Blessings on the four people who voted that baby would arrive on or before her due date, but unfortunately that possibility has come and gone. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday (at which my OB politely asked me NOT to go into labor as she had three other patients in labor at that very moment), and we have another one scheduled for this Friday. I think if nothing has happened by that day my OB will talk about scheduling an induction. I don't really want an induction so I'm hoping things progress naturally before then, but I'm not completely against the idea either, especially since Peter's paternity leave starts tomorrow and it would be nice if he got to spend as much time home with the baby as possible. I'm still holding out hope for a July baby actually - but that means things need to start happening very soon! At the same time I'm trying to have a good attitude and not hold too tightly to my preferences. I know we'll have our baby very soon one way or the other.
We had a nice little earthquake here yesterday morning. The interesting thing about earthquakes (as opposed to other natural disasters like floods, I suppose) is that when they don't do any damage, they're actually kind of fun. Yesterday's quake, my sixth since moving to Southern California, was the strongest one I've felt so far and one of the longest. I actually scooted back from the table I was sitting at and told myself that if the shaking got any stronger I would go under the table just to be safe. But it didn't get any stronger, and it was really all over very quickly. The windows made a rather alarming popping sound at one point and a couple of small things fell over, but that was it. I tried to tell baby that God Himself was trying to shake her out, but apparently she remains unconvinced.
Well, that's all the news for now! I'm going to go clean my house (again) just in case I get my wish and baby comes today or tomorrow. One plus to this waiting game is that I just finished reading a book for fun - something I haven't been able to do in a long time. It's called Before Green Gables and is supposed to be the prequel to the Anne of Green Gables series. I recommend it, although I would also remind potential readers that Anne led a pretty miserable life before arriving at the Cuthberts on PEI. The author tries to keep the story in the same positive, upbeat tone as the rest of the series, but that's a bit of a challenge in light of Anne's history. However, although it's not 100% cheerful, I would still consider it an enjoyable read.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Countdown
Hello all! Well we had our 39th week appointment yesterday. Our OB guessed that baby is about 7 to 7.5 pounds now. She also said that she wouldn't be surprised if I go a "few days" past due since baby is showing no indication of coming out anytime soon. This is also a guess, of course, as apparently babies are well known for doing whatever they want and surprising everyone. However, it's an educated guess, so I'm preparing myself for a wait. I've heard that most first-time-moms deliver after their due date anyway, although that hasn't been true in any case that I can actually think of at this moment, except once (out of three kids) for my mom.
I would rather baby arrive sooner rather than later as 7-7.5 pounds sounds quite nice and as my class is now over. (Temporarily, that is - Peter decided I was too stressed and asked my OB to write me a note which she happily agreed to - I now have until December to finish the last few projects.) But at the moment (now that the pressures of my responsibilities at work and school have been lifted), I'm also more than happy to wait as long as it takes for baby to feel ready to make her entrance into the world. It is a rather big deal after all, and I don't think it's fair to rush her. (I know that I hate to be rushed, and maybe she's like me in that way.) On the other hand, my OB said she probably wouldn't want to let me go more than a week past due, and as I really don't want to be induced, I'm hoping that our daughter decides to come out on her own sometime before that point - which is actually two weeks from today.
That's right! We are now only one week from my official due date: July 29th. And, in celebration of all the wonderful free time I now have, I've decided to create another poll! Isn't it exciting?! Actually, I just may go poll crazy, for no other reason than I can - so definitely take a look to the right and toss your opinion into the ring. I would say that the winners get to name the baby (nope, we still haven't decided on a name), except that a certain friend who I won't identify (okay, her name sounds just like a famous perfume) showed me last time how you can cheat on the polls and vote multiple times. (Said friend then left me with the sad task of informing Peter that "Adelei" had received a significant number of fraudulent votes - which I guess didn't actually make much difference in the end as it still ended up dead last in the poll results. Poor Pete.) Anyway, don't cheat!
I would rather baby arrive sooner rather than later as 7-7.5 pounds sounds quite nice and as my class is now over. (Temporarily, that is - Peter decided I was too stressed and asked my OB to write me a note which she happily agreed to - I now have until December to finish the last few projects.) But at the moment (now that the pressures of my responsibilities at work and school have been lifted), I'm also more than happy to wait as long as it takes for baby to feel ready to make her entrance into the world. It is a rather big deal after all, and I don't think it's fair to rush her. (I know that I hate to be rushed, and maybe she's like me in that way.) On the other hand, my OB said she probably wouldn't want to let me go more than a week past due, and as I really don't want to be induced, I'm hoping that our daughter decides to come out on her own sometime before that point - which is actually two weeks from today.
That's right! We are now only one week from my official due date: July 29th. And, in celebration of all the wonderful free time I now have, I've decided to create another poll! Isn't it exciting?! Actually, I just may go poll crazy, for no other reason than I can - so definitely take a look to the right and toss your opinion into the ring. I would say that the winners get to name the baby (nope, we still haven't decided on a name), except that a certain friend who I won't identify (okay, her name sounds just like a famous perfume) showed me last time how you can cheat on the polls and vote multiple times. (Said friend then left me with the sad task of informing Peter that "Adelei" had received a significant number of fraudulent votes - which I guess didn't actually make much difference in the end as it still ended up dead last in the poll results. Poor Pete.) Anyway, don't cheat!
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Exodus
As part of getting the apartment ready for baby, Peter and I recently unpacked the last few boxes from our move a little over a year ago. In the Hough House the last few boxes are always the toughest because they're always full of all the little random odds and ends that don't really have a home but you couldn't bring yourself to get rid of when you were packing up - so they all got dumped together in one big mess of a box. Well, my nesting instinct having kicked in to some extent, I recently decided that the time had come - the boxes had to go, along with any contents that we couldn't find a logical place or use for. I hate tedious decision-making though, so working through those boxes took me over a week - but now we're done! And that's a pretty good feeling.
At least two of the boxes were half-filled with all the notes and journals and handouts that I've collected over the years from apparently every Bible study, sermon, missions conference, etc., that I've ever been a part of. Now this stuff is especially difficult for me. I know that I will never read or even look at the vast majority of it again and we really don't have the space for it - but somehow throwing it away feels terrible, like I'm throwing away all my merit badges that prove (mostly to myself) that I am, in fact, a Christian. In the end however, good sense and the nesting instinct won out and most of it went in the trash, but I did keep a very few things.
One of the items I kept was from a Bible study on Exodus that Peter and I led back in college - I think just after we'd gotten married. It was one of my all-time favorite Bible studies - and to this day Exodus is one of my favorite books of the Bible. The item I kept is really just one small piece of paper titled, "What I Learned From Exodus." Here's the rest in case you're interested:
1. It is not about our capabilities, but about God's will and sovereignty and power. (What God chooses to do - He does.)
2. Deliverance rarely comes in the form or manner we expect. (Examples: Moses, manna, Jesus)
3. God has had this whole thing planned out since the beginning. (Moses' preparation; References to Christ in the Passover/Tabernacle)
4. It is very important to God that we know Him (who He is).
That's all! But after 8 years, it did my heart good to read those again.
At least two of the boxes were half-filled with all the notes and journals and handouts that I've collected over the years from apparently every Bible study, sermon, missions conference, etc., that I've ever been a part of. Now this stuff is especially difficult for me. I know that I will never read or even look at the vast majority of it again and we really don't have the space for it - but somehow throwing it away feels terrible, like I'm throwing away all my merit badges that prove (mostly to myself) that I am, in fact, a Christian. In the end however, good sense and the nesting instinct won out and most of it went in the trash, but I did keep a very few things.
One of the items I kept was from a Bible study on Exodus that Peter and I led back in college - I think just after we'd gotten married. It was one of my all-time favorite Bible studies - and to this day Exodus is one of my favorite books of the Bible. The item I kept is really just one small piece of paper titled, "What I Learned From Exodus." Here's the rest in case you're interested:
1. It is not about our capabilities, but about God's will and sovereignty and power. (What God chooses to do - He does.)
2. Deliverance rarely comes in the form or manner we expect. (Examples: Moses, manna, Jesus)
3. God has had this whole thing planned out since the beginning. (Moses' preparation; References to Christ in the Passover/Tabernacle)
4. It is very important to God that we know Him (who He is).
That's all! But after 8 years, it did my heart good to read those again.
A Little Baby Insanity - Straight From Me To You
I am so sorry that I haven't posted to this blog for awhile. I always knew I'd never be the daily posting type, but I was hoping to have at least a weekly update. And now it's been a month... Well, all I can say is that I started this blog to post news about the baby, and since she's not technically here yet, everything so far has really just been a warm-up! Or something like that.
Speaking of baby, did I mention she's not here yet? I'm not sure how I feel about this. In a way I don't feel ready at all - I tried to swaddle a stuffed animal this morning and failed miserably (and I tried about 5 times). So much for that Baby Care Basics class we took. I also would love more time to get more stuff done around the house. The nursery is functionally ready, but not really decorated yet, etc.
On the other hand, people are starting to stare at me wherever I go. I am generally feeling awkward and uncomfortable on a daily basis - almost like my body isn't my body - at least not the one I've known for almost the last 3 decades. I keep dropping things. When I get out bed, my legs feel like they might just snap off. (Seriously, no one told me that at the end of pregnancy your legs might feel like they're just going to break off completely from your hips at any moment. I feel like the Barbie dolls that my brother and I used to use as test dummies for random experiments until they're appendages started to come off on a regular basis. What is that?) I only have two more days of work (yaaaayyyyyyyy!!), but school is running me into the ground. (My professor will give me an Incomplete when I go into labor, but I really want the Incomplete now so that I can have at least some time to rest and appreciate the last few weeks/days of life as just a couple instead of working to 1:30 in the morning like I've done lately.) So in a way I want the baby to come as soon as possible. But then I feel really selfish for wanting our daughter to be born just so I can get out of school or avoid some of the more uncomfortable physical aspects of pregnancy.
The truth is I can't wait to meet her, and I'm terrified at the same time.
Peter is extremely excited which is so cute and always gets me feeling super enthusiastic and ready. But when he goes to work and it's just me in the house with the homework and the to-do list and the Barbie doll legs, I start to wonder. What have I done? Am I ready for this? Is this kid even going to like me? Dr. Phil says that kids are just blank slates that we write on for better or worse. I'm pretty confident that I have no business writing on anyone's slate. I guess this whole pregnancy has been like the beginning of the roller coaster where you're slowly chugging up the hill for the first big drop - and now I've reached those last few moments where we're really high up, and the anticipation is overwhelming, and I can see the drop off that's just ahead - and from up here it looks like the edge of the world. And panic is setting in. And the only thing keeping me from screaming my head off and begging to be let off is the increasingly meaningless idea that I'm supposedly an adult and am too cool and mature for all that.
And then the baby kicks or something, and I just can't wait to see her face to face and find out exactly who this new little person is whose soul and body have been knit together by the hand of God.
So yeah, baby isn't here yet. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Speaking of baby, did I mention she's not here yet? I'm not sure how I feel about this. In a way I don't feel ready at all - I tried to swaddle a stuffed animal this morning and failed miserably (and I tried about 5 times). So much for that Baby Care Basics class we took. I also would love more time to get more stuff done around the house. The nursery is functionally ready, but not really decorated yet, etc.
On the other hand, people are starting to stare at me wherever I go. I am generally feeling awkward and uncomfortable on a daily basis - almost like my body isn't my body - at least not the one I've known for almost the last 3 decades. I keep dropping things. When I get out bed, my legs feel like they might just snap off. (Seriously, no one told me that at the end of pregnancy your legs might feel like they're just going to break off completely from your hips at any moment. I feel like the Barbie dolls that my brother and I used to use as test dummies for random experiments until they're appendages started to come off on a regular basis. What is that?) I only have two more days of work (yaaaayyyyyyyy!!), but school is running me into the ground. (My professor will give me an Incomplete when I go into labor, but I really want the Incomplete now so that I can have at least some time to rest and appreciate the last few weeks/days of life as just a couple instead of working to 1:30 in the morning like I've done lately.) So in a way I want the baby to come as soon as possible. But then I feel really selfish for wanting our daughter to be born just so I can get out of school or avoid some of the more uncomfortable physical aspects of pregnancy.
The truth is I can't wait to meet her, and I'm terrified at the same time.
Peter is extremely excited which is so cute and always gets me feeling super enthusiastic and ready. But when he goes to work and it's just me in the house with the homework and the to-do list and the Barbie doll legs, I start to wonder. What have I done? Am I ready for this? Is this kid even going to like me? Dr. Phil says that kids are just blank slates that we write on for better or worse. I'm pretty confident that I have no business writing on anyone's slate. I guess this whole pregnancy has been like the beginning of the roller coaster where you're slowly chugging up the hill for the first big drop - and now I've reached those last few moments where we're really high up, and the anticipation is overwhelming, and I can see the drop off that's just ahead - and from up here it looks like the edge of the world. And panic is setting in. And the only thing keeping me from screaming my head off and begging to be let off is the increasingly meaningless idea that I'm supposedly an adult and am too cool and mature for all that.
And then the baby kicks or something, and I just can't wait to see her face to face and find out exactly who this new little person is whose soul and body have been knit together by the hand of God.
So yeah, baby isn't here yet. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)