Our son was born at 12:56 am on August 15th! He is 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and 18 inches long. He doesn't have a name yet, but we've got the list winnowed down. We'll have it by checkout on Sunday morning (hopefully).
Pictures later, but that's the news for now!
Last night at midnight, I started having some contractions. This is a pre-labor or false labor at this point. I rather think a pre-labor. Had some all through the night, about 20 mins apart, then during the day they've been occasional and of varying intensity. Sometimes enough to make me get quiet and wrinkle my brow.
My Dad and stepmother were visiting as well as my Mom, and we were all talking about global warming. My Mom made the comment that weather is just changes in pressure. I said, I think I'm having some weather here! So now I'm calling my little contractions a little bit of weather.
Anyway, I'm thinking the weather report is for a baby sometime this weekend. I had some other signs during the day that also point to impending "real" labor. We'll see! I got this fortune cookie fortune yesterday, so it seems imminent ...
Today is my official due date, which really doesn't mean much. Only 5% of women actually deliver on their due date. It's just a nice line to cross -- now I really could go into labor any day now!
For all of you who keep asking if there's a baby yet, thanks for all of your thoughts and wishes. Believe me, we won't keep it a secret and we'll let you know! Most likely I'll have time to let people know here that I'm going into labor. Later, when we have collected ourselves mentally and physically, we'll send out an e-mail announcing The Bean's arrival and his name.
Meanwhile, I'm just waiting .... waiting ...
Still no baby, but I've been having some weird dreams. Lord only knows what they say about my psyche.
Dream 1 from last week: I dreamed that Michael and Mom were both gone somewhere, and I had an emergency super fast labor on the bathroom floor. I gave birth to a chimera that changed shape from a pegasus to a unicorn (ouch) to a bunny. I ended up with a full grown JoJo bunny baby on my chest.
Dream 2 from last night: I dreamed that Michael and Mom were both gone somewhere, and I went into labor, but this time I somehow got my self to the hospital. The labor and delivery weren't in my dream, I just remember being at home, and Mom and Michael came home. We were chatting and I said "Oh! I forgot to tell you! I had the baby! Shit, I forgot him at the hospital!"
Obviously, if Mom and Michael are not around when I go into labor I can't be trusted!
I'm in da Zone! At 38 weeks, I'm two weeks before my due date. Two weeks before and two weeks after is the zone in which I could go into a normal labor. I just came back from an appointment, and since last week I've gained one pound and 3 cm of belly. I was slightly behind, and now I've caught up.
We're in a heat wave right now, and while it is not a great time to be pregnant, it's better not to have a baby. It would be a hot labor, the baby would have a hard time staying cool, and nursing is toasty. So it's good The Bean stays in for a while.
I may or may not get to do another belly post in 3 weeks! I have no idea whether or not I'll have the time or energy to post labor news, but I'll try!
Here we are at week 35! Only 5 weeks to go until my official due date on August 12th. Most first time moms are late, but so far I know of several people who were early, so you never know! I'd like to be about one week early. That would be most convenient. Don't I get to choose? I now know of 5 people (3 in the last month) who have given birth at Group Health Capitol Hill where we'll be going, and all of them have raved about how wonderful it is. That's really reassuring to hear.
Two days ago I had a check up, and everything is right on track. After my next check up in 2 weeks I'll be going weekly. Many people still comment about how I don't look big enough to be 5 weeks away from delivery, but I guess I'm just lucky! I'm 30 pounds heavier than I was when the Science Project started. That's why I get so out of breath just climbing stairs!
I've been feeling pretty stretched lately. The Bean has run out of room and is now really testing the limits of his environment, aka Me. The gentle aquatic blorping movements have turned into somewhat violent pokes and jabs. He's settled with his head down, and tends to like to have his back and butt along my left side. An 
arm or leg feels permanently lodged in my right side. Sometimes he pokes his hard little butt straight out
towards the world right above my belly button. Sometimes he kicks me in the side and makes me jump. Some people like to do daily fetal movement counts to make sure their baby is OK, but I tell ya, I don't need to count. He's definitely frisky. One of my favorite T-shirts has become a pretty good portrait of him.
My friends Sandy and Laurie organized a baby shower for us in early June, and in addition to getting some good swag, we had a really nice visit with some friends I haven't seen for a while. One of my favorite gifts was a bunny that is the softest stuffed animal I've ever felt. Maybe I will keep him and not give him to The Bean.
8 months gone, 2 to go! Sometimes, when I think about how I'm going to keep getting bigger, two months seems like a long time. But then when I think about what comes after birth, two months seems much too short!
Last week at our labor and baby class, a lactation consultant inundated us with information. The most shocking bit? In the first few weeks after birth, I can expect to be involved in some aspect of nursing for 40-70 hours per week! Good lord.
I've had a weird side affect of pregnancy appear about 3 weeks ago: I noticed I have no hair on my legs! Normally, women stop losing hair when they're pregnant, and then about three months after birth all the extra falls out. I first noticed that my head hair had resumed its normal shedding, and then I went to shave my legs, and there was nothing there! My legs look polished, but the rest of me still has hair. When I had an appointment 2 weeks ago I asked my midwives about it, and they had never heard of such a thing. I had my thyroid levels checked, and they're normal, so I guess it's nothing to worry about. Very convenient for summer! The Bean continues to thrive, so my wonky hormone levels don't seem to bother him.
I've been lucky to have a nice long torso to fill up, so I haven't looked or felt over big, but this past week The Bean filled up his vertical space and started coming out towards the front more. I also feel him under my ribs, which forces me to have good posture, since slumping makes my ribs feel like they're bending out. I took the belly pictures and strung them together, and you can see how sometimes he seems to grow a lot more in three weeks than other times.
People keep asking about The Bean's name. Well, we've got a big list on the fridge, but we haven't felt any need to winnow it down. On the 28th I'm going to Fiddle Tunes for a week, and when I come back I guess we can get serious about names, getting the car seats installed, and stuff like that.
The Bean's room is coming along! I finally feel it will be possible to physically fit him into our house.
Today I moved my coats and dress-up clothes into another closet and removed the sliding doors on the closet. Removing the doors turned out to be very easy, which I am thankful for. The cleaned out closet space is for his crib, and possibly the bureau, too, if it fits. If I can move the bureau into the closet, we'll have room for a changing table where the bureau is now. Changing tables aren't totally necessary, but they can sure save your back.
To the right of the Bean's closet is comfy chair for nursing. The rest of the room is still mine and filled with bookshelves and my desk and computer. The Bean will just have to share.
Here's the new belly in all its/my/our glory! I had been worrying that I wasn't getting much bigger and the Bean wasn't growing, but it's nice to be able to compare photos and see that I am making progress! In this picture I relaxed my abs to exaggerate it a bit. Still, with loose clothes on people still say I don't look very pregnant. I'm really lucky to be carrying it well!
My back has been bothering me more and more, and I 'm getting short of breath, but really I'm having a very nice complication free pregnancy. Lucky again!
In the last week the Bean's kicks have changed from little pokes to some serious calisthenics. I think he's doing flips while he's still got the room. Pretty soon he'll outgrow the space and be a lot more cramped.
I have a midwife appointment on Monday, and I expect everything will be fine. Meanwhile, Michael and I continue to go to the labor and childcare prep classes. We're halfway through the series, and it's been a good investment of time and money. I especially like the parts where we practice how Michael will massage my back. Mmmmm.
That's all I can think of! Things are pretty uneventful these days. Sometimes I even forget I'm pregnant until I try to bend over!
My lilac finally bloomed this year! I'm so happy, as I really love lilacs. When I moved into this house there was a beautiful old lilac hanging over the back fence from the neighbor's yard. It was neglected, but I tried to keep "my" part trimmed and pruned. The house is a rental, and tenants often make a stab at gardening and then let the yard languish. One new set of tenants got all gung-ho and decided they were going to put a compost heap in where the lilac was. They asked me if I minded if they cut it down. I truthfully said I'd really miss it. They slowly hacked it apart with what looked like an electric carving knife. Then they left it half dead and never put in the compost heap. Big surprise. Morning glory vines re-colonized the place. It made me sick at heart! Three years ago I put in my own baby lilac and finally got some blooms this year! I feel like my yard is complete again. Ahhhh.
A couple of people have said they were eagerly awaiting my next update! Wow, I didn't really know if anyone was out there! I do belly updates every three weeks, so look for an update on Wednesday!
I've been slowly organizing and cleaning spaces to make room for The Bean and his stuff. I was finally able to make a visible contribution to his room. I cleaned out a bureau, lined the drawers, put some little clothes and blankets in it, and topped it all off with some stuffed animals. He has three bunnies, a wombat, a small rhino, and a wooden crocodile waiting for him.
The Bean has been kicking a lot. The other night I was sleeping on my side, and Bijou was snuggled next to me partially propped up on my belly. Then The Bean woke up and gave her a good kick. She moved away, like what the heck was that! I figure this is only the first instance of the boy bothering her. Bijou's probably got a lot of future annoyance coming her way. She'll probably love all the blankies and sleeping places, though.
Six and half months done, three and a half to go! Lots of progress this time. Many people have commented that I finally look pregnant. I got really hungry a couple of weeks ago, so I think the little Bean went through a growth spurt.
I haven't been in to see the midwives for 6 weeks, and Monday I had an appointment. My weight and size are good, and we listened to a very strong heartbeat. Next week I’ll have a few lab tests for Gestational Diabetes, anemia, and RH factor antibodies (because of my blood type). He’s been very wiggly lately. I’m supposed to pay attention now and make sure I feel him every day. I have an appointment in a month, and then every three weeks, and then in the last month once per week.
Tonight Michael and I start a 7 week series of parenting classes. It'll cover labor and delivery, breastfeeding, and newborn care. We're taking the class a little earlier than recommended, but I'll be at Fiddle Tunes in July, and I'd miss a class, so we need to finish the series before then. As an info hog, I'm really looking forward to the classes.
On a recommendation from my friend Jenny, I've been reading Ina May's guide to childbirth. It has really given me the courage to believe I can try to go through this without any pain intervention. We'll see!
Not much to report this time. I feel the little guy kick a bit, but still it's not much more than a flutter. He definitely responds to loud music, so I hope he'll be a musician! Everyone comments about how little my belly is, and I can't help but worry a little ... Then a friend pointed out that I have a long torso, so I have plenty of vertical room. Soon he'll use that up and pop out the front more. I'm actually mostly grateful that I'm not big and uncomfortable. That will come soon enough!
We're halfway there! 20 weeks or 5 months, and I can't believe this is the halfway mark! I was surprised to realize that full term is really 10 months, not 9 months, the way dates are counted. So much baby development has been invisible before now. My belly is now finally beginning to poke out, though it's hard to tell when I'm fully dressed. Sometimes when I tell people I'm 5 months along, they look incredulous. In fact, if I hadn't seen the ultrasounds and heard the heartbeat and been told development is right on track, I'd wonder if I was fantasizing the whole thing! I guess I'm just lucky and carry it well. I may be slim, but I've got strong abs and pretty good sized hips.
I had another ultrasound at 19 weeks, the last one I'll have for quite awhile. Now that we're over the chancy months, and it's been confirmed development is normal, my midwife says I get to relax and be test free for a while. I don't have another checkup for 6 weeks. Here's the little guy again, not looking much different from 16 weeks, but he is bigger.
And yes! We're thinking of names. Real suggestions welcome!
So, yeah, I haven't posted in a long time. I've even had stuff to post about, like how we went to Hawaii at the end of January, but no, I didn't post. I've been a little pre-occupied with what I wanted to post about but couldn't.
Our little Science Project. Michael and I are expecting a baby boy in mid August! Yay, I can finally say it! One reason we waited so long to share the news is that I had a couple of early miscarriages, and then because of my age (41 on 3/28), we wanted to wait until after we had good results from the amnio. The results are in and they're good! No extra or broken chromosomes, and it's a boy!
Aside from the setbacks, I've really enjoyed the Science Project aspect of this. So much cool technology! Charting ovulation temps was kind of fun. Seeing ultrasounds is very cool. Getting pictures of our son's chromosomes is awesome!
I'll try to post pictures and updates more regularly now, but meanwhile, here's a photo roundup. The Bean at 8 weeks. The midwife thought this was so cool, but I was like "Huh? Where is it?" Thus, the helpful arrow I've drawn to the little white splotch. This picture is why I've been calling him The Bean.
The Bean at 11 weeks. Vaguely humanoid, which was very startling! He moved a lot, and we could see his little heart beating.
The Bean at 16 weeks. Definitely a person! The arms aren't visible here, but you can see a face, the spine, a hip bone and a femur. We were amazed at how developed the bones were. Seeing the complex ribcage and spine was especially cool.
My little belly at 17 weeks. Not much to it, but it's bigger even now, just 2 weeks later.
And the coolest of all, the chromosomes!
I'm afraid this blog may now become uninteresting to non parents, but I hope to keep up with more non-baby blogging, too. I need to tell you about Hawaii!
