Amber's Weblog

Long and Lean

Yesterday we had another midwife appointment, this time with our student midwife, Susan. We talked about my birth plan, and I asked some questions about what happens if and when I go overdue. So far, so good. Then we went into the exam room to check on the baby.

I laid down on the table, and lifted my shirt. Then Susan said some things that nobody wants to hear during an examination. First, she said, "Wow, look at that baby! Jon, can you see that?" Then she felt around, and said, "Hmm, I think I need to call in the expert." She brought in Catherine, one of the actual midwives, to feel the baby and determine the position.

It turns out our kid's butt is sticking straight out of my stomach. What I thought was the butt up high on the right is actually the legs. The butt is making a point, slightly to the left of my belly-button. When I lie down on my back, it sticks out rather dramatically, like Mount Saint Baby Butt. This is all perfectly fine, we're all OK. It just seems that the baby is rather long and lean, and inside of me there's nowhere to go but straight up and out. However, I did have an abnormally high fundal height measurement, just because the measuring tape had to scale the peak of the baby's hindquarters. ;-)

Anyway, here are the stats from the appointment:
Pregnancy date - 32 weeks, 3 days
Fundal height - 35 cm (should equal the number of weeks, +/- 2cm)
My weight - Pre-pregnancy + 27 pounds
Baby's heartrate - 160 bpm
Baby's position - Head down, butt out

Maternity Clothes

The most inconvenient part of being pregnant is the specialized clothing. All of the sudden, you can't just go into any store and buy a T-shirt or a pair of pantyhose. If your swelling isn't too bad you can generally wear regular socks and shoes, but that's about it.

I do have to concede that today's maternity options are better than ever before. Problems still exist, though, like:
1) There is one small maternity store in Coquitlam Centre, and probably a dozen or more regular clothing stores. So your choices are definitely more limited.
2) Maternity clothes are horribly picked-over. You can find anything in XS or XL, but for those of us who wear an M, you need to be early to snap up the good stuff.
3) It's expensive to buy a whole new wardrobe that you will wear for less than a year, so you really have to justify each and every purchase. This means you end up wearing the same thing over and over.

I know, poor me, poor me. I'm really OK, it's just that I never really understood how limiting maternity clothing is until it was all that I could squeeze into. Also, right now it feels like I will never wear regular clothes again. I do look at other women with children and gain some hope, since they no longer appear to be pregnant. Hopefully, I will recover as well.

Nesting

Now that I am more than 7 months pregnant, my nesting instinct has kicked in. I have this overwhelming urge to go out and acquire goods for the baby. So far we have a travel system (stroller/carseat/baby carrier), a diaper bag, a breast pump, a crib, and a mattress. We have a list of everything else that we need, along with where we plan to buy it, and we're just working our way through it. Hopefully, the hormones will pay off, and we'll be ready when the new addition arrives.

While I've been a whirling dervish of impending motherhood, Jon and the boys helped make the baby a room. Last Sunday, Ted and Wayne came out and put up panelling and mouldings in the baby's room. Jon and I finished off the job this week--I did the putty and silicone, and he did the paint. You can see the progress here.

In addition to nesting, I am also 32 weeks along. You can see the latest progress photo here. How much bigger can I get? I probably shouldn't ask, because I don't really want to know. ;-)

Prenatal Class

Last night was our first prenatal class, after a labour disruption resulted in last week's cancellation. There are about 11 couples in the class, and the new David Lam campus of Douglas College where we're meeting is just gorgeous.

It was an interesting experience, for sure. A lot of women are very afraid of labour and childbirth. A lot of men are very afraid of labour and childbirth, for that matter. The fear in the air was palpable, and our instructor did her best to keep us all calm.

We talked about the different stages of labour, how to time contractions, and when to go to the hospital. We talked about different types of care providers, and doulas, and we discussed our concerns in small groups. We did a few excercises that help get the baby into a good position, and we did some deep breathing. There was a snack, and we watched a birth video. We got a free book, and we talked about what we would cover in the weeks ahead.

Jon and I learned that we are pretty on top of things, as far as baby preparations go. We also learned that we're fairly fearless about labour and childbirth. Perhaps we're delusional, but we both think that we can do this, and that it will be manageable. I guess we'll see. What we also learned is that everyone else in the class is nesting as furiously as we are, because our babies will all be here very soon.

Speaking of the impending arrival, he or she weighs nearly 4 pounds now, and is about 16 inches long from head-to-toe. The toenails are fully-formed, and Babycakes can now turn his or her head at the neck. If our baby were born today, he or she would not only stand an excellent chance of survival, but would likely suffer no long-term complications.

Separate Bedrooms

For the past two nights Jon has slept on our new Aerobed in the baby's room. This is mostly because I have been more congested than usual, which has resulted in horrible snoring. It was so awful, in fact, that Jon woke me up the other night when it sounded like I was choking to death.

I have mixed feelings about the separate bedrooms thing. On the one hand, we both get more sleep. Jon doesn't have to put up with all of the discomforts of a pregnant lady sleeping, and I don't have to put up with him whining in his sleep every time I flush the toilet. On the other hand, it all just feels sort of wrong, like our marriage is troubled or something. Oh well, it's only temporary, right?

In other news, I have officially become the Grumpy Pregnant Lady. I have an extremely short fuse at the moment. I think the triple-cocktail of hormones, fatigue, and general discomfort just all add up. I have decided that everyone should give me a wide berth and let me do whatever I want, because I'm creating a life over here. Of course, I realize that this is unreasonable. Luckily, we're rapidly entering countdown mode, with 2 months left until my due date. Hopefully, I will return to my usual charming self once the baby's born and the hormones all settle down. ;-)