Wednesday, November 12, 2008

spregnancy update: 37 weeks

The countdown is here! I can deliver anytime!


As of Monday, Marcy The Midwife felt our baby to be just under 7 pounds. The thing about this child that we get to see the most of is one single knee, which sweeps across my belly several times daily. I'm hoping he or she has two knees, not just the one. But we're open.

Everything has really come together in the past couple of weeks.

We had our home visit last week, whereby the midwives checked to see that we have everything in place. You wouldn't believe the odd assortment of goods we need: to name a few, a crockpot and olive oil and ginger (for warm compresses), big bottles of hydrogen peroxide, and a flashlight and batteries, since I'll be birthing in a calm, low-light setting and they need to see what's going on every now and again. So interesting! This home birth preparation has been very educational and enriching for me. I feel like I am in control of at least the preparation piece, and that is so empowering. What happens in labor, who can know? We pre-registered at the hospital yesterday just in case.
Here's my view of Jason napping on the floor.


My final order of newborn cloth diaper paraphenalia is on the way, and I think I'm set for the big experiment on that front. I am trying a couple of style combinations to get started, and when I know what the heck I'm doing, I'll settle on something for as the baby grows. Supposedly we'll save the planet AND a 2 - 3 thousand dollars over using disposables, so I'm very anxious to see how this turns out. If we don't save the planet, I will be so pissed. Ha ha. Pun totally intended. I'm using the old-school prefold diapers (like our moms used) with Thirsties brand covers. I'll experiment with wool covers too like these, although Jason is skeptical. Has anybody tried them? They're really groovy looking and supposedly very soft and absorbent. I've got a few "all in ones" too that don't require a separate cover.

We found a good carseat this week too, for $2 at the thrift store. I know that sounds so dreadful! But it is in excellent shape! We learned all we could about it and made sure it is a very safe model with no recalls. The only thing I wonder about is accident history (as in, this specific carseat), but we intend to drop by the fire department for them to give it the once over.

We visited a pediatrician yesterday too, and I think we'll go with her. Now come all the decisions about vaccinations. Lord, have mercy. What happened to the days of yore when a woman was pushing her horse-drawn plow, stopped at the end of the field to deliver the baby since she realized she was too far from the house, wrapped it in her petticoat and headed home? That actually happened to my great-great-aunt, and is one of my favorite birth stories so far. I've been listening to a lot of them these days.

And for the most exciting news of all: Jason is almost done with our bassinet! I will post here a teaser photo, so you can see the beginning. He made it from a photo I found on the web, and it is gonna be dropdead gorgeous. This guy, I'm tellin' ya. I'm real proud of him.

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