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eniarelocin) wrote2007-09-17 02:31 pm
Project Pollywog: 37 Weeks | Baby Shower
Baby-Shower-4
Originally uploaded by NicoleRaine
So apparently I'm huge and not in good ways. I can't believe how puffy I look. Oh well... deflation could happen very, very soon. And that's good news.
I didn't in fact take all the pictures I wanted to at the shower, but that's ok. The party seemed to be a success anyway. Lisa and I subjected everyone to the "which Muppet am I?" game in which everyone had a Muppet taped to their backs and they had to figure out which one it was by asking questions. An example would be, "what colour am I?" or "am I musical?" Not everyone was thrilled with this but we did have a fun time finding Muppets prior to the shower.
The turn out was pretty much right on with the Evite RSVPs. Grandma had a very full and very warm house. It was so nice that everyone came. As far as I could tell the party seemed to be a success... and we managed to even have a couple of pieces of cheesecake to bring home (yum yum).
Our guests were very generous and we got some amazing things- including several handmade blankets for baby, which I love. Also, the Halloween baby theme continued- this kid is going to be a pumpkin head who will hopefully like hats. Mom was kind enough to indulge my gushing about how much I love and wanted a Himalayan Crystal Salt Lamp to use as a night light and general nice addition to the office/baby room. However, I think it would also be great on my night stand for nursing in the middle or the night- and in the green room. So I think I need two more! :-)
Anyway... the baby room is officially full of soft, cute, and fuzzy things. This baby is going to be covered, wrapped, and generally surrounded with some of the softest things I've ever felt- as it should be. Thanks to everyone for all of the lovely gifts. It was so nice of everyone to come, especially from such distances.
In other news, I went to the midwife this morning for a quick blood pressure check. I'm fine. 124 over 72. A little higher than would be normal for me if I weren't pregnant, but certainly tolerable. The important thing being that it is not elevated and therefore does not indicate toxemia/pre-eclampsia.
I was also happy to find out that I can use moist heat to alleviate some of the discomfort I've been having with the menstrual like cramping. This is happening more often for a longer duration and with greater intensity. I'm hoping this means things are just progressing and opening... and maybe that will make actual labour go more quickly. Fingers crossed.
As I said in my last post, today marks 'full term' for the pregnancy and the baby. This means that even though our due date is still a couple of weeks away (about 2 1/2) if we were to go into labour this very moment, it is now considered safe/normal/healthy to have the baby. Basically it means the baby is considered to be fully developed and ready for life on the outside and breathing unassisted. This a huge! This means that I could be a mama tomorrow (or next month). It means we made a little person that is likely to work and function all on its own. It also means that I need to get the house ready because at this point all systems are go for home birth.
Our home birth kit arrived in the post today. It's full of very medical looking things, including 'hospital blue' drop cloths and a lot of other things I haven't properly investigated. I guess we'll add it to our basket where I'm collecting the other things we need. I think about all we're going to need to get are better garbage bags and some juice.
I would still like to get a birthing tub. I have the contact information, price and everything else I need to know to rent one... we're just trying to decide if we can afford it. At our class yesterday the video was water birth and it looked really great. I can definitely imagine being in the water and how much that would help for relaxing. I'm a jelly fish. I'm a jelly fish. I'm really hoping we can afford one, but we also still need to buy a breast pump... just these last few details and we should be set.
Now that we've reached this point it is really sinking in that baby could come any day. For so long it's been this distant possibility, an eventuality, but now it's really going to happen. One of our baby shower gifts was a onsie that said "I ♥ my mommy" on it. That was sort of a shock to the system. There was a mildly adrenaline fueled realization of "Oh that's me!" Soon I will be a mother. I will be taking care of a baby 24/7. It will rely on me for its very survival and happiness. I knew this when we decided we would have one but it's odd to think this vision in my mind is soon to come to fruition.
What will it be like? I imagine being very much enamored with this little person (which I still imagine is an Ellie), with the little toes and big brown eyes. I imagine a full head of dark hair and sweet little ears. I imagine being completely exhausted and that's my biggest concern. Will I be able to do it? Will have the patience and the stamina? Will I be able to give this baby every ounce of love it needs and not be short tempered with the baby or Stephen in the throws of sleep deprivation? All these questions will shortly be answered and I hope I'll pass the test.
It's really hard to imagine at this point what my days will be like- how they will be different. I spend so much time in the office working on photos, researching things for the business, emailing people and working on leads for more business. Will I be able to do it?
Scheduling is a huge question mark in the upcoming month. I have a shoot for tomorrow, but haven't booked any past that. However, I will be booking a consultation appointment for sometime in the next few weeks. I really haven't figured out how I should handle customers during this time. I guess we'll see how it goes. Everyone is encouraging me to take 'enough' time off, but I worry that if I do this I will lose momentum in my business. I know that there will likely be quite a juggling act with working and being a mom, and eventually going back to uni in February. I really hope I'll be able to pull that off as well. I don't want to compromise my business, but it's very important that the baby get enough time and attention from me. This is paramount.
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Incidentally, did you know that it is common for blood pressure to rise very slightly above whatever it has normally been just before labour starts? Just so you know! Mine did, but I was so busy worrying if it was Pre-E, I didn't think it might have a more logical explanation!!
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This is where the fun begins, isn't it, because I have all of the pre-labour signs on the list given to us by our midwife. ALL OF THEM... even the ones I don't want... Well... I lied... I haven't passed the plug yet, but all the rest.
But yeah, I'm sure every weird occurrence for the next month will have us wondering.
Although, I think for most of the pregnancy it's been slightly higher than it was previous to pregnancy- so I'm not entirely sure what normal is anymore.
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The plug varies from person to person anyway - I passed mine and about twenty seconds later my waters went, and I was at 7cm half an hour after that so, well, that's one way it can happen!
I'm so grateful I skipped the last, I guess up to 5 weeks, of waiting and wondering. I hadn't really reached that stage (I'd have been far more obsessive over my blood pressure if I was) and I wasn't expecting her any time soon, so I had none of that anxiety and wondering. It can't be much fun!
Still, at least when it happens, unless you're out you won't have to worry about the traffic being bad or giving birth so fast you don't make it to the hospital :-)
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The only major wild card is my part time job which is starting up again next week. I'm thinking I'll work up until my due date and then just start my time off at that point. It's the coming back to work that is definitely up in the air.
Guess we'll just have to see how it goes.
I'm mostly not looking forward to having cramps for a month if they keep up the way that they have. Everyone keeps asking if I'm ready and I think the answer really is yes. I'm not looking forward to not being pregnant anymore, but I'm ready for labour. I'm ready for meeting the baby. I'm still very anxious about actually being a mum but I've always been one for jumping in head first.
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Totally know what you mean about missing being pregnant but wanting to meet the baby. If I take away the aches and the worry when I was out on my own locally, I did really enjoy being pregnant most of the time. And I did miss my belly when she was born at times.
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I hope everything goes well for you both. It's certainly been a busy year for us all.
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