The Home Stretch

*Update: Chrissy had her baby girl on labor day! She is healthy and adorable and resting with her mom.

I would first like to congratulate our dear friend Chrissy, whose water broke about 7 hours ago. Her due date is two weeks before mine, so she is a little on the early side. Woo!

According to the 40 week schedule, I am on day 257 of this pregnancy. 36 weeks and 5 days. That leaves only 3 weeks and 2 days until my official due date. Babies born week 37 and after are considered full term. So here's how we're doin'...

Baby:

Baby should be around 13.8" in length and should weigh in around 6.3-6.5 pounds. To give you an idea of size, when I wrap a standard bath towel around the largest part of my belly, there is only about 2 inches of terrycloth overlap. He will gain about a pound over the last month(!)

He has been head-down (that's the normal exit position) for some time now. His feet kick out to my left, and his bottom is positioned under my right lung. When his foot is outstretched, a little two inch wide bump can be seen on my belly, sometimes from across the room. During my last exam, the midwife declared "Well, his head is right down there, isn't he!"

He hiccups for a several minute period every day, which I feel down and to the right, probably where his little shoulders are. It is an unmistakable feeling, a bit like having the hiccups yourself. He practices breathing too, and when I am still, sometimes you can see my belly heaving with his tiny little rhythmic breaths.

He seems to be asleep for large portions of the day, but can sometimes be startled awake by noise or music or movement. He usually responds to a belly rub by nudging back with his little appendages. At least once he has seemed agitated (taking large frequent breaths), he might have even 'crying,' which many babies do in utero. He seemed to calm down with cooing and belly stroking.

Symptoms:

I seem to have been very fortunate with this pregnancy. I have avoided most of the seriously unpleasant symptoms many women experience, and any pain or discomfort I have felt has been very manageable.

Sleeping:

I have been able to sleep well. Although I wake several times a night I can usually get back to sleep easily. I almost think that Garrett's sleep patterns have been more disturbed by my frequent risings than mine. I had about a month during which my stomach had difficulty retaining its contents while I was lying down, and I would wake up sputtering sometimes. Sleeping on my side propped up at a 30° angle and trying to go to bed with a near empty stomach helped. Either due my changing habits or the baby moving down, I don't seem to have this problem anymore.

Contractions:

I have been experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions for some time, but a few days ago they changed character significantly. At first they were just a tightness that spread over my belly and then dissipated after a minute. Now they feel stronger, just like menstrual cramping. The first couple of nights I had them, they were evenly spaced over 15 minute intervals over a few hours in the evening. Last night they came again, but were spaced differently. They seem to change or stop if I walk around (which is one way to distinguish them from actual labor).

Clothes:

Pants and seatbelts are pretty uncomfortable now. Sarongs are really comfy, but I only have two. They are pretty garish, bought to be used only as summer bathrobes, so I feel a little hippy dippy out in them in public. So, for the stylish metro/homosexual at the wine bar before birth class the other day that shot me that disgusted look: I am sorry that my bright orange and yellow butterfly skirt with turquoise tank top offended your urban gray monochrome sensibilities and highlighted my enormous girth. Just remember that my kid's taxes will be paying your medicare bill someday, so learn to appreciate a breeder even if you can't look at her directly because her clothing is too bright.

Cravings:

We have been going through milk at an astonishing rate around here. I'm trying to back off sugar and balance carbs. I think sugar might be winning.

Nesting:

So far I have knitted 1 and 3/4 diaper covers and a stuffed elephant, recovered all the chairs in the kitchen, sewn 3 receiving blankets and a dust cover for the kitchenaid, moved all the furniture around in the nursery again, and accumulated enough towels, clothes, and toys to support this child well into toddlerhood. The house is not clean enough still. The last time I cleaned the floors, a few days ago, would have been comical to see. I can't bend over, really, so after sweeping up little piles everywhere I have to do a sort of pregnant woman ballet grand plie to sweep them into the dustpan. After a few plies, I am quickly out of breath. Then I go sit down for a spell, get up and gather some more piles. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The bassinet (aka pack-and-play) is set up next to the bed now so that we can get used to fumbling around it in the dark.

Books:

Thank You, Dr. Lamaze (a wonderful and entertaining look back at the origins and practice of real Lamaze, not the watered down substance free 'birth philosophy' dreck they peddle now to sell the brand) My mom sent me this book, and I think it was my favorite...

What to Expect the First Year, The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-shooting Tips, and Advice on First Year Maintenance, Wall-to-Wall Baby Blues (the comic strip, for giggles), Baby's first year : growth and development from 0 to 12 months (a cool Norwegian childcare book by Paulien Bom and Machteld Huber), Baby Tips 9 to 12 months

I almost read Natural Childbirth, The Bradley® Method, but I was too irritated by all the little registered trademark symbols to bother.

About a million different issues of Parenthood, the Early Years and American Baby

Movie:

Orgasmic Birth (unfortunately titled, but not useless, this film documents the birth experiences of several families and a couple of nutty hippy families. If you want to see squishy wet little bundles of life wriggling their way out of their incubation pods, this one's for you.)