Wow. Have the past nine months flown by or what?!
It's sometimes hard to believe that (hopefully) this month, I'll have a baby at some point.
I haven't posted much about it, since focusing on it so much seems to make the time go more slowly for me. But now that I'm in the final stretch, I figured that I'd devote an entire post to the baby and the baby preparations.
Of course, we haven't seen the baby since the one and only ultrasound we had in November when the baby was 12 weeks old. By now, it is much bigger and probably has much less room to move around. I sometimes like to just look at this picture though. I think its big head and tummy are so cute. And I say to Dan that it's brain takes after his. Maybe its just me, but I keep thinking I can see either the skull or brain line.
After we found out that our insurance wouldn't cover the baby or any costs related to the pregnancy, we decided to not have any more ultrasounds. That was the reason why we decided to be surprised with the gender also. But hey, I think it has been more fun this way. I imagine what the baby will look like...(I'm seriously hoping it looks like Dan).
Since I found out I was pregnant, I decided right away that a homebirth with a midwife would be the way to go for me. Several of my sisters have gone that route in their childbirths, and have had good experiences.
It's a concept that many people don't fully understand: why one would choose to have their baby at home in what may seem more primitive as opposed to going to the hospital and having a conventional birth. When people ask me about it, I just tell them that I would prefer to have my baby in the comfort of my home and with the only people being people I have gotten to know personally.
While many people probably get to know the doctor or OBGYN who helps deliver their babies at the hospitals, it's unlikely that the nurses know them personally. Also, the doctor isn't with you the whole time. As I understand it, in most cases, the doctor is brought in at or just before the actual birth.
And not even to mention the fact that because the expenses would be out-of-pocket...going with a midwife and homebirth would be much less expensive than going to a hospital.
I've really enjoyed getting to know the three midwives I'll potentially be working with. The owner of the midwifery and midwife I've had most of my meetings with is out of the country for the entire month of May, so there is a chance she will not be there for the birth of our baby.
But the two other midwives she works with are wonderful people and have really helped to make this pregnancy smooth and easy for me. They've helped to answer all of my questions and reassure me the entire time.
That being said, one of the things I love about my midwife is that while she is required by law to tell me about the state regulated blood tests and different ultrasounds, she doesn't require them. I have only had blood drawn twice during my pregnancy (the only two times in my LIFE actually!). One was to check my blood type because I didn't even know what it was, and to check my thyroid. The other, was for iron levels.
I passed on a lot of different tests that, had I gone with a hospital, I would have been required to have.
Another thing I love about my midwives is that they are personable and down-to-earth with me. The last time I went to an appointment in Albany, the receptionist asked me if I wanted some maternity clothes and then gave me a huge bag full of really NICE, name brand maternity tops all in my size. I thought that was just so nice. Especially since I had been alternating through the same three tops for a few weeks.
The ladies in my church are all very supportive of me and many of them love to guess the gender of the baby based on how I am carrying it (although my midwife says everyone carries babies differently and no two women are alike in that way).
Two weeks ago, I had planned to go to this huge children/baby consignment sale I had seen advertised on facebook in the winter time. I put it on my calendar in December and had been telling Dan for weeks about it and that I wanted to go.
The thing about this consignment sale was that it was open from 9am-12 noon, then re-open from 1pm-3pm with everything being 50% off. Being the thrifty person I am, I decided I would go at 1pm and get some good deals, even if it meant missing out on lots of items for sale earlier in the day.
The Friday night before the sale, Dan was asking me all about my plans for the next day. I told him about how I would be going to the sale and going during the 1/2 off part of day. He got all weird and starting asking me if I could please go in the morning instead because he wanted to take me on a lunch date at 1pm.
At first I resisted because I really like to get deals, and also because I don't like it when I've been planning something for months and then someone tries to change it a few hours before.
Finally I gave in, and the next morning, I got to the consignment sale which was in this massive old warehouse. There were aisles and aisles of children and baby things. I only looked through the books, and through one aisle. I ended up getting a boppy lounger pillow for $5, along with two extra covers for it for $2. I found a portable infant bed which can fold up (super convenient) for $5, a nursing cover and car shades for $5. And I found a small black diaper bag for $5. After paying for the things, I headed home. I texted Dan when I got home and sent him some pictures of the things I got and he started frantically texting me back saying things like "Wow, you were really quick. Maybe you should take a nap now. Get some rest."
I thought that was odd.
I started getting suspicious when two of the church people pulled into the church parking lot (which we can see from our house window) and they went into the church through the sidedoor. I texted Dan and just said that I might head over to the church and see if the ladies needed help cleaning (since I assumed they were cleaning the church). He called me and said that I shouldn't worry about it and that I should just have fun and rest. As more and more cars pulled in, I started realizing that maybe it was going to be a shower for me...
Dan called me then and admitted that he wasn't planning to take me to lunch at all, but he just needed me to not be at the consignment at 1pm, since that was when I needed to be at the church.
Such a sneaky guy....
I tried to snap a few pictures, but of course I missed some people as some came late and some weren't able to stay.
It was such a kind gesture to throw a baby shower for me. I really enjoyed my time.
They really did shower me with gifts too!
One of the ladies was snapping photos as I was opening gifts. So pardon my odd facial expressions. My candid faces are not too attractive sometimes! :D
It was such a nice surprise! Quite unexpected! It was a good thing that I ended up not getting much at the consignment sale after all.
I feel very ready for the baby to come. I'm drinking raspberry leaf tea and eating dates every day. A few weeks ago, we picked up our birth pool rental and set it up and gave it a trial run. I recently re-arranged this room as well so that it is more spacious with the pool set up in it.
And the last picture! This was taken last week, when I was 36 weeks pregnant. I am 37 now.
I hope you all are having a fantastic day. The next post about the baby that you see will be a birth announcement hopefully! :D
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