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January 10, 2004
Week 34: Attack of the Nesting Bug
The need to nest may have started with the new year, but by week 34, it was like a disease. Even Dan felt we were overdue to make some preparations. The knowledge that our kitchen remodeling project was soon to come meant that a number of things had a one week deadline, instead of six weeks down the road.
Physically, I was feeling good. My joints didn’t ache, the heartburn didn’t show itself much, I hadn’t even had any leg cramps in weeks. My sleeping schedule was ridiculous—I found myself awake until 1 or 2 am organizing and sorting and needed to force myself to go to bed. I still napped in the early evening, but by 10pm, I was buzzing around the house. When I did sleep, it was soundly. I rarely woke to pee, and if I flipped over, I wasn't awake long enough to remember.
It all started with a list. After weeks of silencing the ideas rattling around my brain, I finally wrote them all out. I used a computer program that stopped me at 25 items, but I could have gone on. I love lists. For some reason, I wasn’t much of a list-maker during pregnancy up until this point, but I made up for lost time. Once everything was written down, it became a game to see how many things I could accomplish and cross off. Those were replaced by new tasks, so of course the list never shrank. But the piles got sorted and materials were purchased left and right.
33 Week Prenatal
For my 33 week prenatal, we went to Jeanne’s. Kim was out of town on a spur-of-the-moment vacation courtesy of her husband, so it was just the three of us there. It’s worked out remarkably well for us to have two midwives so far. It’s been more standard for only one midwife to be available for various reasons, and I’m glad we haven’t had to reschedule appointments half the time.
My vitals all looked good. I was disappointed to discover that I’d gained another four pounds. Apparently, the weight gain will never slow down. With only two months to go at the most, I think it’s safe to say I won’t have a fifty pound gain, but forty is looking more likely all the time. Total gain was up to 31 pounds. Blood pressure was 110/64, and glucose and protein were clear on the pee stick. The baby was doing fine, too. My fundus was 33-34 cm. To our delight, Dan and I were both able to clearly hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. No more feeling slight vibrations, there was quite the thumping heart to listen to! Shoving the earpieces as far in as possible made all the difference. The baby’s position looked good, too. Head was definitely down, and beginning to engage.
We spent most of the prenatal discussing the list of items we needed for the birth kit. Some were obvious (3 cotton baby hats), some were mysterious (fish net), and others needed clarification (bowl for placenta). Once we found out what form to get the herbs in and what the purpose of many things were, the long list wasn’t nearly so intimidating. If you’re curious, the fish net is one you’d get for a goldfish bowl to scoop out a fish, not a big net they’d have on a boat, and we only need one if we want a waterbirth.
We also talked to Jeanne about waterbirth options. She hasn’t had many moms use kiddie pools—most have either gone all out and rented the $250 tub or not had one. I could tell that she was trying to sway us towards one of those options, but I refuse to pay that much for a tub I might not even use. It was clear that if we went with the kiddie pool, I’d have to ask others about necessary supplies.
The afternoon before our prenatal, I’d gone to HR and gotten copies of all the paperwork I’d need to take a paid maternity leave. After reading the fine print, I was nervous that the midwives wouldn’t be official enough for the FMLA folks, but Jeanne assured me that she’d filled out paperwork like that for many moms before and no one had trouble with it. She said it was the only time she used all her credentialed initials behind her name =) I doubt anyone in a corporate headquarters is really going to care who signs the sheet claiming that I did indeed birth a child, but I’m glad I’m not breaking new ground. The only thing that might get dicey is if I want short-term disability to kick in before the baby’s born. So far, my pregnancy has been smooth enough that I don’t have medical reasons to stop working. But if things get rough as my due date gets closer, cutting back my hours or quitting entirely might be all I can handle. I’d have to start using sick time earlier than expected, but having the STD pay on top of that would be nice.
What Does a Preggo Do at 1a.m.?
Some of the things I ran around doing those late nights included taking down our tree ornaments (we purposely kept the tree up until Epiphany), putting all the Christmas decorations away, ordering some of the birth supplies from a company in Texas, sorting through all the baby clothes, and putting the 0-3 and 3-6 month sizes into the dresser. It felt strange to sit on the floor surrounded by piles and piles of sleepers, onesies, t-shirts, and baby bags when the rest of the house was dark and quiet, but once I got on a roll, it was hard to stop with just one clothes bin. I’d leave bins and boxes in places for Dan to move at his convenience. He never knew what state the house would be in when he woke up. His classes resumed that week, and he was busier than usual because the January term speeds through material so quickly. As a result, he was much sleepier than me most of the time.
Some things can’t be accomplished in the middle of the night, so I found ways to do them at work. After waiting for my insurance to kick in after the new year, I finally made an appointment that week to meet a family practitioner that I hoped would be both the baby’s and my doctor after his/her arrival. I had to give the receptionist my entire life history, but she did schedule us for a meeting the following week. I realized that my SIL had expressed interest in throwing me a shower for the women in Dan’s family and perhaps I should ask her how that was coming along. After a bit of phone tag, we found a date that would work for all the crucial people—January 31st. Seemed early enough to be safe, but far enough away to give her time to plan. She’d wanted to throw me a wedding shower but it never panned out, and was very excited to throw this one now.
Odds and Ends
Friday night, Dan and I were feeling the baby move and he commented that the pushes we felt were awfully rhythmic. They were low on my right side, and he (the former percussionist) was able to predict when the next one would come, they were so even. It took me awhile to realize it, but I’m sure we were feeling hiccups. The placement was right and it would be very strange if the baby was tapping so regularly against my side with his hand or foot. Once again, it astounded us to be reminded that it’s really a little PERSON inside me. Amazing.
With a shower date nailed down, I realized that if I expected anyone to buy things off my Peapods registry, I should make it as easy as possible. I went there Saturday afternoon and removed items that weren’t in stock and wrote down exactly what style and types of things I was looking for. I’d earlier listed a couple brands of toys where everything looked good. I took off most of those and listed one or two individually so as to make things as clear as I could. The only things we really need are diapers, and although I’d be fine with buying them myself, if there’s any way I can convince people (without actually going up and begging) to get us Peapods diapers instead of other gifts, it’ll be really helpful. Dan met me there later and we decided to buy a sling instead of waiting. After months of leaning towards the Mayawrap, we realized the price had gone up and Kissaslings were being discontinued. Dan liked their neutral colors and slight shoulder padding. I’d found the pattern for Mayawraps online and decided that I could always make one if I really wanted to, but the Kissasling with padding would be hard to replicate. The owners were amused to watch me sway around the store with a doll in the sling. I guess I’m more anxious to hold this baby than I thought.
TTM: Did your sleep schedule get as off-kilter as mine as your EDD got closer? Are there any working homebirthers out there who had to deal with maternity leave papers? What’s your favorite sling?
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