Week 32

The official start of my 8th month!

I am 64 days away from my 11/29 due date. I can’t believe I can say 8 months pregnant. It almost feels like a confession that I don’t want to make. There are people that come up to me and ask how far along I am; I proudly state the facts, and then I feel like I’ve entered an interrogation room. Am I prepared, do I have the baby’s room finished, am I going back to work, why am I going to try to go natural when there are so many good drugs out there?, etc. I don’t mind answering these questions to my friends and family. They all care and are really interested in my response. I’m talking about the acquaintances and sometimes strangers that are all of a sudden terribly interested in what is going on with my body just so they can tell me their horror stories. I understand that having a baby is a very exciting time for a lot of people in my social circle, but these people barely register anywhere within said circle. And I don’t want to hear anything negative. It’s bad enough that I have a very active imagination. It’s as if they want to hear my response solely for the purpose of telling me how awful their pregnancy/birth was. These situations are partially my fault as well. I answer their questions honestly, and I try not to be rude so I am actually enabling these people to annoy me! Oh well. Only 2 months to go.

Only 2 months to go. That seems incredible to me. There are times I can forget that I am pregnant. There are times that I don’t feel like my life is in flux and that everything is exactly the same as it was a year ago. But then it doesn’t take long before I am either poked in the ribs or have to go to the bathroom, again, or have so other pregnancy related revelation. As I’ve stated before in these updates, I am not at all nervous about the next 2 months, or even the birth. I am so nervous about being a mom. So I’ve tried to condition myself to take just one step at a time and to enjoy each moment as I am experiencing it. This is new for me as I am always trying to plan for and anticipate things that have not (and most likely) will not occur. I wouldn’t say that I am a worrier (some of you may disagree) but I am an analyzer and planner. There are many things that I have to plan for; day care, finding a pediatrician, college, etc. but, most of the things that I worry about can be dealt with in the moment. As long as I remember that I’ll be ok. J

It’s funny, because I write these little updates to keep all of you involved during my pregnancy, but it also serves as a little pep talk for myself as well. It gives me a few minutes to look at my current situation without all of the daily interference of life.

This week Eric and I went to our first birthing class. It was good. I think Eric enjoyed it as well. I am the first one due in the class. It made me feel like I had procrastinated in scheduling the class, but there really wasn’t a class I could take that was any earlier. And this class has a waiting list for 2 other couples, so I am glad that we were able to get in. The woman that runs the class seems very nice. She used the Bradley Method of birthing for her 3 children and strongly believes that in most cases natural childbirth is the way to go. This obviously is not for everyone, but she definitely made me feel more confident that a natural childbirth doesn’t have to be the hellish depiction that you see on tv or hear from your friends. And one thing she said that I also truly believe is that fear and not knowing what to expect can make the experience exactly what you most fear it can be. The more informed and the more accepting you are of the situation the more prepared you are to deal with what is at hand. I think this is true for life and will also be true for having a baby. Now, I could be completely talking out of my behind having not done this before. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. Another thing she did was lead us through a guided relaxation technique. My mom taught us how to do this when we were very young, so I’ve been able to get to a supreme relaxed state for most of my life. (Thanks mom!) When she started the exercise I was ready to take a nap within 20 seconds. It was bliss. Now I know when I am actually doing this technique during the birth of this baby it may be slightly more difficult to get relaxed, nonetheless I think it will be hugely helpful.

Now for the good stuff: the baby’s lungs are continuing to mature. As they become more developed the chances of survival if born prematurely increases dramatically. The skin, which has been wrinkled, will now become pink and smooth as fat cells fill out the body. The baby also knows my voice by now. And its fingernails have grown in, so they may need to be cut by the time it’s born. The baby weighs about 3½ pounds and stretches to about 11.2 inches from crown to rump. Below are the weekly renderings.