The Last Weeks of the Pregnancy

The "End" (weeks 28-38):

25 February 2000: We're now just beginning week 28, officially the start of the third trimester. As of today we have three months until the due date, a scary prospect! I'm not afraid of the birth; after all, my mother (who is 5'4") was able to deliver me, a frank breech (butt first) at 8 lbs, 4 oz, and I'm 5'10" with very wide hips. Since I will be laboring in many different positions (whatever is comfortable at the time) instead of the standard hospital lithotomy position (lying on your back with your legs held up -- fighting gravity all the way), my hips will be able to open up even further, allowing practically any sized baby to come through. My midwife uses a birthing chair (I designed this page for her, so please feel free to visit!) with many of her clients, since it relaxes and opens the pelvis, and greatly reduces the "need" for episiotomies (cutting the skin of the perinnium, which is usually unnecessary, plus natural tears actually heal much better than cuts do), and has had only one woman with a tear requiring sutures. She is well-trained in the case of emergencies, carries much of the same resuscitation equipment you might find in the hospital (oxygen, pitocin in case of uterine hemorrhage, etc.), and we are only 5 minutes away from the hospital, should anything really drastic go wrong. We are hoping that my mother, mother-in-law, and my sister (plus David, of course) will be attending the birth, making it a friendly, family event instead of a clinical exercise. So it's not the birth that is scary, but the prospect of being 100% responsible for another human being! Still, we do feel that we are up to the task, and are doing everything we can to prepare ourselves for this life-altering change :)

15 May 2000: It's now week 39, and the end is very much in sight! While I am looking forward to meeting the wee one, I have really enjoyed being pregnant, despite the occasional annoyances and aches, and I think I will miss it a lot! There is much to be said for knowing that s/he is being completely cared for, 24 hours a day, with very little effort on my part (after all, every one of his/her needs are being met right now, and all I have to do is eat well and exercise!). Plus I absolutely adore feeling the baby's movements -- nothing else on the planet could possibly compare to those sensations! I love seeing the look on David's face when he listens to the heartbeat through my tummy, and when the baby kicks so he can feel it (when s/he is feeling cooperative!). But, I know all of these things will pale in comparison to looking into his/her eyes for the very first time, holding her/him while s/he suckles, and learning all I can about his/her personality.

We had a baby shower on April 30, which was a lot of fun, and went a long way in terms of preparing us for the baby's arrival -- we now definitely have enough clothes (kid's got a bigger wardrobe than either of us!), diapers, and other necessities. People are still a little weirded out by our plans, but hopefully they will come to understand that every family is different, and while Attachment Parenting may not be for everyone, we expect that it will be great for us and the baby.

Hard to believe it's only 9 days til my due date! David is convinced that s/he will arrive on 25 May (our wedding anniversary!) while I am thinking more like the 30th. I just hope it's not early... while I think we're ready, I would prefer a larger, better-equipped baby to an early one! (Though when I pressed Cilia for an estimate at last week's appointment, she guessed the baby was already between 7-7.5 pounds, and since babies can gain half a pound a week during the last four weeks, we should have a decently large baby no matter what!)

I started the baby's scrapbook this weekend; all we have so far are cards and pictures from the shower, but there will be no lack of pictures once s/he arrives! We got a nice digital videocamera, too, so will have stills and movies for the site later on as well, maybe even footage from the birth (if it's not too vivid).

22 May 2000: The baby has arrived... and early, and small! Read his birth story here!

On to The Future...

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