather it all over that baby's head and hope for the best.

Operation Turn Baby Reiter is in full effect, as of today.  I'll keep you all posted and maybe even treat you to a few pics of the inversion or breech baby tilt.  

Making Memories

For the last week, Kevin and I have been busy playing host and tour guide for my Aunt Ruth.  When she expressed her desire to come over, I was super excited and when she finally booked her ticket, I started planning immediately.  I love visitors!  I love playing host!  I love traveling!

This was Ruth's first trip overseas and I wanted to make sure she saw as many places as possible during her time here.  We started with Innsbruck.  Ruth and I were on our own for this one so it gave me a chance to show her my manual driving skills.  The drive went well, but the weather wasn't the greatest.  The skies were overcast so you couldn't see the mountains and it was pretty chilly.  For the most part, we just walked around Old Town and down by the river.  We only stayed a few hours before making our way back to Vipiteno to catch the Broncos hockey game...and they won! 

Ruth by the Inn River.

Our next stop was Venice.  Kevin was able to come with us for the day so he drove (best husband ever).  We introduced Ruth to our favorite take away pizza place, the local drinks, and gelato.  Ruth also did some serious shopping here!  Kevin had to head home that night, but Ruth and I stayed.  We were pretty tired so we just ate dinner and were in bed by 8:30...not asleep until 10:00 though.

Ruth was sick of pizza by the time she left.  Kevin and I can still eat it everyday.

Impromptu photo shoot by a crazy man at the Rialto Bridge. 

Baby Reiter's first trip to Venice.

We woke up the next morning to rain so we decided to head to Verona to see what the weather was like there.  There was rain, but it was warm so we decided to stay a few hours.  We caught up with Juliet at her casa, bought Baby Reiter the cutest outfit at Zara, and stuffed ourselves with pasta before boarding the train back to Vipiteno.

The rain wouldn't ruin our fun.

Ruth refused to rub Juliet's boob for good luck.

Our day in Vipiteno was a lazy one.  We had some serious snow here so we popped on our snow boots and headed to town so I could show Ruth around.  We had coffee, Ruth got to try a Krapfen, and we took her for pizza (again).  Kevin had to work that afternoon/night so Ruth and I bummed around and watched the inauguration.  She also got all packed up.

The next morning, all of us headed to Dachau to check out the Concentration Camp Memorial Site.  After a few hours there, we drove to Munich, checked into our hotel, and then made our way to the sights.  We hung out in the Marienplatz, had beers at Paulaner Beer Hall (I had coffee), bought treats at the Viktualienmarkt, and ate dinner at the Hofbräuhaus.

Ruth and I in the Marienplatz.

Kevin and I warming up at Paulaner Beer Hall.

When in Munich, eat a big pretzel. 

Our beers didn't stand a chance.  PLEASE NOTE: My beer was non-alcoholic. 

We dropped Ruth off at the airport yesterday and I can report that she made it home safely despite some delays and lost luggage.  Kevin and I are back to our normalcy.  That means he works and I play the role of pregnant house wife.

Our next BIG trip will be to the hospital so we better start packing for that! 

Short Fuse

I have no problem admitting that I am a person that is easily annoyed.  My mood for the day usually determines how much I can tolerate before I feel like my head is going to explode.

My irritability has gotten about ten times worse now that I'm pregnant.  I feel like the littlest things set me off.  Kevin biting his nails or typing too loud are my triggers at home.  I usually have to give him the look and he knows right away what I am looking at him for.  The music being too loud in the gym drives me crazy and the people who smoke inside the rink (which you are not supposed to do) make me want to punch them.

Kevin is a saint for putting up with me lately.  I have been less than pleasant, especially in recent weeks with my due date fast approaching.  Honestly, I can barely stand my attitude.  The fact that he takes it is stride is impressive.  I don't think anyone else would want to be around me right now especially as much as he is.  Maybe he feels a little like this...

Source

Surfing the Net

When I get up in the morning, I like to make my normal rounds on the internet....Facebook, Hotmail, Pinterest, Blogger.  Then, depending on the day (or time of year), I have other sites I need to visit.  If Kevin's brother played the night before then I have to check his score.  If it is a Sunday, then I have to check out Target's ad.  If it's football season, then I have to find out who won the night before and then do my fantasy football lineup. 

One of the strange things I like to do when I'm bored is go shopping at my favorite stores.  I go to the Express or GAP site and see what I like.  I fill up my cart, but never buy anything.  It is especially fun to do after the holidays when all the sales are going on. 

Sometimes, I get Kevin in on my craziness.  Since Kevin has been over here for over 5 months now, he is really starting to crave American food and restaurants.  I'm still content with pizza and pasta, but I've only been here for 3 months.  Obviously, I could go for some Chipotle, but that is a given regardless of where I am living. We like to go to our favorite restaurants' websites and look at the menu.  Then we decide what we would get if we were there right now.

Installment 3 of the Pregnancy Pictures

The countdown is now on...less than 10 weeks until Baby Reiter makes his/her debut.  I guess that is unless, he/she decides to stay in there a little longer (which I really hope doesn't happen).  My mom actually thinks Baby Reiter will be a February baby so we will see.  Of course, everyone is busy making their predictions on whether or not Baby Reiter is a boy or girl.  Let me just tell you...I've been carrying this child for 30 weeks now and I have no idea.

Go ahead and make your prediction.  You have a 50% chance of being right...or wrong!

Leggings,shirt, and a cardigan...my daily outfit.

I got swollen ankles for Christmas...thanks Santa!

We usually take the pictures after Kevin's games so that means I just got done devouring a HUGE pizza. 

Baby Reiter likes to wake me up at night with a left hook to the liver and a kick to the privates. 

2013...The Year of Change

Happy New Year!  While I am so super-excited that 2013 is here, I'm still left wondering where the hell 2012 went.  Is it just me or did last year fly by?  2012 was a great year for Kevin and me...we have no complaints.  But with the arrival of 2013, we also have the arrival of Baby Reiter.

Having Baby Reiter is going to change a lot...obviously.  No more sleeping until 10 am for me or napping when I want.  Kevin is going to have to get over his weak gag-reflex or at least learn how to deal with it.  Otherwise, diaper duty for the hubby will be real interesting. 

Besides diving into parenting, we have to make some serious decisions on where we will be living and working.  It was acceptable for Kevin and me to live apart in the summers when we were dating and it was tolerable when we were married (as long as we had frequent visits).  But bunking up with our respective parents in the summer (10 hours apart) with a baby in the mix isn't an option. 

Will 2013 mark the year we permanently check out of the hockey world?  Or will we just be checking back into the US hockey world?  Will I finally go back to teaching?  Or will I decide that teaching isn't in my future?  And what city, state, and country will we call home?  Stay tuned to find out.  Believe me, I'm as curious as you are.