The mobile birds

still free of the mobile...

40 weeks!

Today I start my 40th week! Time to come OUT!!

Yesterday, I got my energy back-- whoo boy! I went shopping, worked on my talk, baked banana bread, made coconut rice pudding, and baked a quiche. And tonight Jer and I are going for some spicy Thai food and a movie. And maybe I'll walk to the river and back. You know, just a couple of gentle nudges in the right direction.

I've finished the birds for the mobile, but I don't know really where to hang it-- the crib is going to move around and the area around the changing table is already kind of busy.... I might just duct tape the thing to the ceiling, since drilling into the ceiling will probably have disasterific consequences. I'll make sure it won't fall on our little Ulysses.

OK, back to work on the last amigurimi for a while-- the GIANT SQUID! I hope I don't finish it!

Can you believe we bought this?

Yes, it's highly recommended by midwives and is like being in the womb, blah blah blah. It just looks so funny!

Read about it here

People who have actually used the thing give it good reviews, too-- one even says that it worked wonders for colic! AND, since I think it might be originally a German product is was nowhere near as expensive as what the woman in the blog says (yeesh!).

The baby is soooo not coming out today. Kathy, you lost the pool, sorry!

that's ok, I don't need such a long roll of paper...

An intrepid familial soul wishes to have more blogging, but-- my brain don't work too good. However, this person should know that at this point there is nothing left but rambling, disconnected thoughts. And if stream-of-consciousness is what you want, then stream-of-consciousness is what you will get.

The past few days I've felt glued to the couch, occasionally forcing myself to get up to eat some of Jeremy's excellent tuna noodle casserole, grocery shop (that is exercise, right?), go into the bedroom for a nap, and for heaven's sake work on this stupid lecture for the Utrecht Early Music Festival at the end of August because if you think your brain is in no shape now you have NO IDEA what will happen to it with all the sleep deprivation and baby-staring-time that will soon be your life.

I feel like my pelvis is already coming apart at the seams. Weird, and painful.

And WAAAH! I am too big.

But the pictures from the park are nice.

For those of you keeping track, everything is still firmly closed and the baby's head is not yet fully engaged. Double ugh.

maybe the last pregnant photos?

This weekend was the bug-themed skype Ohio Baby Shower! It was fantastic to be able to see and talk to so many people in my family. Jeremy and I feel indeed showered by love and generosity.

We also took a few last-minute pregnancy pictures in the Volksgarten among the gorgeous rhododendrons and the waterfall.

I've really been feeling very, very, normal-- just sometimes some practice contractions or a small backache. But every time something unusual happens, like, say, I'm not hungry at breakfast, we are both on 'is that a sign of labor?' high alert. Ha! Oh, mystery.

Me cute like baby 2.

Bath time?

(We have GOT to do something about the cardboard box under the sink. We haven't found any cabinet that will fit there! Yeesh.)

A-ok!

Everything is totally and perfectly fine.

The doppler doctor however, was kind of a jokester:

After I got up from the examining table: "Is that sweat or did your water break?" Har har.

the fly in the ointment

Well, perhaps one could have predicted that the entire pregnancy wouldn't be totally smooth sailing-- sure, I had my share of gross mucus problems and my belly is bigger than anyone could have imagined, but so far everything has been going very smoothly (and some of the credit has to go to the amazingly fibrous and seedy German bread. You know what I mean. I'll try not to get too gross on the blog, but I am about to push out a baby in front of several strangers thereby losing whatever shreds of modesty I had left, so ... there.)

Anyway, we had a little CTG/heart rate problem Monday at the midwife's office. Jeremy was there with me because the midwife offered to talk him through the birth preparation since we couldn't get into the couples' birthing class. Then, during the CTG part of my exam, the baby's heart rate dipped very low for a minute or so. The midwife then sent me to my regular doctor where he did another CTG (fine) and looked at the baby with the ultrasound (also fine). He told me to pay attention to any strange movements -- too fast, none for a long time, or very rhythmic. The little guy does have hiccups every few days, and those are rhythmic movements, so when I felt hiccups Tuesday night and then nothing afterwards, I called the hospital for advice. The midwife there told us to come in where we had a loooong CTG (very fine) and another ultrasound (everything good. The doctor was measuring EVERYTHING). Since we had pre-registered there a month ago, we were treated immediately, and the whole thing only lasted an hour. I'm going back to the doctor today, and, as an extra precaution I'm going to another doctor for a doppler scan.

I have to say that it was pretty interesting to see the whole system spring into action. I'm slowly starting to worry less as each test comes back completely normal.

Guess the Name!

As much as we love John Philippe, we've been trying out other name options, and there is one that we are liking very much at this point. But just telling you would be so booooring. Would you like to guess? Here are the clues:

Both names come from ancient (well, one is moderately ancient, at least) heroes. The first name is a shortened Irish derivation of the Norman conquerer of England. The second name is a Greek hero so famous that that is the only clue you need. The initials would be LU.

Have fun!

We've given up on the German name. Even the Germans agree-- for boys it is pretty slim pickins.

Nesting mania continues unabated

That's right folks, Jeremy and I are filled with a fury to get things done.

We've finished the baby shopping! My bag is almost packed! We found a pediatrician! I'm almost done with my plethora of sewing and craft projects (curtains, changing pillow, framed children's book, birdie mobile-- pictures coming soon)! We have a new couch! The co-sleeper bed is assembled! All of the baby laundry is washed and put away! And in non-baby-related land, I've finished (I think) the preliminary research for a talk I will give in Holland at the end of August, and Jeremy has been submitting papers for publication like a madman.

But the weather here is TERRIBLE. Cold, rainy, and windy. I know it is probably better for me than being too hot, but ugh, it's May already.

I'm resting up this morning because I think I might have overdid it a little yesterday running around town, and I need my strength to vacuum/mop the apartment and wash the windows--

Oh, and yesterday I had my first acupuncture appointment. I thought it would be like getting a massage in the movies-- you know, all new age-y music and dim lights and the acupuncturist whispering. Instead, it was my loud, old-school hippie Hebamme/midwife casually poking needles into my legs (it doesn't hurt!) along with a gaggle of other pregnant women sitting in her bright office and chatting for 20 minutes. The purpose of this is to strengthen the body for childbirth and soften the cervix. Well, it was fun, and if it helps, so much the better.

Nesting Mania!

The baby is really going to enjoy these shelves-- not to mention the fabric wallpaper that I put up with cornstarch paste.

What to Expect doesn't know me.

"The childbirth classes are over, the nursery is ready for its soon-to-arrive occupant, the baby clothes are washed and put away, and now you wait."

This came in my email inbox today, and NONE of those statements are true. Ha! But I do start my childbirth classes on Monday, and we are planning to buy some necessary items within the next 2 weeks. And I just have to find a good source for laundry detergent before I can start washing the clothes.

I'm just amused at the presumptuousness of What to Expect.

Anyway, The Fairy Queen was a SMASH! If I may be so bold, I think I impressed the hell out of the professors at the music conservatory. I was even offered another choreography job in the middle of the performance! Even though the days in the theater this week were LONG, and there wasn't enough time to really work with the singers on gestures or character, I still found the whole process as exhilarating as ever.