Baby face.... you've got the cutest little...

This is our baby's face as of last Friday's ultrasound ... I know, it looks like a tiny Jim face...


Let's see, what has happened since Dec 14th:

Well, we took our infant CPR course and I feel pretty confident that we can handle that between the two of us should the need ever arise ... i am also pretty confident that I will be one of those mothers who needlessly panic and wake up the sleeping baby who has slept through the night for the first time... just saying.

Got my hair cut - trimmed really. The girls in the salon have made their prediction of a girl for this baby.

We did Chritmas in the City again, which was a little more difficult at 7.5 months pregnant, but I surrounded myself with good helpers so it was flawless. The more difficult thing was to see all the little babies there who are beginning their lives in shelters and transitional housing. I am so thankful for the ability to put together a nursery for our little one to call home (even though the nursery has been a challenge to clean out and get ready)

We relaxed a bit (maybe a bit too much) during the holidays. And enjoyed being with our families who all commented that next year we will have one more place at our tables. The impending delivery date seems closer and closer (well I guess it is closer and closer, huh?). We celebrated with Jim's family on Dec 20th after a long day of setting up for Christmas in the City. It was great to be with everybody AND to hear everybody say how great I looked (Take THAT Mrs. Fat in the Back lady). There were a few key people missing due to illnesses that they did not want to pass around to the family (thank you). Jim's uncle Bill is back from his many years in Austria and was present with his wife and kids. It was great to have them home for the holidays.

Christmas Eve we went to my parent's house and hung out for a while ... watched a little It's a Wonderful Life ... opened some gifts ... and then went to midnight Mass. My sister and mom came with us to Mass, but unfortunately this year's Mass didn't have the umph of years past. It seemed very solemn ... I know it IS a solemn Mass, but I was hoping for a powerful singing of Go Tell it on the Mountain as we exited. I think it was Joy to the World, but it lacked umph.

Christmas day was spent at my cousin Brenda's house in her new great room addition. It is perfect for these types of gatherings as we all fit comfortably AND there is comfortable furniture around the walls for us to recline and nap in after we exhaust ourselves with the eating festivities. Okay - Jim and I were the ones napping, but I did hear some family members commenting that it was good for us to get in as much sleep as we could before the baby arrives, so there was no guild involved in sleeping there.

New Years Eve was a little disappointing in that it snowed all day and after we heard that one of our good friends had been in a car accident that morning we decided to err on the side of caution and safety and cancel our annual NYE party. Instead we joined our Carver friends in crashing at the Pantazelos estate - a midway point bewteen carver and randolph. We had a 9:00 sparkling cider toast with the kids before sending them up to bed and then the 3 couples hung out on the comfy furniture in front of the big screen TV and a low fire with tea and warm cookies. I must confess that I once again fell asleep, BUT I did wake up in time for the midnight cheer.

Then on Jan 2nd we had our 34 week ultrasound. The baby is in the 61st percentile for size ... and I am not sure what that means for poundage, but we will find out next week at the first of our weekly appointments. The doc said that anywhere between 10% and 90% was fine ... but that if it was 90% we would have to have a discussion. I asked her when that discussion would take place since if I was told 90% I would need to discuss that sooner rather than latert. She laughed and said we could discuss it right away.

On Sunday we went to Belmont for the Baptism of the new baby girl of friends of ours ... however it seems that the entire household except for this new baby is sick with pneumonia and when the tired parents made the list of who they needed to call, they forgot to put us on it... Baptism is postponed until April when the grandfather returns from Florida. Also, we were told that the baby was to be baptized at the 10:30 Mass ... which was actually a 10:00 Mass. A quick look around told us that the family wasn't there and a phone call confirmed that we were not going to be attending a baptism that day. So since we were late anyway, we decided to leave and go out to breakfast instead.

After that we went to Beth Israel to get a tour of the facility and be able to visualize better the whole labor and delivery thing. We were VERY early and so spent a bit of time in the waiting room. The tour itself was all of 20 minutes where we went up to the L&D floor to see a room ... went to the maternity floor to see a room and the nursery (where our tour guide said that circumcisions were "maybe performed - or maybe that happens in an operating room actually, I am not sure")... and back down to the lobby. I had one question going in to the tour, which was asked by one dad-to-be as we entered the elevator at the beginning, was asked again by another dad-to-be as we ended the tour and then again by another dad-to-be who missed it being asked before. Here it is:
Q: Is there valet service for when we arrive in labor, and is our parking validated for the whole time that we are here? Like, is it free for us since we are staying here for a couple of days?
A: That is a good question. You'll have to ask the people at the info desk.

Honestly, if 4 of the 8 couples there had that question, it must be asked all the time. You would think it would be part of the info that they share with us. just saying!

Anyway, I can now visualize the process a bit more. Not the WHOLE process, but where we will be anyway which tkes away a bit of the anxiety.

Things I am anxious about:
getting an IV (I have made it almost 41 years without having an IV)
getting the epidural (really, a needle in my spine. If men had to give birth there would be an easier process, I am SURE of it)
actually delivering this child, you know the normal way, you know?
spending overnights in the hospital (again almost 41 years and no overnight stays)
the bumps in the road on the way to the hospital that seem worse each time we make that trip.
snow storms
bringing home the baby for real - and being responsible!
growing distant from friends because of this responsibility.

Well, next week marks the beginning of the weekly appointments until the delivery. We apparently only see our doctor now, not the nurse practitioner (yay!!) Tomorrow is the end of week 35... which means 5 weeks to D-day (that is due day). But since the normal delivery time begins 3 weeks before delivery day to 1 week after, it is really 2 weeks until due month. WOW!!!

The baby still moves quite a bit, however I think the accommodations are getting a bit crowded. It takes a bit more time to count my 10 movements - used to be 15 minutes, now it can take 3 hours. The baby has repositioned to the head down position and the movements are felt more internally than before so I am guessing that the baby is facing my back.

Well, that is all on the updating front. Until next time!