Not much to add . . .

. . . but that's a good thing, isn't it? This is Cara, and Brian and I are hanging out on a Lazy Sunday afternoon. I have quite a chunk of reading/work to do this weekend for my two classes at EMU, and Brian is busy figuring out how to substitute molasses for sugar in a pumpkin bread recipe. You can always count on major excitement at the Genisio house! :)

Baby G is doing fine. I'm starting to feel a pretty consistent foot/knee/head? in the ribs on a daily basis, so it seems that the baby has decided to hang out in a vertical position more often than a horizontal one. At next week's O.B. visit, 34 weeks, they'll start monitoring whether or not the baby is head up (Breech) or head down (yay!). They told me a couple of weeks ago that they only start to get "concerned" if the baby is still Breech at 36 weeks.

Brian and I were back in the Metro Detroit area yesterday; we made a trip to Somerset Mall and had dinner with Lesley, Rob, and Aiden. Something interesting that I recognized at the mall: I think the legend of the generosity of strangers towards pregnant women is turning into a thing of the past. I don't necessarily think that that's a bad thing, mind you--it might be fading away along with the idea that that pregnancy = illness, and I say "good riddance!" to that nonsense (for your average pregnancy, of course. There are exceptions!). But, I'm just saying this because I'm certainly VERY clearly pregnant at this point, and I've not yet had a stranger offer me a chair or cuts in line in the restroom or anything of the sort. Also, I've never had a stranger reach out to touch my belly! All of this makes me wonder: is American culture easing into a more mellow understanding of pregnancy as a normal process (for the most part, and for most women)? Or might it be the parts of the culture that I come into contact with here in Southeast Michigan? Hmmm . . .

Undeniable

Hey all,

It's Cara again. Brian and I had our childbirth ed. class again last night, where we watched two of the dreaded "birth videos." After watching the videos, I was surprised by the legends that surround them. Perhaps they've been updated, or perhaps our instructor is preparing us all well for what birth is really like, but I didn't find them shocking at all.

Why did I title this post "Undeniable"? Well, that's how I'm feeling about pregnancy these days (as are, it turns out, all the other women in the class with me! I'm not alone!). Not that it's anything I want to deny . . . it's just that it's starting to affect almost all of my daily activities. There would have been examples, a few weeks ago, when a trip to the bookstore or a day of teaching could have passed without the fact of my pregnancy passing through my brain; well, those days are gone now. Brian has mentioned the sleeping--that continues to get a bit more difficult as each week passes. Last night in class we all shared the common experience of the extremely strong leg cramps that come in the middle of the night and wake you up--a weird pregnancy symptom that I've been surprised by. Then there's just this general feeling of heaviness and fullness--it's as if my body is running out of space for itself. I guess, in a way, it is.

Except for a difficult day yesterday, I'm still feeling quite good in general. But something I can see around the corner is the feeling of anticipation for this to be over. I was talking with a friend of mine on Tuesday evening and she confirmed that this was about the time that she started to feel very ready for her pregnancy experience to come to an end.

Whenever I feel a bit discouraged by all this, I'm going to remember two things: 1) the baby is growing about 1/2 a pound a week now, so my energy needs to be devoted in large part to the project of that amazingly rapid growth rate, and, 2) my childbirth ed. teacher said last night that the smartest thing I can do right now is "listen to my body." It's good practice for the intense listening I'm going to be doing in two months. :) It's 32 weeks--less than two months to go. Amazing.

Quick note

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B

31 weeks

Hey everyone! It's Cara posting this time. All is well on another chilly and wet Saturday in Ann Arbor. I have appointments with the O.B. every 2 weeks now, so I'm really starting to feel like we're close to the finish line. Brian and I watched a T.V. show this morning that was quite reassuring in a strange way. It's a reality-type series about babies, and this particular episode featured a mother of triplets who had a C-section delivery. "What in the world is reassuring about that, Cara?" you might ask. Well, she had her delivery at 33 weeks, and her babies were all born in the neighborhood of 3 lbs. They were all just fine, with a few weeks' help from the hospital.

As far as we know, our baby weighs about that at this very moment, and 33 weeks is right around the corner. So, we know that we're in the range now of everything being just fine if the baby was born prematurely. Of course, there's not a single fiber of my being that wants things to go that way . . . but it's calming to know that things would almost certainly be okay.

I'm feeling very healthy and mellow. On some days, "mellow" is a synonym for "exhausted," but that's to be expected at this point! I must say that, after the end of the "morning" sickness at about 4 1/2 months, I've had very little to complain about since then. (Yes, as you can imagine, I'm knocking on wood as I type this.) My shoes still fit, my back feels strong, and I can still fit into non-maternity stretchy clothes from Target (albeit a couple sizes bigger than usual!).

So here I am at our Saturday morning grocery store, the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market. Please note that the healthy produce I'm purchasing is an apple fritter. :)

Moving along nicely

Well, we are entering week 31... which means anywhere between 6 to 10 weeks to go. Tomorrow is our second week in our birthing class, where we learn to be calm and relaxed, for Cara's natural child birth. Our goal is to go through this without any medication, and we (mostly Cara) have been reading up on reasons behind this being the best decision for us. It turns out that 88% of women in the US get an epidural these days. We had no idea the number was so high. But, out of the 7 couples on our birthing class, 5 or 6 of them (including us) are going to try the no-meds route... I dunno, maybe its Ann Arbor? Damn hippies (sarcasm, of course!). In addition, 5/6 of the other couples are having a girl. Even more reason Brian believes that a boy is on the way... we can't make 6/7 girls!

Cara is doing well, and so is Baby G. We went to the appointment where we meet with the nurse, and got some of the logistics taken care of. Cara is getting very tired, and is having trouble sleeping, but is really excited for the arrival of this baby.

Greetings

So, this is the blog of the baby-to-be -- Baby G. Here, we will post updates on Cara's progress up to the day of birth. After that day, the focus will be on Baby G. We will do our best to post pictures of our little one, as he/she grows and wows us with all the cute things babies do.

This blog was a suggestion from one of our guests at the baby shower. It is a great idea! I would post pictures from the shower, but the camera ate our photos... Seriously! Oh well, the shower was great, and we want to thank our sisters and mothers for such a well planned party.

Instead of photos of the party, here is a recent photo of Cara and Baby G!