nothing is comfortable

We have reached the point in the pregnancy where there are no more comfortable positions. Now, every time I ask A what she needs, she has only one response…”to deliver this baby.” We’ve passed the 30-day mark – just one month left until the due date. And after 37 weeks, the baby is considered fully baked. So, in a way, A is right – all she needs is to deliver this baby.

We meet with the midwife every week now until the baby comes. It really feels like things are speeding up, and yet they couldn’t be moving any slower for A. She gets up two or three times a night to pee and isn’t sleeping too well either. Her hip joints are loose like they’re supposed to be for the baby to come out, but it is super uncomfortable and hard to stay in one position for very long whether sitting, standing or being horizontal.

The heavy snow and slick sheets of ice covering Minneapolis aren’t making things any easier. One of the doulas at the childbirth collective classes we attend said that winter babies can take a little longer to come out, which if you think about it kind of makes sense. I certainly don’t want to be outside right now. But despite the weather, A needs to keep moving to get the baby in position. The doulas recommend climbing stairs, so it’s a good thing we have a bunch to climb inside the warm cozy house. When A goes into labor, we’re told that climbing up and down the stairs will be one of her greatest comfort measures. Go figure.

Oh, and for those of you waiting for the really big belly shot, here you go.

baby party

We had a party for our baby last weekend. Kind of a baby shower but not really. More of an open house with beer, wine, hors d’ oeuvres, and some origami crane folding, sans baby. The attendees were mostly the same Minneapolis friends who came to our housewarming party last October, so I guess you could call it a baby warming.

The party was hosted by Elizabeth and Trish who, while brunching with us a couple months earlier, convinced us that having this party would provide our friends the opportunity to celebrate the two of us and this new baby who is about to grace our presence. As reluctant as we were at first, we could hardly refuse an offer to let other people plan the party, send out the invitations, make the food, and bring the wine. All we had to do was supply the house.

A thousand cranes, or Senbazuru, are supposed to bring good luck, but we’ll have to settle with whatever forty-some-odd brings us. Our small sea of brightly colored paper cranes covers the dining room table. The cats are overjoyed to say the least. We look at the cranes nightly and wonder when we’ll have the energy to string them together and hang them in the baby’s room. That is the plan anyway. And it will be nice when our dining room table becomes an eating surface again.

The party food was particularly exciting for A. Not only was it fabulous, but we lunched on it for days after, and we still have leftover cupcakes with their yummy toasted coconut mop tops tucked away in the freezer in case of an emergency (or early labor).

I think my favorite part was when we all threw the big ball of yarn around the room and tied a little piece of it around our wrists linking us together until the baby is born. It was totally corny, and A told everyone that we wouldn’t friend-break-up with them if they decided to take it off, but I’m still wearing mine.

progress

since j’s been out-posting me, i’ve decided to give her the night off and write a little update myself.

i’ve been thinking lately about the concept of progress. in terms of the pregnancy, and otherwise. as far as the pregnancy goes, as long as i keep breathing, eating, and sleeping progress is inevitable. which is a relief. i find myself obsessively wishing that human gestation was a 7 month cycle instead of 9+. the last two months feel so taxing on the body, and i’m just at the beginning of those last two now. the turning point came a few weeks ago when i started to experience the most excruciating back pain. walking was an exercise of great torture. but then i went to physical therapy a couple of times and miraculously improved. there are now days when i have no back pain at all! and to think, i had almost resigned myself to utter and total misery for the rest of the ten weeks i had to go.

it feels like much progress still needs to be made in terms of nuts and bolts preparation for the baby. we still don’t own bottles or diapers or many of the other “necessities” we’ll eventually acquire. there is a giant “to do” list and items are being checked off at a snail’s pace, which causes me a bit of anxiety admittedly. and yet, here i sit, not rushing out to buy diapers.

i have to say, the most fun i’ve had in terms of making progress recently is the quilt i’ve been working on. it’s coming together quite nicely. the entire top is in one piece now–the result of having a very nasty cold over the holiday weekend and being unable to do anything more strenuous than sew. it kind of kept me sane. i could feel productive with very little physical energy being exerted–it was perfect. and so far, i’m really pleased with the way it’s turning out. i want to keep going with pillows and curtains and blankets and bibs and burp cloths. i knew i should have started this before the third trimester. what a fun distraction!

we’re gearing up for our baby party this weekend. i’m excited to have so many of our friends here to celebrate with us–steph and mike coming in from chicago is really a treat. and i think once it’s over maybe, just maybe, i’ll feel like we’re in the home stretch. in any case, we’ll get to eat yummy food (and cupcakes) and be surrounded by so many of the people who will make up the baby’s first community of aunties, uncles, imas, and friends. at the beginning of the pregnancy i was lukewarm on the idea of having a party at all. but now, i can’t think of anything more fun to help me through these weeks of impatient waiting and superhuman growth–did i mention i’ve gained 31 pounds already!? i guess i don’t really need those extra cupcakes, but the baby enjoys them so much.