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February 28, 2004
The Rest of Week 41: Ok, We’re Ready Now
I’ve been telling myself for months and months that the average first time mom goes eight days overdue without interventions. My own mom did too, when I was born. Reaching the 41 week mark is a little rougher in reality. All the things I’d hoped to get done pre-baby? Finished. The contractor screwed in the last skin on Thursday afternoon, a couple hours after I hand-delivered my office’s laptop to the coworker taking over my project (which I did finish to the extent I’d hoped). We got all the dishes washed, the floors cleaned, even the bathroom’s been scrubbed. Tonight, I finished knitting the second bootie in the hat/sweater/bootie set I’ve been working on since Christmas. So now what?
Wednesday morning, I went to a chiropractor to attempt to get the baby out of posterior position. Between Monday’s prenatal and Wednesday, the baby had already switched back from my left side to my right, so I wasn’t sure what else might happen. The chiropractor found that a bone near my sacrum was fixed and got that back floating where it was supposed to be. A few minutes later, the baby twisted around, so it definitely accomplished something. She also released some tension in my back and neck, and used myofacial techniques on my belly and pelvis.
By Thursday, it seemed as though the baby’s feet were still out front or to the side, so I met with Jeanne for her to verify the baby’s position. She declared him/her to be ROT, which is better than posterior, at least. It did seem as though the baby was no longer crooked with the head off-kilter, which was my bigger concern. Jeanne said that I might take longer in early labor for the baby to turn to anterior, but since he/she still isn’t engaged, he/she might just drop and turn into position. She gave me a packet and a book about preventing back labor—mostly so I could have something to do, I think. I always leave her house calmer than I came in, which is enough for me. Apparently, weekly visits aren’t frequent enough to keep me sane these days.
Thursday afternoon and evening, my mom came over and washed our dishes (I helped dry), then mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors. Dan rounded up the dining room chairs from around the house and put our table back in place for the first time in six weeks. We also put down the area rug which used to be up in the baby’s room. At first, we wanted to be able to see as much of the hardwood floors as possible, but now it would be nice to have a softer surface for the baby to sit/lie on in the living room. The house is so tidy and clean now, it seems like a different place. I was able to watch Survivor, Friends, and ER after all.
On Friday, I got the second car seat up from the basement along with the changing pad. My SIL had brought her bassinet over on Tuesday morning, and I put diaper changing supplies in the basket under it so we can use the bassinet on the first floor for naps and as a changing station. We have an appointment for a car seat clinic on Wednesday, March 3rd—hopefully Dan will have to go and I’ll be with the baby by then.
Friday was my first official day of maternity leave. I guess technically, I’m on medical leave until the baby’s born. It was handy to actually be in the office to deal with the forms. Just filling out twelve weeks of pay stubs was complicated enough. My boss yelped when she saw me walk in. No one gave me a hard time when I told the HR people that I was five days overdue and was declaring that day to be my last day. The one woman who has made the most irritating comments throughout my pregnancy (saying repeatedly how huge I am, asking over and over if I was SURE it wasn’t twins…) saw me and was shocked. “Hasn’t your due date gone by?” Yes, it was last weekend. “Well, when’s your new due date then?” It won’t change, we just wait. She was really, really confused. Apparently, there are people who truly think that babies have to come on their due dates. Yikes.
Anyway, it was weird to wake up on Friday and realize that I didn’t have work to do anymore. Maybe ever. It doesn’t matter that I’ve only gone into my office a half dozen times in February, suddenly there was nothing to do. I didn’t shower or get dressed until 3pm. I played around on the computer until noon, then took a long nap until I started having nightmares about the contractor coming back. After 3pm, I ran around accomplishing a bunch of stuff around the house, then Dan and I went to church for 5pm mass and soup afterwards.
Right before going to bed on Friday night, I flipped out about something and started sobbing while Dan was in the shower. It was one of those times when I knew the hormones were going bonkers, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Dan felt bad enough not being able to help that night that Saturday morning he made me homemade waffles with strawberries and cool whip, the breakfast I requested for after the baby arrives. He figured I’d waited long enough.
We declared Saturday (today) to be an errand-free day. After the yummy breakfast, we tried to find a fun date activity that wouldn’t be too far from a bathroom. We decided on indoor mini-golf, but neither of us felt like calling the only place we found to make sure their course was really indoors. Their name was “All Seasons Golf”, so it seemed safe enough. The place was in the southeast suburbs whether neither of us is too familiar, so it turned into an Explore the City adventure. After being in seeing distance of the golf dome, we found ourselves up on a bluff getting farther and farther away. We finally got there and knew we had trouble when we saw a windmill covered in snow. Turns out their driving range is indoors, but that’s it. They offered to lend us a shovel to clear the course, but we declined.
Attempt #2—Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America. After last Saturday’s hassle parking at the mall, we went straight for the roof this time around and found a spot without too much pain. We hiked the mile around the mall’s outer stores pretty quickly before grabbing a pretzel, then heading to the lower level for our close encounter with sharks. Most of the aquarium involves standing on a moving walkway through a tunnel, so by the time we left the mall (after a slight detour to the scrapbook store where I had a coupon for free cardstock), we’d been standing for nearly three hours and walking for most of that time. My hips weren’t too keen on the afternoon’s activities, but it was our feet that really gave out. I have to admit, my hips feel better now that I’ve walked around and made them work for awhile.
We both crashed and slept for a couple hours, then Dan made me dinner (vegetable stir fry) and I watched Forrest Gump. During commercials, I finished the last of my shower thank you notes, then the knitted bootie. I was on a roll.
So here I am. Saturday night. One week overdue. I’ve been hoping for a Leap Day baby, or maybe my half birthday on March first. But I’ve got to say that our patience is wearing thin. There’s a lot of stuff happening at church tomorrow, but I’ve been assuming that I wouldn’t be able to go. Guess I’ll be there after all.
There’s definitely a part of me that fears the baby won’t ever come out. I worry that the baby will stop moving, which means that I’m forever prodding my belly to urge the baby to squirm. There’s only one pregnant woman left on iP’s Due in February board other than me, and she isn’t due until tomorrow. I’ve been told one too many times that I should rest, eat, and drink as well as I can. I’m really glad I’ve had this past week to get everything lined up, but darn it, we’re ready now! Time to come out, baby!
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