No baby yet!

I went to work today and everything felt normal all day. A lot of the kids were surprised to see me, so I went over what to expect with this whole baby thing again - just that they can't expect anything certain. They seem mostly OK with that. The word of the day was "midwife" because no one knew what it meant when I told them I'm birthing at home with a midwife (another kid asked if it isn't illegal to have your baby at home rather than at the hospital). The only reason we got to talking about that is because in every class I had one kid nominate him/herself to be the one to call 911 if I should go into labor during class. I had to let them know that that wouldn't be necessary, that if I go into labor, I'll just call the office and have someone cover my class while I leave to go home. I think they all just tend to expect the overly dramatized TV/movie version of having a baby where the woman randomly starts sweating and swearing while her husband runs around frantically searching for his car keys and trying to shove the golden retriever out the sliding glass door. I told them it wasn't like that in real life, but I still don't think they believe me.

This evening, Kelly and I took the pups to the Eighth Street trails again and hiked for about 45 minutes. I had more of those easy contractions while we were there, but now that we're home and have had some dinner on the couch, they're all gone. I think Kelly's getting more impatient with the birthing wait than I am; he seems to have major plans to get me out walking every evening this week.

Monday Morning

It's been a long and productive spring break, full of all those last-minute preparations...and now I'm looking at work again tomorrow morning. I am pretty sure I'll be there. I want to be there, though, because the longer I wait to start my maternity leave the less I'll have to go back to work at the end of the school year. At this point, though, it's definitely day-by-day whether or not I'll be going in - and my students, fellow teachers and administrators know that. Besides, it will be nice to go in and get things set up for my sub. If I don't, she'll be fine, but I think I would feel better having at least one more day.

I haven't noticed anything really new in the is-it-almost-time department. I can tell she's dropped again and periodically I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions, but that's it. In fact, there's one right now. But these are super easy and mild and unless I'm paying attention to them, sometimes I don't even notice them until they're almost gone. I've been having them since about week 30, but back then it was only when I was working super hard at the gym, and when I had the flu for three weeks I didn't have them at all. Lately, it's been just whenever.

I will try to update this daily, now that we're so close, and keep you updated on changes and the work situation.

I should go on a game show.

I've been pretty sleepy this week - to be expected, I suppose, considering how close I am to delivering a baby - and have been able to fall asleep rather quickly lately. So I've decided that I should go on a game show. I mean, I'd have to find a game show that gives prizes for sleeping abilities - perhaps the ability to fall asleep quickly or the ability to fall asleep the most times through the day - but I think I would have a shot at winning if I could find the right show.

Yummy, delicious massage...

I'm just getting home from a prenatal massage with Robyn, who left me feeling both rejuvinated and relaxed as well as happy and empowered about giving birth some day very, very soon. I'm just posting a quick note here for anyone who wants an A+ recommendation for a pregnancy masseuse in the Boise area. Feel free to pass her name on to friends. Oh, and if you've looked at massage prices and feel uneasy spending a billion dollars to lay on a table and listen to someone tell you to relax, she's far less expensive than other places I've seen because she works independently rather than through a salon and I promise, it was totally worth it. I feel fabulous after that!

Laurie's pretty amazing.

About three weeks ago, we had maternity photos taken. Our friend Laurie did them and I have to say, they're pretty awesome. Just as a teaser, here's one of my favorites...



If you'd like to see more, go to Laurie's blog. If you like them, post a comment on her blog and let her know. And if you'd like to order any from her, just let her know that, too.

Questions

List of the questions I get most frequently:

When are you due?

Do you know what you're having?

Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl? (Similar to the last one, but a little more specific - the last one could be answered flippantly, for instance, "Yes, a baby.")

Do you have any names picked out?

Is this your first one?

List of questions that I get and are funny to me that people think to ask them over and over:

How are you feeling? (This one makes me feel like people are trying to be ultra-sensitive, as though they expect a negative response, but feel somehow obligated to ask anyway.)

Are you excited? (Duh.)

Can you feel her move? (I don't just get this one from kids, either.)

Are you so sick of strangers coming up and rubbing your belly? (I think this one is funny because so many people expect that people do this, even though they think it's rude. And because I've never had a stranger come up and rub my belly.)

List of questions that I've gotten and think are rude:

How much weight have you gained? (From a young cashier at a mall store.)

Aren't you just so miserable at this point? (From plenty of people at work - even on days when I feel great.)

You're so big! Are you due soon? (Is that supposed to be a nice way of telling me you think I'm huge?)

Are you seriously still here? (In response to the fact that I still go to work every day. Good lord, I'm pregnant, not dying.)

List of student questions that make me smile:

Do you know like how the - what time - is the baby going to be, like, alive - I mean like if she'll be - out - um, born? (From a seventh grader today.)

Can you do anything fun? (He said he imagined I just sat at home on the couch all night, unable to move.)

When is her birthday? (To which I responded, "I don't know. It hasn't happened yet.")

Will you die from the pain? (Referring to childbirth.)

What do you mean you're having the baby at home?!?

Call your husband? What's he going to do? (In response to me telling the student he doesn't need to worry about calling 911 if I go into labor at school, that I'll just call Kelly and he'll come get me.)

Are you making that up? (In response to me telling the student what a midwife is.)

List of annoying questions - many of which I've also gotten a few times:

When are you due? "In a few weeks. No, I mean, like when's your due date? "The first week of April." Well, I mean, what day?

Don't you think you're making a huge mistake not going through the hospital for your birth?

Have you signed up for free samples from Similac yet?

Did you know more babies die when they're born at home rather than the hospital? (Which, by the way, is not true.)

Aren't you worried about your dogs biting the baby? (No, because we don't plan to have our dogs babysit the baby. We'll be paying attention!)

Baby Clothes

I just went through everything we've received for Eleanor, opened packages, cut off tags and sorted things into piles. I've gained some insight, I believe, into the world of baby clothes after this expedition. Here's some of what I now know.

1. Nothing is packaged to be environmentally friendly. Nothing. From any company. If there's a way to add a cardboard piece or attach it to something with a little piece of tape or plastic binding, they'll do it.
2. Old Navy has evidently had some problems with their pajamas lighting on fire. This tag was pinned to both pj sets I now own: "For child's safety, garment should fit snugly. This garment is not flame resistant. Loose-fitting garment is more likely to catch fire." I guess I shouldn't let the baby smoke while she's wearing those outfits...
3. Socks and bibs are the most popular clothing gift items.
4. People think that baby girls need to dress in lots and lots of pink. But only after they're three months old. My 0-3 month-old pile hardly has any pink in it, but pink is definitely the predominate color in the 3-6 month-old pile, the 6-9 month old pile, and the "big girl" pile.

I recorded everything I have because, since this is my first go at things, I'm not sure if I have everything I need or if I'm severely overlooking a basic need. So, all you experienced moms out there, if you wouldn't mind reading over my list and leaving me a comment about what you think, I would greatly appreciate it. I counted "outfits" as things that match one another as a set; "onesies" could obviously double as complete outfits or be mixed/matched with pieces from the complete outfits; "pajamas" are pieces that obviously look like sleep items. I also gave you the months she'll be these ages (roughly) in case that helps.

Miscellaneous:

7 hats
8 receiving blankets
billions of socks (it's true - I counted them)
16 washcloths
5 towels with the cute corner head piece
2 full crib bedding sets
17 bibs

0-3 months: April, May, June (this is the category I'm most immediately concerned with, since it comes first)

7 complete outfits
29 onesies
9 pajamas

3-6 months: June, July, August, September

11 complete outfits
17 onesies
4 pajamas

6-9 months: September, October, November, December (I'm least concerned about this grouping since it's still six months out, but I thought I'd include it anyway)

7 complete outfits
6 onesies
5 pajamas

I also have a collection of "big girl" clothes that start after nine months and go for another year, but that collection is small and sooooo not on my radar right now. I figure I can worry about stocking that age group some time after she's actually born.