One Little Bean

Hm. Day 4. Yesterday a close friend of mine told me that her first child was 3 weeks late. Oh please no. After spending time with Konrad on Saturday, I'm now starting to get antsy to have this Little Bean out in the world with us.

Sunday was spent mostly at our new place--I ripped down a lot of wallpaper. Very satisfying work. Then we went to work on the crib and try to finish it, but didn't because the brush we have is no good. So I'm going to pick up a new one and tonight we will try again to finish it off. I can't wait to have it made, with the mobile on it and in our bedroom.

On Sunday Tomek's family was going nuts because my sister-in-law had a dream that I'd be giving birth that day and neither of us were answering our phones because we were still sleeping or just getting started on the day. They became sure that we weren't answering because we were at the hospital.

LB's been moving around like crazy... and it feels like my belly has dropped a bit, but I can't be sure. Another midwife appointment on Wednesday will hopefully reveal that the baby has descended. People keep saying "oh, any day now"... but I feel like the more they say that, the longer I'm going to have to wait. Argh.

Labels: birth

Hey LB,

Well, I guess you only know when you are ready to come out and meet your parents. I haven't felt close to giving birth yet, but I suppose the signs will be there when you are ready.

Yesterday, July 27th, was your due date. Every day brings you closer to being an August baby like me, rather than a July baby like your tatus. I'm competitive enough to hope you'll be an August baby. Silly really, but that's your mom!

My mom, your Gran, is ready to come flying up here as soon as she gets the word that I am in labour. She'll be staying with us for a while, helping me and your tatus figure out exactly what the heck we are doing. But I'm sure you'll teach us a lot pretty quick, too.

Your tatus is getting pretty excited to meet you. When the midwife asked if he had any questions or concerns about the pregnancy, he just said he wanted you here already. I can already picture the two of you snoozing on the couch together the way my dad and brothers used to.

Are you waiting for the crib to be finished before you arrive? It's almost done! We should have the final coat of varnish on it tomorrow.

And we have started planning your bedroom. Nothing too crazy, but some nice yellow walls and a bright sun ceiling lamp, maybe some shelves for all the stuffed animals I'm sure you'll be recieving. And some colourful drapes to hide the beige beige beige blinds.

I don't think I told you what I got at my baby shower (or rather, our baby shower). We got a mobile that plays Brahm's Lullaby and has an elephant, giraffe, lion and zebra on it, and a Snugli from your Gran. Your tatus can't wait to get you in that Snugli! We also got a bunch of burp cloths and some receiving blankets and wash cloths and as squeaky duck, and a bumbo seat. I'm wondering about that seat. I hope you'll like it. But I can't wait to get you one of those seats that attach to the top of a door frame and that let you bounce around. I would find that fun if I was a kid.

So I hope everything is ok with you. Keep wiggling, it's reassuring. :)

Love,
Mom

No, I haven't popped yet, and no I don't feel like I'm about to pop. And yes, I don't like the term "pop" being associated with pregnancy.

Grr.

Today is cool and cloudy, so I'm finally making another batch of potato salad. Yum! Doing dishes, trying to clean up some of the piles of paper that seem to accumulate everywhere. I talked to my mom last night and she and my dad are coming up for one day next week. My dad has some work to do and my mom is going to visit with me and suggested she could help pack some boxes.
I have more attention on fixing up our new place than how we are actually going to get moved out of this place. Yesterday I was on the IKEA website and found the cutest ceiling lamp for LB's room, if we go with the light yellow walls.

Today I called work and the receptionist is keeping aside boxes for us. And I called the strata management company to find out how we should pay our strata fees each month. Left a message, no reply yet. Will probably have to go to their office on monday with post-dated cheques if I don't hear back. I don't want to start off our first full month of owning the place with a late payment!

Tonight Tomek and I have to go get a baptism gift and card for Konrad, Tomek' soon-to-be godson. Tomorrow is the baptism. I have pictures here somewhere of Tomek holding the little guy. Too cute.

So that's day 1+ in a nutshell. My day is really just beginning, since I never get up till almost noon every day. And even then, the 4.5 hours till Tomek gets home still draaaaag by. I guess I should enjoy the monotony; soon enough I'll be going non-stop again.

The long awaited due date has come, and will probably go without much fuss. My nesting feelings are kicking into high-gear, and according to the midwife the baby has dropped some more, but nothing's actually started.

I'm not feeling anxious or restless yet, but I was suprised and tickled yesterday when the midwife asked Tomek how he's feeling about the pregnancy, and he replied with a smile "I just want the baby to be here already."

I don't know why I don't feel the same way. I feel kind of like I've accepted that I'm going to go into labour and it's going to hurt a lot but the result is going to be more than worth any and all of the pain and discomfort. And that's about the extent of my feelings on the matter. I suppose the real emotional attachment will come once LB is here and we've gotten to know each other a bit.

I'm finding myself thinking of LB more as a girl than a boy, I wonder why that is, and if it will turn out to be accurate at all.

Yesterday Tomek and I went for a hospital tour; I'd gone on one two weeks ago with a friend, but I was relieved that he got to see where to drive me, where the maternity ward is, what the rooms are like, etc. beforehand.

Our midwife told us that since these are the final days of us just being us, we should try to take time to do things that we'd normally do to spend time together, other than renovations and packing. So last night we did-- well, we went to Sears first to pick up a diaper pail and some nursing pads, then came home and watched America's Got Talent, which is a pretty ridiculous show, but some of the acts are cool. What bugged me was how we'd see a 3 minute act, then hear the judges give the person an X or a check and then there would be commercials. One act, then commercials. What happened to only having 2 sets of commercials per 1/2 hour of television? But it was good to sit and laugh and groan and cringe together for a bit. Then we assembled our change table and a diaper shelf and threw a few more things in our hospital bags.

Tonight it's back out to his parents' place to finish the crib (fingers crossed).

And sometime within the next 2 weeks, LB will arrive.

LB is all knees and elbows today, and my hands have joined my feet in their swollen-ness. Or maybe my hands are just tired from the sanding I was doing last night. Tomek put the first coat of varnish on the crib on Monday night and last night we went out to his parent's place to put the second coat on. But we discovered that the crib felt a bit rough to the touch. So we sanded all the pieces down with some fine-grade sand paper and then wiped it all down to get the dust off, and then Tomek varnished half of it--by then it was 12:30, and we were both ready to drop. But while he was varnishing I did get all the baby stuff washed that we'll need - receiving blankets, outfits, diapers, socks, sheets.

And earlier in the day I did get a bunch of the dishes done, but then I negated all that work by cooking potatoes and rice and stir-frying some veggies and prepping a chicken marinade.

I am so not going to get hardly anything done that is suggested--all the frozen meals in the freezer and that kind of stuff. A friend just left me a message asking if we need help with painting at our new place--and I haven't called her back yet because we aren't ready to paint and what I could really use help with is putting some order into this pigsty of an apartment. I was supposed to do so much planning for the move...

Ugh.

I woke up this morning and when I got up to pee I felt this huge tugging feeling and I couldn't even straighten up. I shuffled a few steps, then turned around and shuffled back into bed. So now I have to remember to lie straight for a while before getting up to let all my lower muscles stretch out after being curled up all night.

And we didn't make it to the hospital yet... but tonight they are having another hospital tour, so we are going to go out to that after our midwife appointment.

Dear LB,

Well, you are due in 2 days... give or take a week or two I suppose. I can't really believe that after 276 days, you are almost here! Tatus is still busy with your crib, we sanded it down and are putting new varnish on it, so it's going to look like new. And now that we've found and purchased our first home, you will have your own room!

Here are some of the latest pictures of our growth:

Me and tatus at our new place, enjoying a nice breeze on the balcony:

Week 40 pics:
Well, I hope we get to meet you soon, and that everything is going well in there!

See you soon!

Week 39:
Barefoot, pregnant and in the tiny kitchen of our new place: LB and mom hanging out on the balcony:Week 40:
Sausage feet, front and side views of the belly.

Phx: None of my [expletive] shorts fit!!!

Tomek: That's because you are a beautiful, pregnant woman.

On Saturday a baby shower was thrown for me. It all turned out well, although 2 people who said they'd make it never showed or called. Two of my co-workers showed up, as well as my mom, Tom's mom and another friend of mine. So it was a small group, but the company, food, bevys, games, and presents were great. One of the games involved melted chocolate in diapers and we had to guess what kind of chocolate bar it had been. I won't be able to eat chocolate for a while, I don't think--especially since the Snickers bar turned into a total corn poopie (with the peanuts).

But Tomek and I have a ton of baby stuff now. Only thing is, the crib still isn't finished being stripped and sanded, the car seat isn't installed, the change table pillow hasn't been attached to the top of the dresser, my hospital bag isn't packed and I have NO idea if I have enough clothes for a newborn. But I do have LB's coming home outfit picked out from the clothes we do have.

And we have lots of disposable and cloth diapers (enough to last a couple of days anyway), a breast-feeding pillow, a mobile for the crib which plays Brahms lullaby (which was the lullaby on my brothers' mobile and the song I kind of insisted on having the mobile play), plenty of receiving blankets and burp cloths and towels and the like... AND (this one is Tom's favourite, I think) a Snugli:So now I'm back into another week of puttering around at home while Tomek works. Not that there isn't a ton of stuff to do. I've been trying to get down to do our 4 loads of laundry since this morning. I can't wait to have in-suite laundry. Those machines are worth their weight in gold to me already! And the folks at Toys R Us didn't remove the security tag from the Snugli so I have to go get that removed, do groceries, write thank-you cards to my baby shower guests, and get back on the wedding thank you cards.

It's amazing how such seemingly trivial stuff can fill a day...

LB's heartbeat is at a healthy, steady 140 bpm. As at last week's midwife appointment, the midwife commented on how low LB has settled. And it turns out I've been having contractions. Not the "here comes the baby" contractions, but a tightening of my uterus all the same. It doesn't hurt, my tummy just goes rock hard for about a minute.

With all the crazy running around I've been doing to get all our condo purchasing stuff together and approved, and with being up for most of most nights because of my stupid sore throat, I have not been taking it easy. I'm worried that the activity might affect LB's arrival (that s/he might come early). I'm worried about this because on Monday, Tomek is going to fly north till he's parallel with the southern tip of Alaska and do a side job, not returning until Thursday afternoon.

I really cannot bear the thought of giving birth without Tomek being there. Sure I am probably totally capable of giving birth without him there, but the idea of him missing out on the birth of his first child (the day my dad still considers to be the happiest one of his life), is unbearable. I feel like it would break my heart for him to miss out on the experience and the wonder of it all.

Fingers crossed that LB stays put for at least another week.