38wks (9.5 months out of 10 months)
Weight gain so far: 30.5lbs
Extra Cool Milestone This Week:
Friday is my Last Day At Work.
Warren Story:
1) Got a call at work on Monday, from Warren. When I answered, he simply blurted out "Just for the record, I'm ready. Let's get this baby out!". He then went on to explain that he'd much rather be exhausted and run-down at home, with Wellington & I, than exhausted and run-down at work. (He'll be taking 2-3 weeks off once our little man is born).
2) At this week's doctor's appointment, Warren peeked at the number on the scale as the nurse weighed me. Afterwards when we left, he said:
Warren: Soooo....1**, eh? (actual number of pounds are being hidden, to protect my humility!)
Amanda: Um, NO! Not even close!
Warren: Right, it was 1**.
Amanda: No!
Warren: Okay, it was 1**.*.
Amanda: You know what's total crap? I weighed myself at home this morning and I was 1**. So they can shove it up my butt! (at home number was nearly 5 lbs less than number on doctor's scale).
Warren: Well apparently they did. They shoved a big piece of LEAD up your butt.
Mom Stories:
1) Throughout this process, my mom has been slightly overwhelmed by how much has changed since she was having babies; the plethora of info on the Internet and the myriad of products that are out there now (itzbeen, bottle warmers, onsies that change color if baby is too hot, rubber duckies that change color if water is too hot, video baby monitors, diaper genies, etc, etc...). So we had a laugh on Sunday when she came over and saw 'Wellington' in his crib, wrapped in his kiddopatamus blanket. She thought the blanket looked 'fancy' so I showed her how it worked. Then I showed her the 'miracle blanket' which was even more complicated. Needless to say, my demonstration was followed with the predictable 'Well, in my day we just swaddled a baby with a regular old receiving blanket!'. Then she proceeded to show me 'the old fashioned' way. The final touch was his little hat.
Behold: Wellington, the orphaned child from the 1980's:
2) After reading the 38 week email newsletter, my mom emailed me and asked "if I've lost my 'plug' yet". We can file that one under "Questions I Never Thought My Mother Would Ask Me".
Symptoms/Feelings/Etc:
1) I'm both petrified of labour, and yet I'm at peace with it's inevitability. I've heard so many different descriptions/experiences, and I'm excited to discover what mine/ours will be. I've heard the gamut from women being completely traumatized by the experience, to women who felt completely empowered, to women who had an out of body experience as the new life passed through them and out into the world, to women who really don't remember much. We shall see...
Birth Classes:
No babies in class yet, although there were a few couples missing this week...so maybe next week we'll see a baby or two!
This week we learned about medical interventions, by watching the video from last week that we missed. One thing that I found odd/appalling in the video, was when they were illustrating the 'vacuum' and 'forcep' extraction, and the voice over referred to the soon-to-be-born baby as 'the fetus'. Really? As the baby is CROWNING? FETUS? Really?
We also learned about labour plans, the 'aftermath' of birth - specifically to the mom's body (Sweet Jebus - they should teach these things in High School as a form of birth control...), and survival tips for the first couple of weeks. Thank-Gawd for these classes.
The really eye opening part was the activity where we had to lay out our 'ideal' birth, and then slowly start peeling away scenarios in order of importance, to reveal a 'more realistic' birth. It was especially interesting to see what items Warren found important vs. what I found important.
We also got to see pictures illustrating how 'new babies' look. Cross eyed, pimples, stork bites, blue hands and feet, covered in hair, swollen scrotum...and yet we will still believe our child is the most beautiful being alive.
New favorite pregnancy item:
A sawed-off swimming pool noodle. Best. Massage Tool. EVER.
4 comments:
The lead up the butt comment is awesome. Why is it that we are always lighter on the scales we have at home???
Love the swaddling picture. It actually looks quite accurate. Well done Grandma. Sign her up for some baby sitting ;-)
And the after-delivery body of a new mother is something really interesting. Don't be surprised if you find yourself rubbing your "gunt" out of habit and then realizing, oh yeah, that's just fat now....
Oh, its not just fat. Its that squishy, weird, post baby fat. (shudder)
Anyway, when it comes down to it, its just as easy to swaddle a baby in a plain old blanket, but if you've got a fancy one, bonus!
WTF?!??! I wrote a HUGE comment this morning first thing...and it's not here! Perhaps I was 'disallowed' because it was so long? Or you deleted it because I was so long-winded and took up the entire comment section?
*sigh*
Anyway, the jist was that I checked your blog last night before going to bed and there was no update yet...and I got excited thinking that you might be at the hospital...and even though I love these updates, seeing another Wellington Watch this morning was a bit of a bummer. :)
Oh, and I also wanted to know how the heck you use a pool noodle for massage?!?
Three cheers for the squishy "hamburger-meat-looking belly!" I wonder if it will ever go back to normal? THANK GOODNESS we have sweet little babies to look at after the whole ordeal.....
I can't wait to hear if you liked the massage tools during labor.....
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