One more thing

While Craig didn't leave me much room for writing anything less than: OMG WE HAD A BABY! (we didn't, yet, by the way) with his last post, there's a few things still on my mind that I wanted to write about...

First, the appointment we went to with the midwife two weeks ago. It was on June 18th, and it was with the same midwife we saw at the start of our first pregnancy. Oh, the surprise and excitement and confusion and elation we felt at that appointment!

The amazingly coincidental date of that appointment?

June 18, 2008. Exactly one year later to the day, we were seeing the same midwife, but this time our excitement has been a long time building, and we are still praying every day for a much more satisfying resolution...

Second, the appointment we had last Thursday. We saw a different midwife, but one we had seen before, who we like very much. She's warm, and positive, and seems to really care. She could sense my disappointment at still being pregnant, and see how uncomfortable I am, and was gracious enough to make me a deal. She said that if the baby still wasn't here by this upcoming Thursday, she would do some fetal screenings: an(other) NST, and an ultrasound to measure the baby, amniotic fluid, etc. If they determine I am carrying a large baby, like 10 or 11 lbs., we will make plans for a c-section. If she is less than that, the midwife said she is confident I can deliver the baby without surgery, but we will do some things to start the process moving along. She said she normally doesn't do that sort of thing before 41 weeks, but she'd be willing to make the exception for me at 40 weeks and 4 days! Whee!

So here we are at 40w2d, and I am mis.er.a.ble. I'm in awful pain no matter what I do. My ankles are a memory. I'm exhausted from lack of sleep and not being able to even sit comfortably. I want to be done with work and just rest until I have this baby... But no. She's "stuck" in there and shows no signs of wanting to come out. And I still have to work, and I still can't sleep, and I still have chores, and we've been doing our "homework", and WHY WON'T I GO INTO LABOR??!!

I got to thinking about it, and maybe my body just likes being pregnant. The way it hung on to the first pregnancy even though that baby didn't have a chance, and now this baby being overdue... It's got to be those sturdy peasant genes again or something.

I am trying to be positive, but I'm feeling really low at the moment. It's hormones, or fatigue, or something, but I'm crying all the time today.

Being that this is the last day of June, I suppose we are now having a July baby. Surprise!

I just want her to be here so badly I can't stand it! Come on, Baby Girl!!!

We are all packed and ready. We are just doing little things now to pass the time. Like Craig said, it's like waiting at the top of the roller coaster hill.

Eleventh Hour

You know when you ride a roller coaster? That initial climb up the long, straight chain to the top of the first steep drop? The coaster creeps up, *clack* *clack* *clack* and you feel your center of gravity shift as the first car creeps over the hump and starts its decent. You hold your breath... and the car stops. You're hanging there, waiting to go, and nothing's happening.

That's where we're at right now. The nursery's done. The clothes and supplies are bought, washed, assembled and put away. The classes have all been taken. The preparations have all been made. Everything's ready for the party but the Guest of Honor. (We've even pretty much picked out a name for her... we're not really superstitious either, but we've been seeing it in a lot of places in a "good omen" kind of way. We're still not telling, though. Wait for the birth announcement!)

It's hard to keep things in perspective at this point... to remember that our due date hasn't even come yet (but soon! Sunday or Monday depending on who you ask). It feels like we've been waiting for this baby forever. And in a way, we have. With the first pregnancy, and this subsequent one, we've been working on our kid for over a year. And in some ways, it didn't seem all that long, considering. But now? Now every day seems to stretch into an eternity, and two weeks from now might as well be December 25th.

But we're still here. And we're still managing. And we still haven't had the baby. But soon enough! As my boss told me the other day: no woman's ever been pregnant for three years straight.

He's right, I know, but it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes.

Here's to the next entry being the news everyone's waiting to hear, and here's to it coming soon!

My First Peeve

I think I've been a pretty easygoing preggo. I don't care if people touch my stomach. I show everyone my stretch marks. I don't care if you say I look huge, or I don't look huge, or that my ankles look like they've been injured. I don't care if you constantly ask me how I'm feeling, or if I've had that baby yet, or message me once a day at work to see if I'm still around. See? I'm laid back.

I do however mind when people ask me when I'm going to "pop."

I'm not a balloon. This is not air in here. Nor am I a blood-filled tick, or a zit. Yuk. All of those things bring up really unpleasant, Alien-movie connotations for one about to give birth, believe me. I am NOT going to "pop." I am having a baby. I can think of about 30 euphemisms that annoy me way less than "pop."

So please, refrain from making comments that remind me my abdomen looks like Jiffy Pop when you take it off the stove. (No, I will not don a layer of tin foil.)

(Final?) Nursery Update

Today marks two auspicious occasions. First, it is exactly two weeks from our baby's projected due date (though between you and me, I'm still hoping she's early). It also marks my triumphant return to the baby blog. I've been busy... perhaps busier than I have been at any other point in my left, except maybe college. Wait... especially college. There's no way to BS one's way through preparing to have a baby.

Let's turn back the clock several weeks (queue the "LOST" flashback noise). I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of our crib, hoping and praying that it wouldn't be broken or defaced in transit like EVERY OTHER MAJOR ONLINE PURCHASE I MAKE EVER!

Sadly, the crib was no exception.


If I were ordering something where a flaw like the one above couldn't potentially kill my only child, I could overlook it. However, in this case, logic dictated that we order a replacement. Kathy got on the phone with the manufacturer, and eight to ten business days later, we had our replacement. Thankfully, this one was undamaged.

I set to work at once putting the crib together. By this point, we'd made most of our other baby gear purchases, so we set to work decorating it at once. Here's a fairly detailed shot of our bedding (decorative only... we know that we need to take the crib bumper and blanket out of the crib when she's born... it's only there for show right now). Ignore the crib's position in the room... it's moved a few times since then.


We also bought and installed new rods, tiebacks and curtains, which you can see on the right hand side of the next picture. The rods have little pink glass spheres on the ends, and the curtains are an iridescent brown fabric, in case the pictures don't convey that.

Also visible in the picture below are the ubiquitous Diaper Genie II Elite and one of two refinished (by yours truly) and re-hardwared dressers. This one has been re-purposed into a changing table, complete with soft pink cover. Our goal here was to keep the actual pink to a minimum. Hopefully we've succeeded.


With the help of my Father-in-law, I hauled one of our purple living room armchairs up the stairs in lieu of a glider or rocker. It's comfortable and goes with the decor, so why buy something new, right? The lamp in the background was an unexpected $19 find at Target. If you can't tell, the bulb covers are several shades of pink, mulberry, brown and white. Finally, a small shelf for nick knacks (not quite completely filled up) can be seen here.



The other dresser, the first one's longer, shorter doppelganger, resides against the front wall of the room. You can see a lamp here which matches the bedding on the crib, as well as a mirror I'm not completely happy with yet. The one thing you can't see on this wall is an old IKEA table that's been painted pink with brown legs. Once a brown stripe has been painted around it, this will be our in-room internet access... something to do when we're up at all hours taking care of the baby.


This past weekend, my awesome brother-in-law Aaron came over and helped us wire the nursery for overhead lighting (90% of the rooms in this house don't have any, an issue we're out to remedy, one room at a time) and install a ceiling fan to help protect our little bundle of joy from the oft-worried-about (by me) SIDS.


So that's basically it. Aside from hanging a few photos, the nursery is complete! It only took several months of backbreaking work, but I'm sure our daughter will one day appreciate that her parents took the time to create for her a space that she could enjoy and continue to grow into. She'd just better not let her mom catch her hanging posters on that circle wall!

More updates soon, I promise!

Nada

(I'm liking the title of this post for its multiple-language meanings...)

Went to the doctor yesterday, and he checked my cervix. No dilation, no effacement! Rats. The doctor gave us "homework" to do if we want to start moving things along though. I'm also going to start using evening primrose oil to try to help. It would be a little early for my mom and dad if she came before next Sunday, but it would be okay anyway. I think we're ready!

He also said she grew when he measured my abdomen! I gained something crazy like 8 lbs in the last week! That can't all be her, but my ankles and calves are so freakishly swollen that I know I'm also retaining a bunch of water. The doctor was nice though, and said that my ankles weren't even the worst he'd seen that day (no matter how bad I feel about them.) :P

She's still moving around frequently but her movements are much less "kicky." She's making a large lump on my upper right side which I'm thinking is her back or her butt. Every once in a while she PUSHES it out slowly but hard, and I end up with a giant, weirdly lopsided tum! When she does it, it's fairly painful (I've got a whole new set of stretchmarks from it!) and we say she's "cubbing out."

In other news, our friend from the VA Board (where Craig and I met) drew this lovely pic for Craig's birthday on Wednesday:


Thanks, mb!! :)

Baby Pool

Not the kind you swim in, and we're not having a water birth or anything...

It's the guessing game kind, where you can enter a guess for the newborn's date of birth, time, weight, length, and a few other features. I found a simple-yet-nice site created by a guy who was having his own kid and wanted to get his family involved... He's created it for free, and kept it free, which is pretty cool in this day and age.

The link is here, but also in the title of this post, and in the link section on the right.

So the person who guesses the closest wins! What do you win? I have no idea yet, other than bragging rights, of course, but it could be fun! Craig and I will make our own guesses offline, since we are the keepers of inside information...

Enjoy!

Terms of Endearment

Ah, 37 weeks. I've carried this baby to term! Yay me! She is welcome to come out any time she likes now, except we're hoping she'll wait until after at least next weekend. We have many unfinished tasks...

My car is currently in the shop having its AC repaired. If the baby comes before that's done, we don't have a vehicle to bring her home in, as the seat belts in the back of Craig's car don't work (and even if they did, I don't think we could fit a car seat back there.) Contingency plans: we took the car seat base out of my car before taking it to the shop. Plan A is Mom & Dad's vehicle. Plan B is some other visitor's car. Plan C is rent a car.

Wednesday is Craig's birthday. It would be more convenient if we didn't have 2 people in this house sharing a birthday week. (June is going to be one hell of a month. Anniversary, Craig's birthday, Baby Girl's birthday, Desmond's birthday...)

We have a "preview" appointment at a pediatrician on Wednesday. It would be nice if we met one we like before she comes.

I have another prenatal appointment Thursday morning. (If she comes before then, obviously it won't be necessary!)

I'm supposed to get my hair cut Thursday. I would like to have "good hair" for all the pictures that will be taken post-birth.

And lastly on Sunday, I am going to the church for a pre-baptism class that they require of first-time parents. They only have them a couple of times a month, so if I didn't go this time, it would be a pain to reschedule.

Not to mention that the house is a mess, and I feel like we have so much to sort out still.

And I haven't even packed my hospital bag yet. That's a daunting task. I made lists for it though, and they are looong. You'd swear I'm going on a month's vacation. However, I just compiled it with every conceivable thing from every suggestion list I could find out there, so it will definitely require paring.

Nonevents

At week 36, it seems like it's all over but the waiting, now.

From the pages of "Duh" magazine:

Babies are expensive!!!

Craig and I spent the last couple of weeks shopping for things we didn't have yet, and WOW -- have we spent a lot of money! Thank God for our nice tax return this year. I don't know how other people do it.

I tried to rationalize it this way:
Imagine if you took in a refugee who had nothing. Imagine what it would take to outfit this person with everything they needed: clothing, food, toiletries, etc. Then consider that they are a special-needs person and also require lots of specialized equipment to get around and just for day-to-day living. What would that cost? Probably more, actually, than what it costs to outfit a baby. (Baby clothes are cheap in comparison to adult clothes!)

We went to the doctor yesterday for a checkup. Baby Girl was kicking around just fine. Nice strong heartbeat, still measuring on track. They had me get in the stirrups to do a Group B Strep culture. Yes, they already found GBS in my urine at that 10 week or so exam, but he said it doesn't hurt to do it again at 36 weeks. He didn't want to check my cervix this time because he said it's too early. But after feeling my abdomen he said he thinks she's already facing downward, so that's a good sign!

My pelvis feels like it's coming apart, and my lower back is killing me most of the time. I feel positively geriatric. What was I thinking having my first baby at 37 years old?? I'm so jealous of the under-30 crowd at this point. I'm sure I would have had a much easier time if I had started earlier.

Physically, anyway. Because then the logic-brain kicks in and reminds me I was in absolutely no place financially or emotionally to handle taking care of a tiny human when I was younger. I really needed the time to figure things out about who I am and what I wanted to do with my life before I decided to have a kid. Not to mention the fact that my traditional sensibilities wouldn't have allowed me to have a baby without a decent father in the picture for her. I kept to the plan:
1. Financial independence
2. Career stability
3. Marriage
4. House
5. Baby

It just took a really long time to get there. But I'm glad I did it this way. Would I do it this way again? Probably. But I would like to have known then what I know now. I would have gotten here much sooner.

And speaking along those lines, and of nonevents...

Today is our third wedding anniversary. Craig and I have neglected to get each other anything. I think we both just sort of forgot with all the baby excitement, and it's fallen by the wayside. We'll probably just go out to dinner and have a nice relaxing evening at home. I told him his present is that I'm making this baby for him. And he says that HE made the baby. So I guess it was a team effort, and that makes for a nice anniversary gift, indeed.