Good morning! It's week 34 of the Baby G saga, and I'm wide awake (and have been since about 4:30). No reason in particular other than the usual third trimester sleeping challenges. And it's also no big deal, because it's the weekend and there's no work today. :)
I've been spending some time re-reading the Labor and Delivery sections of the book Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn by Penny Simkin. What a great resource that book is! My mom gave it to me quite a few months ago, and I've read through the whole thing once already. Now that the hard work of labor is just around the corner, I thought I'd take another look. What I really appreciate about it is that Simkin approaches pain management during labor as something all moms should have a grasp of, regardless of their plans to try birth with or without medication. A wise thing to do, it seems. As our childbirth ed. teacher said, "The only impossible thing these days is a completely pain-free birth."
Speaking of that: childbirth ed. is over next week, which is a bit of a bummer and a thrill simultaneously. Why a bummer? Well, Wednesday night has become this little relaxing oasis in the middle of the week, where Brian and I get to go talk about important things with cool people and practice relaxation techniques. Last week was a bit of a watershed class, because all seven women got to spend some time commiserating over the physical and emotional challenges of late pregnancy (many of which I've described here in the blog). I can't tell you how much it helped to hear that every single other woman is feeling identical things. One doesn't reach 100% consensus very often when it comes to emotional matters, so it was really comforting.
Why is the coming end of class a thrill? Well, because that means that this really could, potentially, be over safely at any time. I read somewhere yesterday that 99% of babies born at this time survive and thrive due to the maturity of their lungs and other systems; that's tremendously reassuring!
A few things I'm looking forward to in the weeks ahead: Baby G's first UM/OSU game, Baby G's first Thanksgiving, a Medich family holiday gathering, and Baby G's debut in the world! It's all just around the corner, and, hopefully, everything on that list will happen before Christmas. :)
2 comments:
Sounds like things are going great! Maybe you will come out of your childbirth ed class with some new friends, closer to home...?
Gotta ask, because I'm not all up on the etiquette of such things: don't baby's-first-whatevers typically start AFTER the baby is born? Or is your feeling that the baby is already, in a sense, participating consciously in everything you do?
In any case, I suppose your experience of these events is so changed by the fact of your pregnancy and your knowledge of what's coming that, for you, it's all a series of momentous firsts (and perhaps, in a sense, also a series of lasts?)...
Love to you both!
Well, I think that it's standard procedure to start the "firsts" after the baby arrives . . .
But, since he/she is going to have to put up with me 1) yelling at the TV during the football game, and 2) going into a turkey coma after Thanksgiving, then I'm counting these events as firsts for his/her sake. (I am sure looking forward to not having to do the "he/she" thing anymore!)
Love,
C
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