So, whatever.

Not in a huge mood to write, but I’m hoping to get over it with the upcoming weekend. I really need a weekend.

I’m finally at the point in pregnancy where a customer will come up and say, “When are you due?!” without any hesitation of me being pregnant. It’s wonderful because then most women will go into a big tale about when they had their babies and share their own experiences. I love hearing what they have to say; no one has any complaints about being a mommy. I’m so excited about my new adventure.

For those that have asked, baby girl does have a name already. Well, she has a first name and a last name but we’re still struggling a bit with the middle name. And I think we’ll be keeping quiet about it for a while, as to not be influenced by others’ judgment. I love her name and I’ve been calling her and typing it a lot to get used to it.

Coming out

The midwife pointed out something that I’d actually never thought about. She was going on about the endorphins and all that and then mentioned how stressful and traumatizing the whole coming out ordeal is for baby also. I’d actually been so wrapped up in thinking about ice cream and me that I totally forgot about our baby girl. For her whole existence, she’s been comfortably resting in my cushy uterus. We do fun things like rock in my computer chair, lay on the couch, ride in a car. I guess her apartment gets smaller and smaller, but even until the end she feels really safe and comfortable in there. But come her birthday, all of her warm amniotic fluid that surrounds her will suddenly be gone. “WTF?!” she’ll probably think. Her previously cushy home will start contracting and squeezing and pushing to evict her immediately. What a crappy deal. Not only that, but her head will actually mould to fit through my dainty “canals.” When was the last time you tried to squeeze your head through something that small? Also, I was told that it usually takes two pushes to get them fully out, meaning that first her head will just be on the outside and then she’ll have to maneuver her shoulders and little slimy body out a few minutes later (picturing that visual totally makes me laugh). All in all, the experience of going from the only wonderful peaceful existence that she’s ever known to all that other chaos is probably stressful and annoying. No wonder they cry when they come out.

Bottles of beer on the wall

So. 99 days. Pretty cool, if you ask me…

The other day I saw someone who I hadn’t seen in a while and she said, “Wow, you’re like… huge…” in a pretty shitty and annoying way. I didn’t think anything of it until I was recounting the story to Toby who got all defensive and like, “Yeah! You’re having a baby! That’s what happens! In six months you won’t be huge and you’ll have a baby, but she’ll still be a bitch!”

I’m not quoting him to point out his overreaction, but the fact that he’s always on my side. I’ve always really believed that your loved one should be your strongest advocate, and I’m so lucky that mine actually is. Also, Sandwiches and I miss him a lot.

99 days of pregnancy left!!!!!

Our little houseguest

We were lying around the other day and I said, “So, we just have one more trimester to go and then we’re going to bring our baby home. Scary, huh?”
Toby says, “Which part of it?” knowing full well that I’m not scared of labour.
“Well, just the fact that we’ll bring her home. And then she’ll be here. And we’ll have to entertain her! All the time!”
“Dana, it’s not going to be like having a house-guest. We don’t have to take her to the Capilano Suspension Bridge or to buy smoked salmon in Gastown.”
Huh. I guess he’s right. But I’m sure that one day she’ll want to go do that treetop adventure at the suspension bridge.

The point of this? I just wanted to draw your attention to my ticker on the left-hand side of the screen: one hundred days of pregnancy until our baby girl is here!!!

What a change!

The appointment yesterday was fantastic – everything I wanted to know was answered. Luckily, I had the good midwife and she was incredibly helpful and reassuring. I’m really crossing my fingers that she’s the one who delivers the baby.

I finally got to ask about pain meds during labour; I really had no idea why so many people were so vehemently opposed or in agreement with things like epidurals and I couldn’t really find any non-biased medical info about the types of pain meds that were an option during labour. She sat down and went through every pain med option, and in turn pointed out:
-The effect on baby
-The effect on me
-The effect on labour
She quoted actual scientific info and papers. She gave me facts. This is what I needed. Last time I inquired about this subject, I was given a speech on the fact that women have been doing this without meds for gazillions of years and I know that. I wasn’t looking for a value judgment – I wanted the real information and facts. The fact that one midwife can actually do this for me really puts my mind at ease.

Everything is going swimmingly; my uterus is measuring at 26 weeks, and baby is lying in a weird sideways position which is not of any concern until week 32. Personally, I think she’s just doing gymnastics, since that’s also her mom’s forte. Hee! I also weighed myself (she didn’t ask me to weigh myself and then yell at me about my weight gain, as the other very-large midwife did last week) but when I chose to secretly weigh myself in the bathroom, I discovered I only gained two pounds in the last five weeks! Hooray! This is totally completely baby related and having nothing to do with ice cream, which is great. She also let me actually look at the results of the ultrasounds and see for myself that everything looked perfect.

We went into depth about labour and exactly what would happen. She said that Toby could deliver the baby if he wanted, but since I’ve already had to coax him into cutting the umbilical cord I don’t really think he’d be into it. I might catch her myself, though!

The next steps are to do my glucose testing for gestational diabetes sometime this week, and to schedule a hospital visit. Yay for healthy baby!

Just random

I’m sitting at work, out of things to read on the internet. While I complain a little about my job, I’m pretty lucky to have one that affords me a comfy leany chair, unlimited internet time, and a little spot to set down my tea. I’m really comfortable at work – no one can see that my shoes are off and that my legs are sprawled out on the computer tower. I guess it sucks to not really make any money or be doing something productive with my time, but luckily this is what works for us for now.

Today is my monthly midwife appointment. I used to get excited about these things, but not anymore. I’m just going to keep my mouth shut and have her say what she needs to say. I’ll also sit in the seat furtherest away, as the smell of sweat makes me nauseous. Last time I was so put off and intimidated, that I didn’t even get to ask my questions, but this time I will not allow that. I will continue to sit there until all of my questions are answered – I will not be intimidated by midwife!

Obviously, I have nothing meaningful to say. I’m a single mom to Sandwiches for the next two weeks (!) and everything is progressing nicely. My tummy is getting bigger daily, and baby girl does nothing but wiggle and kick. I’ve been getting Braxton-Hicks type contractions lately, which is just incredibly bizarre. My tummy gets really hard for about thirty seconds, but isn’t really bothersome. I hope that’s a sign of things to come! My insatiable desire for cream cheese has finally waned and it seems like I have little room in my stomach for actual food.

I’ve also been considering having a baby shower, but am still mostly undecided. A friend of mine has offered to have it, but we’ll see how into it we get.

Twenty five...

The combo of the advanced due date along with being away for the week has propelled me into week twenty five! How shocking! Every picture I see of baby shows her in rather cramped conditions. While she was comfortably doing the breast stroke mere weeks ago, she’s now totally packed into my soccer-ball sized uterus. I think it looks really uncomfortable and cramped, while Toby thinks it looks cozy and safe. Our baby girl now weighs about 1.5 pounds and is about 35 centimeters tall. She’s finally putting on some fat and turning pink. She’s now technically able to survive “on the outside!” Still, I think she’d rather keep cooking for fifteen more weeks. As for me, I’m starting to feel all sorts of brand new aches and pains. Pregnancy has been great for me so far, so I’m guessing that these new symptoms are just part of the process.