Baby School - 5 Weeks To Go!

35 Weeks and Almost Full Term

The Minnesota winter has reared its ugly head again, and we've been hoping for temperatures to get back UP into the 20's (which feels like a heat wave after the subzero days and nights we've been seeing lately). As much as I make fun of the hamster tunnels connecting the buildings in downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis, I'm grateful that I don't have to wander the streets to get lunch when it's 2 degrees outside. We also got a few inches of snow today, and it's still snowing. I actually don't mind the snow until it's time to drive home and everyone drives like morons.

Here I am at 35 weeks! This is the same sweater from my posting a few weeks ago, so I don't know if you can tell that there has been some expansion from the picture. There has been, I assure you! It's getting harder to bend over and putting on socks has become an aerobic exercise. The baby still kicks a lot. I read that the kicking is supposed to subside around now as the little person runs out of room, but so far, that doesn't seem to be the case. Some of the kicks, wiggles and adjustments are uncomfortable, but other times they just make me laugh, especially when they happen at work and I'm sitting in a meeting with people. I wonder if they can see my undulating belly or if it's like the Loch Ness Monster and only I can see it move.

Baby School

This past weekend, we went to baby school, or our "Preparing for Childbirth" class. Of the 20 couples there, my belly size was somewhere on the lower end of the spectrum. One couple due in three weeks is smaller than I am, but most others were a lot bigger. I feel huge, but it's hard to tell since maternity pants have a great big elastic panel built into them! With a normal waistband, you can tell if your pants are getting snug, but with these, you can just keep on expanding with no end in sight! The other funny thing about the class was that the instructor polled those who know the gender of their babies (almost everyone in the class), and more than 80% were having boys! Is there something in the water up here? Is Minnesota going to be leading the nation in boys? Are girls going to be an endangered species?

The baby class wasn't particularly informative, especially since I have every pregnancy book published, but it helped us understand what happens after you pull up to the hospital with a wife in labor. We also learned about the complicated chain of events that both the mother and baby experience to get the little bugger out. The baby basically has to twist and turn through an obstacle course that would make most Marines run screaming in the other direction. Also, a baby's head accounts for 1/4 of its weight at birth! That's a big head! And since Tom doesn't have the smallest noggin, I'm afraid of how things will go if the baby takes after its dad in that department. Overall, though, the birth process makes you appreciate how amazing the human body is, both that of the mother and the baby. After the class, we got to tour the maternity ward where we'll be delivering, and although the rooms look pretty small, it's nice to know that you get to stay in the same room for the whole deal. They also keep the baby in the room with you so you can bond, feed, etc. right away and get that early connection going. Another good thing about the class was that we met a few other couples that we hope to meet up with after we've all hatched over the next few months.

Back to pregnancy books for a minute: My favorite is the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. This book isn't just medical information but a lot of great general information about what's happening to mom and baby throughout the whole pregnancy (and afterwards). It also helps me because I can read from it to reassure Tom that when the baby gets hiccups in utero, we don't need to run to the E.R. At this point, he is so jumpy that when I make a noise three rooms away, he thinks I'm going into labor and asks if everything is OK. Another pregnancy book I love is the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. This has been fun to read and has a lot of candid information that is NOT in the medically-oriented books.

Speaking of labor, the baby could reasonably come at any time two weeks before or after the due date, so in a few short weeks, we could be on our way! I heard someone say recently that it shouldn't be called a due date, but rather a due month, since the window is that big. It's also generally acknowledged that first babies tend to come late, so who knows. We have so many friends and family with birthdays from mid-February through mid-March that we could easily hit a date that's already on our calendar as a birthday. Especially my birthday. Then I could say that my birthday really was my birth-day.

More of the Nursery

Here I am in the super glider. I think I'll be spending LOTS of time in this, so I'm glad it's as comfy as it is. Given how hard it is to sleep comfortably lying in bed right now, I may start sleeping in this thing over the next few weeks! It reclines, and the ottoman has a pull-out footrest for when you want to have your knees up a bit more. It is awesome! We also have a small library started for baby and are getting more of the nursery pulled together. This other picture is diaper central, where Tom will soon be mastering the art of the daddy diaper change. Fingers crossed!