In my 32nd week and with only 8 more weeks to go, I definitely feel a little pressed for time. Meeting our neighbor's newborn (born a full 4 weeks early and weighing just barely 5 lbs) hasn't helped that feeling. I've finally figured out what my Braxton-Hicks contractions feel like (like if I try to twist my body I'll snap in half) and as I felt two come within half an hour of each other in the middle of the night (more than four in an hour and I'm supposed to go to the hospital), the first thing I thought was, "Great, I don't even have a bag packed." So, on my to-do list this week? Pack a bag.
Also on that to-do list, paint the nursery and nag Craig to finish the toy box he wants to build. That's right, folks: after starting to create a nursery from a study in early March and getting knocked off track with mold and the accompanying kitchen catastrophe, we finally transformed our study/nursery into a nursery-in-waiting yesterday. Right now, it's a big empty room with a changing table, rocking chair, and lamp (boxes of clothes and toys are in the closet waiting for their completed toy box and a dresser and crib that are scheduled to arrive sometime in early July). We have two weeks to complete these projects before the baby shower in May brings in more things looking for a home.
Meanwhile, we've started a Lamaze class at our hospital. We were torn on the idea and reluctant to spend money on it. A few people told us their class was a waste of time and other couples we know have had very smooth labors without having taken a class. But after two weeks, we've decided the time and money are well worth it to us. I'm sure this is largely due to our teacher, but frankly, I think the class is well worth any amount of time and money just because it's teaching my husband some fundamentals like what not to eat in order to help my nausea and how to appropriately come at me with a cool washcloth during hot flashes. (Let's just say I know my husband and know he would otherwise have been breathing peanut butter breath in my face and slopping water all over me without warning--all would have been done completely out of love and all would have made me unbearably irritable.) It's been helpful because our teacher has 20+ years of labor coach experience in addition to years of Labor and Delivery nursing experience and is a freelance medical research writer in the area of Labor and Delivery: she knows exactly what the studies say and what actually happens in real life; she knows what we're worried about, what we need to be worried about, and how to get us to realize we need to be concerned without causing panic attacks. She's a self-proclaimed "cave and candle" proponent of natural childbirth who tells people outright that epidurals are "the most wonderful medical invention of our time." And, being a hippie from way back, she's comfortable talking to a room full of both men and women about the uglier side of pregnancy--things I thought I knew but didn't; these things are not in any books or mommy blogs that I've read and, trust me, I've read them all.
If nothing else, the class has been good because it's made me start thinking seriously about the labor experience and what needs to be done beforehand. After 8 months of pregnancy, we've been lulled by the slow-moving rhythm of waiting, but the rapids are ahead and it's time to get ready.
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