Time out to complain

I can't believe The Bean isn't here yet.  I'm getting SO frustrated, and am just trying to keep my mind off of the waiting. 

On Tuesday, I woke up at 4:00 with contractions that kept me awake.  I got up and had a bowl of cereal, and started making lunches around 5, figuring that if the contractions stopped, I'd be ready for work, and if not, I'd be ready with snacks for later.  By the time it was our usual wake-up time (6:30-ish), the contractions were still coming, and were about 10 minutes apart.  I called my sub to tell her I wouldn't be coming in, and LB called in for a sub at her work.  We got up and had breakfast, and tried to contain our excitement every time a contraction came.  We took Olive for a walk, and I noticed that these contractions were much stronger than the braxton-hicks contractions I'd had for weeks - they lasted longer (almost 2 minutes), and radiated around my back as well as my abdomen.  I was feeling really optimistic about seeing our Bean!

We passed some time at home, watching daytime TV and keeping track of the contractions on my phone.  They were about 8 minutes apart, and still strong enough that I was looking for some gentle comfort measures when they came.  I couldn't lay down through them, because they were much stronger in my back, but standing up and bending forward really helped.  Since they weren't getting closer together at this point, we decided to go on another walk and try to get things moving faster.  After the walk, we watched a movie, kept on timing contractions, and then decided to go to Costco.  At Costco, the contractions started being less regular - 6 minutes, then 3 minutes, then 7 minutes, and were less strong.  When we got home, we played some Settlers of Catan, and the contractions continued being irregular and weaker.  We tried one more walk with Olive, but as soon as we stopped walking, the contractions spread out again, now to 10 or 12 minutes apart.  I had a few strong ones once I went to bed at 10, but they quickly fizzled out.

On Wednesday, we headed to a nearby shopping center that is near to the hospital to walk around and try for an earlier midwife appointment.  We passed some time at the bookstore and walking around outside, but the contractions were much weaker than the day before, and not regular at all.  That afternoon, we saw the midwife and were told that "it happens sometimes," which may be true, but was a very frustrating thing to hear.  She checked my cervix, and I was barely dilated and not effaced, so probably not looking at Bean arriving in the next day or two.  This was amazingly discouraging.  She did recommend some measures we might take to bring labor a little faster, which I had been pooh-pooh-ing only days before, and was now hanging on every word.

So, for the last two days we've been using Evening Primrose Oil, and hoping that it is working its magic.  I've also been refusing to time any contractions, because I just can't take a repeat of Tuesday.  That, combined with a long bath last night, made today a little easier.  I've also been trying some techniques from Spinning Babies, since the midwife mentioned that Bean was "sunny-side up," and am hopeful that I'm able to make some difference, should labor try to start again. 

The hardest part of all of this is that I knew I wanted to work until Bean came, because I would find it incredible torturous to be home, pregnant, and waiting for the Bean.  After four days at home, I can confirm that I was right about my own reaction to sitting around waiting.  Sigh.  It's so hard to see my sick leave ticking away, without anything to show for it. 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas/ Everywhere you go/ There's a tree in the grand hotel/ One in the park as well/ The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow

Now that LB and I have this week and next off (I enjoy this part of my teaching schedule), the house is coming together for the holidays.  A good thing, too, since we hosted a caroling party this evening.  The tree is up, the windowsills are festooned with battery-operated candles (the pets too often try to leap at the real ones), and the stockings are hung over the heating grate.  It's really quite a nice space in which to pass the time, if only I had the chance to sit and enjoy it a little more.

This morning, we went downtown early to see Santa and have our picture taken.  I was set against going this year, until a coworker mentioned that her daughter's favorite Santa picture is the one taken the Christmas before she was born.  So, off we went, in a Bean-revealing shirt, to sit next to Santa in the window.  It was more fun than I expected, but has made today particularly long and exhausting.

Yesterday we met the last of the midwives (we thought we'd met them all, then in came this new lady!), and she was not worried about any of my questions, thought our birth plan looked great and very well thought-out, and had us schedule the next 4 appointments.  That means, we now have appointments through January 19th...which is after the Bean's due date!  This is getting quite close, now.

LB put the crib together today, and we moved the extra furniture out of the Bean's room, so now our second bedroom is starting to come together.  The crib looks HUGE compared to how I imagine the Bean, and I'm sure it won't look much smaller once she arrives.  I can totally understand why people put crib bumpers and blankets in there, just to make it look cozier around babies!

New projects await us, now: finishing curtains for the Bean's room, recovering the glider rocking chair we got from Freecycle, and finding a place for the Bean to sleep when she first comes home.  Three and half weeks until our due date - ack!

Monkey

Monkey
by Ellis

Monkey hanging off from the ceiling, the loft/ And monkey hanging down from the tree/ Monkey hanging everywhere a monkey can hang/ And monkey copy everything she see

Woah, 31 weeks already?  But, we were just into the 3rd trimester!  In the last few weeks, I guess the Bean has been making herself known, because more parents at school (and more kiddos) have been congratulating me in the hallway - I guess I no longer look like I went hog-wild at a cheesecake buffet!  Actually, the funniest reaction I've had so far wasn't even directly to me - I saw some former students at a Halloween party at school, and they went to another teacher to ask if I was pregnant (because it would be embarrassing to ask me themselves).  I'll have to tease them the next time they're visiting.

LB and I have been painting the "library" (a previously unfinished room off of the basement) in preparation for moving our old entertainment unit out of the Bean's room.  Once that's done, we'll be ready to assemble the crib (which we still need to varnish...), and the dresser and nightstand.  LB surprised me last weekend by coming home with the dresser and nightstand as a present for the Bean.  It will be so exciting to see it all set up for her!

Today was our next midwife appointment.  Because I don't have enough to worry about, the last few days I've been hoping that my latest cold wouldn't cause any problems - I know that congestion shouldn't be an issue (it's not as if the Bean is being kept up by my snoring and sniffling), but I keep worrying that it will cause some kind of spiraling effect of I'm-not-sure-what.  For me, as long as she's moving well I'm not worried, and she is moving CONSTANTLY :)  Luckily, the midwife wasn't worried about anything, and the Bean is measuring well.

Sugar Sugar

Sugar, Sugar
by The Archies


Sugar, ah honey honey/ You are my candy girl/ And you've got me wanting you/ Honey, ah sugar sugar/ You are my candy girl/ And you got me wanting you


And, we survived the 28-week appointment.  Going in without LB was harder than I expected - I was feeling nervous when I arrived, and wasn't helped any by the weigh-in (have I really gained that much? Can I blame it on the cool-weather clothes I'm wearing now?).  The first time the nurse took my blood pressure, it was too high (140 over...something), but she was very kind about it and said we'd take it again at the end of the appointment.  I was relieved about that, since I'd read stories online about women being pushed for way more testing based on one blood pressure reading, but that little relief didn't keep from feeling incredibly stressed about the upcoming glucose test, and the blood tests, and the second blood pressure.

Luckily, midwife number 5 was very calm, and I think she probably knew that I was nervous, because she spent a lot of time answering my questions and spoke in a very soothing voice the whole time.  She reassured me that the crappy sleep was normal (which is fine, but I'd still like to get a decent night's sleep), and said that the tight feelings I've been having are Braxton-Hicks contractions (those feel way different than I expected).  The best part of the appointment, though, was learning that there is a better medication I can take for heartburn - 12 tums a day was too many, so she sent me off to Costco to get an acid reducer that actually works! 

After the appointment, she took my blood pressure again, and it was much better (though still high for me), and off I went to the lab to wait for the 1-hour glucose blood draw.  It was pretty funny when Bean started kicking and flipping around while I was waiting - I guess the sugar got to her.

That afternoon, the midwife called to let me know that the glucose test came back normal (hooray!), and LB took me to get the acid reducer that was recommended.  That alone was worth the visit - the last three days have been SO much better without constant heartburn.

Pregnant Women are Smug

Pregnant Women are Smug
by Garfunkel & Oates

Pregnant women are smug/ Everyone knows it, nobody says it, because they're pregnant/ F-ing son of a gun/ You think you're so deep now, you give me the creeps now, now that you're pregnant

"So, do you want a boy or a girl?"
"Oh, doesn't matter, as long as it's healthy"
"Really?  'Cause I don't feel that those two things are related.  It's not like one or the other"

Wow, are we already into the second trimester?  And nearly 17 weeks?  Holy cow.  Tomorrow we'll be on the next big two-page spread in A Child Is Born - and The Bean is finally starting to look baby-like!
This week we had our 4-month checkup with the midwives, and got to meet another face from our midwife team.  We also got to meet the usual nurse when we came in, who was much friendlier and reassuring than at our last appointment.  Last month, the nurse who checked my vitals seemed disappointed that we had left the OB to come to the midwives, almost as if she was trying to convince us to go back (which was a little odd, considering she was working at the midwifery clinic).  This time, we were welcomed by a woman who can be remembered only as "hippie nurse," in a bright turquoise batik blouse and skirt.  She asked us how our travel had been, and chatted with us about various cruise lines as she took my blood pressure.  As LB and I waited to meet the next midwife, we agreed that this nurse made us much more comfortable than the last (we had been questioning our decision to change care providers after the last nurse).  Midwife #2 seemed like the quintessential Seattle midwife - kinda crunchy, laid-back, and informal in her demeanor.  Very appealing to LB and I, but it made me chuckle, especially as my latest baby-prep reading has been Deliver This!, in which one mother describes her view of natural birth as being for "hippie moms who live in Seattle."  So, we're referring to this midwife as "Granola."  Yeah, we're stereotyping, but with only our first impressions to go on, that's what you get.
Granola was very friendly, immediately introducing herself by her first name (I like this from health care professionals, perhaps it's because I'm a teacher?), and greeting me ("Hi, frankncents") as well as LB ("And you must be LB") by name.  She was very patient about all the questions I've been contemplating over the last month, from hip pain to itchy skin, and took notes on our questions while she listened, so she was sure to address all of them.  Finally, she pulled out the fetal Doppler so we could try and find the heartbeat.  After last month's inability to find any heartbeat, even after 2 different machines, I was pretty nervous, and had been worried periodically all last month, about whether we would hear a heartbeat this time.  First, Granola found my heartbeat, whooshing along a little faster than usual, and then, she moved the wand a little, and there was The Bean!  It was incredibly fast (156 beats per minute), and LB and I just looked at each other and grinned.

I'm trying very hard not to become one of the pregnant women described in the song above, but I find it privately hilarious every time someone asks about whether we want a boy or a girl (LB really wants a girl, I would prefer a boy), or what we're thinking of naming it (we haven't decided for sure, but we'll be keeping it under wraps until The Bean arrives), or any of the other bits from the song.  Funny, funny, funny.

Haven't heard the song yet?  See the video here