Monday, December 29, 2008

Come out baby!

We had a midwife appointment today (I was so happy to get out of the house!!) that went really well. I am 2-3 centimeters dilated and still 50%+ effaced with a very soft cervix. This is very good, in case clarification is needed, although it doesn't mean very much...I could have the baby tonight or next week! Please, please let it be before next week. I am pretty big and pretty uncomfortable although I am not as anxious as Taylor is...she is VERY ready for the baby to come, especially as she is on family leave starting this week. The baby has dropped down really well although not in the optimal position; I am to spend some time on all fours (no comments needed) to try and get it to flip around. Unfortunately, my acupuncturist is out of town until Monday...damn her for having a life as that could speed it along. I will be stalking her if this baby is still inside on Monday. Our main midwife is also out of town but we have two others and a back up midwife (to complete the team of 3 midwives) that we feel really comfortable with. We are finishing up some home improvement/nursery tasks and catching up on dinners with friends until the baby comes to keep ourselves busy this week!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Update

Hi All,

Just to let everyone know who cares... Megan is still pregnant - 39 weeks today! All of the snow has melted and I was able to get the car out of the driveway today!! We have been giving the baby pep-talks telling it that it is now safe for it to be born; we know it has been listening and hope it understands what that means. Megan has had a rough day today dealing with some severe headaches and other migraine symptoms - she had been looking forward to getting out of the house today, but just couldn't make it. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the midwives which will definitely get her out of the house.

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Snow


Ok, so here is a picture I took of our car yesterday right around the time Megan thought she was going into labor (she didn't).


We are proud to report that we have had the 3rd snowiest December (as recorded at the Portland Airport) in weather-recorded history - not to worry... we're super close to setting the record for the 2nd snowiest December and are expected to reach that later today.


And here is a picture I took this morning right around the time Megan thought she was going into labor (she didn't).


One can only imagine how much snow the car will be under when she actually does go into labor. Join us in hoping there won't be any snow by that point.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

We think the baby has dropped a little

 
Given Megan's ability to breathe more easily and the extra space between her belly and breasts the baby seems to have dropped - another step on the road to being born.
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Monday, December 15, 2008

37 weeks...here we go

Hi all,

I am officially 37 weeks as of yesterday! That means that anytime between now and 42 weeks we are ready for baby (theoretically). Although Taylor keeps chanting December 30th to the baby. We are having some crazy weather...crazy for Oregon as we have snow and ice and I couldn't make it to work today. We went to the holiday party for my company on Saturday at the Governor Hotel and got a room for the night. Since we didn't have a chance to go anywhere before the baby comes we thought it would be a fun treat. It was really nice (Taylor had 7 drinks)...both the room and the party. Fabulous food, a magician, great people, and great people telling me how wonderful I look. This was probably a lie but I think wearing black helped me look less gigantic. Also, I had nudie pregnant pictures taken earlier in the day so I was feeling kinda pretty. Yesterday morning we were lucky in that we got one of the last buses out of downtown Portland before our route was turned back. We had to hike home but had fun doing it. We also had the car seat installed by a semi nice police officer at a car seat clinic (highly recommend this) so we felt very productive.

My prenatal visit last Thursday went well; the baby is head down and I am 50% effaced which means that the menstrual like cramps that I have from 2 a.m. on are actually doing some good. The big fear now is that I will go into labor and we will not be able to get anywhere due to weather. We expect more snow later this week. Think happy thoughts that the baby can wait.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Monday, December 8, 2008

36 weeks and counting

Sorry for the delay in posting, life got crazy again and I am assured it will continue to do so. We finished our childbirth classes last week (we took a 5 week Hypnobirthing class, a 4 week general overview class taught by our doula, and two seminars; one on postpartum care and one on natural pain coping techniques). We also finished the Intro the Queer Studies class that we have been teaching although we still have a lot of grading to do. It was a really meaningful experience but I am glad that we have more free time now as I am huge.

We had THREE baby showers last week. The first one was at lunch on Wednesday and was arranged by the wonderful Pam (Taylor's coworker/friend/mentor/boss/and wife of the soup god Jeff) at Taylor's work. Of course I got a semi migraine (it didn't progress thank goodness) 20 minutes before but managed with Taylor's help, some hydration and Tylenol (and soup that Jeff made) to pull it together for the shower. We played actual fun games and her co-workers (a lot of guys that work with computers) were really good sports. We also got some really great gifts and I FINALLY got to see Taylor's cubicle after 2.5 years of her working there. I then got another headache and after seeing a second cubicle at another building and I had to nap in the car and be taken home early....just in time for shower #2. My co-workers (specifically Courtney, Judy, and Heather) had an evening shower that was really lovely. No games (per my request), a ton of gifts, and just a mellow time with snacks and talking.

We had our big friends/family shower on Saturday (this was arranged by a "shower committee" of Ingrid, Hillary, Jessica, and Mandy) at the local community center. It was exactly what we wanted, a really casual gathering of friends and family creating a really supportive atmosphere to welcome our baby. The food was fabulous there were activities for the kids, for the adults, music, great decorations. We did have to open presents in front of people but we did it together and it wasn't quite so intimidating. Our inseminating naturopath Dr. Annie Hanaway dropped by and got a round of applause (definitely deserved). Although it was odd to see people from very different aspects of our lives interacting it was amazing to feel the excitement and love that our family is lucky to have. As an added bonus Taylor's mama was able to be there which made it even more special. My mom sent a delegate (our family friend Christie) so I would have a mom too! Thanks to all of you who were there and those of you who were sending your love and good wishes but couldn't attend. We have pretty much everything we need although there are still a few things on the list.

This Sunday I will be 37 weeks which is technically full term so wish us luck! Also, someone text messaged me as I hadn't posted on the blog and they wanted to know if we had had the baby...nope but there was no name/number so I have no idea who you are!!! Call/e-mail/or text with name so we can chat.

I am feeling gigantic, slow, and tired. The ligaments in your pelvic area open up during pregnancy so your legs feel disconnected from your body which is odd, you don't really sleep much, and I continue to have practice "surges" and low cramping off and on. Our prenatal visit was cancelled last week due to our main midwife being sick so I am extra excited for this weeks visit. Still feeling pretty good though despite all the discomfort and am hopeful the baby can hold out for at least another two weeks!

Megan