Twenty-Five Random Thoughts

1. I just can't put my brain in gear to write an entire post on one topic today. So instead, a sentence or two about all the different things on my brain.
2. Schuyler's Monster is available for pre-order from Amazon.com today. This is a book written by a blogger I've been reading for years, whose daughter was born with a congenital brain defect which prevents her from talking. I am so psyched about this book. (Note: for some reason, some people find her name difficult to pronounce. It's Sky-ler.)
3. My body image is fluctuating a lot these days: one day I feel like a gorgeous and divine fertility goddess, and can't keep my hands off my fantastic belly. The next day I feel like a lumbering wildebeast. I can't imagine what the third trimester will bring.
4. Actually, I've been scared of the third trimester ever since the first trimester ended. They say the second trimester is the best. My first trimester sucked so bad, I can't go back to that!
5. Greg and Sue need to get a new "infant travel system" because Teagan is growing so fast. So they have offered us theirs (it's the 'Aura' system seen here) for a hundred bucks. Plus a woman at church who just had a baby girl in September told me if I have a girl she will pass on all kinds of girl clothes to me. My shopping list keeps getting smaller and smaller - I'm very lucky!
6. Our 3D-4D ultrasound is in 18 days. Since we haven't had to spend any $$ on this baby so far, we are splurging with something fun and sentimental. We're getting the 30-minute package including pictures, a DVD, and gender assessment.
7. Another splurge we are doing is pregnancy portraits. Our midwife Lillian is a semi-pro photographer and her work is incredible. Plus, I love the idea of the portraits being taken by someone who knows me and sort of has an investment in our family. I'm going to have to feel comfortable about her seeing me naked sooner or later, may as well have some awesome pictures to show for it.
8. PLUS my best friend Mike is going to do henna on my belly before the photo shoot. He did henna on my arms when I got married, too.
9. I have been bad at drinking my water lately but I think I've figured out how to improve that - just turn up the heat at my office or at home so I am uncomfortably warm. Then I will want to drink water to cool off. Hydrating is important since dehydration is a big factor in early labour and no one wants that.
10. I have just over 90 days left of being pregnant (give or take). I realized this morning that I will miss it, just a bit. Waking up to Chris's alarm and then being greeted by the playful kicking sensations in my belly is the best way to start the day. Waking up to a howling baby demanding to be fed at 2am can't possibly compare.
11. I got some really good advice yesterday from a mom of three; "Get all your shopping done and the nursery organized at least a month before your due date, because if your doctor puts you on bed rest, you won't be able to get any of that done." Very smart.
12. I had to go throw up in the middle of typing the previous item. It had been a whole 19 days since the last time I threw up. What is it about 9:30am that brings on the nausea? And are these heaves leftover from the first trimester, or previews of the third?
13. I am unreasonably excited about our upcoming pre-natal classes. We are taking both the Public Health classes and a private class from a Birthing From Within instructor. I can't wait. At the same time, I'm still having trouble internalizing the concept that labour and birth are really truly genuinely going to happen to me. For reals.
14. Yesterday, my very dumb co-worker noticed the ultrasound picture in my office and said "OH! Is that your baby?" The picture has been hanging there since December 17th. That's 40 days, people.
15. My friend Melissa wrote me when she was about 25 weeks pregnant: At first I was planning on working as long as I could, but I've come up with a sort of compromise now. I'm resenting work more and more for taking time and energy that I feel should be used for taking care of my health and getting our home ready for the baby - and yet we need the money. It's tricky :-/
16. I can completely relate, because when I hit my 25th week of pregnancy, I became instantly and utterly disinterested in anything that wasn't directly related to pregnancy, birth, baby prep, or our marriage. This includes work, SCA, choir, and so on, but is most focussed on work since it takes up SO MUCH of my time. I now theorize that this feeling is largely hormonal/evolutionary, which helps slightly as I struggle to conquer it (since I can't quit my job quite yet. It is interesting to know that other women experience the same thing.
17. We are going to use cloth diapers. I like the look of the Bummis products and I especially like the idea of an all-in-one kit for n00bs like me since there is a pretty big learning curve for cloth diapers. There's a store in Nanaimo that claims to carry them so I will be checking that out soon, or if not, there are many stores in Victoria when we go for our ultrasound.
18. Speaking of my environmental leanings, I think I'm going to buy myself this book or something similar.
19. Since writing this entry only two weeks ago, my thoughts on having a boy vs. having a girl have changed quite a lot. I gave it no conscious thought, but just realized a few days ago that I feel much more accepting and peaceful about whatever sex our child turns out to be. That doesn't mean I won't be over the moon if it's a girl, but I don't think I'll be disappointed if it's a boy.
20. And only a week after writing this entry, I think I know what I'd like to wear during labour. I went and spent an hour or so on the Birth Story Diaries site (not the first time I've done that, either) and paid a lot of attention to what the women wore, how they were moving/positioning themselves, what looked appealing to me and what didn't. The conclusion I reached is that an ankle-length, sleeveless, button-down summer dress might be just the ticket. I can unbutton whichever portion of the dress corresponds to the needed body part (belly, boobs, etc) without displaying the rest of my assets to the world at large. And it would be comfortable.
21. Babycenter.com's collection of videos is pretty addictive, as well. I cry every time the baby comes out. In one, the mom is concentrating so hard on pushing she doesn't realize the baby's been born, and the caregiver says, "Open your eyes." Mom does, and is rewarded with the sight of her baby slipping out of her body, responding with the most surprised and joyous "Oh my God!" Gets me every time.
22. I really want someone to take pictures at our birth, the better to put together a photographic birth story like on BirthDiaries.com (even if I never show them to anyone!). But I can't figure out how to make this work. All the people there will be too busy looking after me to take pictures. And there isn't anyone else who is both a close enough person to fit into such an intimate experience, and a good enough/passionate enough photographer to be invited only for that purpose. So, I don't know. Maybe we'll just buy a few disposable cameras and tell everyone to snap pictures when and if the spirit moves them?
23. I have been working constantly on the baby blanket. The large teddy bear's head is now done as well as some of the stuff in the picture frame. I even persuaded Chris to do some since the blanket is for his baby.
24. We totally have names (first and middle) for both a boy and a girl picked out. We're keeping them secret until the birth because it took us a really, really long time to agree on those two (remember, this is our second pregnancy so we've actually been arguing about names for about a year) and we don't want anyone to say anything stupid ("Ew, I had a dog named ____") that sends us back to the drawing board. Hopefully after the baby is born and we hand him or her to someone and introduce them, they will be tactful enough to keep their stupid comments to themselves.
25. My belly button doesn't poke out yet. But it is a lot shallower than it used to be. And I think I have some stretch marks, though I can't see them - I can kind of feel them when I am stroking my beautiful belly.