One Month to Go

The second-most common question I am asked these days, after "When are you due" is "Are you ready?" Until last weekend, my answer was always "absolutely not". Now I am starting to get a little closer to feeling ready. We do have a crib and dresser, and the bookshelves and changing table are on their way. We also have chosen a pediatrician and are in the process of finding at-home child care.

But I think what people most want to know is, am I physically and mentally ready. I'm getting there. Although I have really enjoyed being pregnant, I think nine months is just about the right amount of time, and you get big enough that you're ready to be done. Despite all the warnings we receive about how difficult the first few weeks are, we are trying to stay positive and look forward to that special time.

Knowing that my mom is doing so well has been such a huge relief in the past few weeks. It will be wonderful if this keeps up and she feels this well while she's here with us and our new baby.

My New Favorite Activity

A couple weeks ago, I gave up on going to the gym, going for walks, and weight lifting. My hands and feet are just too swollen, and any type of upright walking position just makes them worse. When I wake up in the morning, it is painful to move my fingers, and when I clock in at work the machine doesn't recognize my fingerprint!

But I have discovered the PERFECT workout for pregnancy. Through my job, I have a pool available to me during my lunch break, and I have been swimming laps for about 40 minutes a day. During those 40 minutes, I don't feel weighed down by my extra 40 pounds--I'm actually more buoyant! Also, I don't feel hot, the swelling goes down, and it gives me energy for the rest of my day. Swimming is also good for getting the baby in a favorable position, as it relieves pressure and allows the baby to move.

Sometimes I go to a senior water exercise class, also available to me through my job. It's harder than it sounds and is a great workout for the entire body. It's a good change-up from the laps.

He's not breech!

As some of you know, a doctor I saw in Cincinnati and the midwife I saw here in Wilmington, upon feeling my belly, both suspected that the baby was in a breech position (head up instead of down). Which worried me because I didn't want to have a c-section, which is pretty standard for a breech baby. We found out through an ultrasound today that he is not breech, but he is in a posterior position, meaning that when I am on my back, he is on his back. He is supposed to be face-down. I have been given some things to try to get him to flip, so if you were to look in my window at night, you might see me doing all kinds of strange movements. I'll be on hands and knees a lot and generally leaning forward. Since a baby's back is it's heaviest part, if I am belly-down that will encourage his back to move down. So I have something to work on. Posterior babies can be delivered normally, but they generally cause extreme back pain during labor.

Chris and I were both a little disappointed by the ultrasound--we expected pictures like we got before. But since he's so much bigger, the ultrasound could only capture small parts of him at a time. But we did get this profile of his face. He is facing to the left, nose in the middle, forehead on top, chin on bottom. Hopefully you can make it out.

More on the midwife--I have decided to switch to the midwifery care at my practice. I still go to the same practice and will have my delivery at the hospital, but from now on I will see midwives there instead of doctors, and the baby will be delivered by a midwife. I was lucky enough to be accepted by them at the last minute.

Want my autograph?

A major project that I have been working on, called the Cross-City Trail, was highlighted in a TV news story on Monday. You can view the story at http://www.wwaytv3.com/video/trail_being_built_to_connect_parts_of_wilmington/06. I have a brief appearance in the video. Not a great shot of me, but I am just happy that this project received some positive publicity.

Go Green!

Our very wonderful friends in Wilmington held a baby shower for us on Sunday. The theme of the party was "Go Green", as in "Save the Environment", not the color green, though some people took it more literally than others. Here we are with the party planners who made it all happen (Holly, Susan, Roseanne, Rae, John Thomas). A special thanks to Warren and Andy for making the cakes (not pictured).

You can see from the spread below that they worked very hard to stick with the theme--the plates, cups, and "plastic" ware were all made from bio-degradable items, such as potatoes and corn! No, you can't eat them. We even got a Sago Palm to take home and plant in our yard.

The guests were instructed to wrap gifts in newspaper or some other re-usable bag. It was a totally guilt-free party--except that we felt guilty being showered with gifts and attention with nothing to give in return!

What can we say except how wonderful it was too see everyone and how grateful we are to have such generous and fun friends. It was a great party!

So much to write about!

So much has happened since my last post, I don't know where to start. I'm sure you've all read my parents' blog about last weekend. What a weekend it was! Two surprise parties in one day and another shower on Sunday! All I can say is how grateful I am that everything went off without a hitch--we were especially lucky with the weather. And I'm even more grateful to everyone who helped with and hosted the parties; the Trestle Dr. neighbors and my Aunt Pam. An extra BIG thank-you to Gregg and Cindy Enger, who helped in a major way with both surprise parties, the day before they hosted a birthday party for their son! What can I say but THANK YOU!

It was so great to spend time with everyone who came to the parties. And what fun to open all the gifts from everyone and ooh and ahh over how cute all the baby stuff is! My Wilmington friends are hosting a shower for me tomorrow, so more fun and cute baby stuff is on the way!

I noticed when I started to write this that there are 50 days until my due date. Time sure is flying by! Fortunately, we have moved back into our house and the contractors are out. The carpet looks great! We still have a lot of things to move back into place, but it's getting done slowly but surely. I spent 7 hours cleaning up after our sloppy contractors today--boy, was I tired! We are finally ready for a crib and other nursery furniture.

I had a great 32nd birthday yesterday. I went to see a movie with some girl friends and then went out for dessert/drinks with friends after the movie. Today I got a Wii Fit game from my parents as a birthday gift. It's starts you off with a fit test, and weighs you and gives your BMI. For the first time in my life, I was called overweight. And my Wii Fit Age was 67! Obviously there's no option to enter that you are pregnant.

I feel like I'm mostly over the cold that I got last weekend. Now I'm suffering from leg cramps almost every night. Which I think is less fun for Chris than it is for me!

I think that's all for now. Thanks again for everyone who helped make last weekend so special for me and my mom. We will never forget it!

Two Months to Go!

Well, on Tuesday I hit my seven-month mark. I'm still feeling pretty good, except for some emotional ups and downs. Also, swollen feet!

The past couple of weeks have been weird. We've had contractors in our house almost every day, fixing stuff, painting, and replacing carpet. This photo was taken the night before the carpet was replaced. The house has pretty much looked like that for 2 weeks. And because of the fumes and dust, we've been sleeping mostly at my parents' condo. So between going to Cincinnati, sleeping at the condo, trying to find stuff in our huge pile, and living partially out of suitcases, it's been pretty crazy. We both look forward to getting our house back to normal now that the carpet is in--once we get back from Cincinnati next week!