Getting ready for baby

The countdown is officially at seven weeks today. "Officially. There, I'm covered." (Name that movie!) We won't talk about how these little hobbits choose their own birthdays despite our best efforts. I think I got that one hammered home to me with Frodo. I'm not putting any expectations on Pippin.

In other news, oh my goodness the baby is almost here! I can tell because I think I've reached my grumpy stage. As Jason put it so well yesterday--when someone said, "I thought Judy loved being pregnant?", I love about six months of pregnancy. The three months that don't fall on the "total love" scale are that month near the beginning with the nausea that I can't complain about since we're keeping a secret, and the last two months when I'm too big to do anything comfortably and sleep becomes difficult. I've totally noticed in the past few weeks that I can barely pick up Edmund, which is hard at this stage of parenting a toddler where most discipline has to be physical prevention of the crime. Of course, it's easy enough to pick him up when he's willing, as I tell him in the morning that when he wants to get out of the crib he has to stand up, and when he wants to read books he gets a book, then backs up to me where I'm sitting on the couch/recliner and I can pick him up fine that way. It's just hard when I need to carry him away from something, or get him upstairs. I'm always glad to have Daddy the Enforcer around when little hobbits are too tired/hungry/willful to obey. I love Daddy the Enforcer.

Although I will gladly say the part I like the whole pregnancy is this little person inside of me--how we can interact a lot better now, and I can feel little feet and knees and bum and fists as Pip dances across my abdomen. How when I eat a bagel with honey the baby is woken up by the blast of blood sugar. How other people can see my stomach roll like waves of the sea when Pippin swims some laps.

We have a midwife appointment today where I will likely be told I've gained another nine pounds and am experiencing "just a growth spurt". LOL Well, maybe not nine pounds this time as it's only been a week and a half since the last visit. Today is my second meeting with my second midwife. (This midwifery practice assigns a first, second, and third midwife, so that you're virtually guaranteed to have two people you know at the birth, and one at the least because of rotating days off and weekends.) I haven't met my third midwife yet, but I think they'll have me meet with her next (probably a good idea, although when I'm honest, I don't much care who's there to catch the baby as long as someone shows up to do it). And then it will almost be time for the home visit, where they figure out exactly how to get to my house, and scope out the room we've chosen for the birth, etc.

Tomorrow I am so looking forward to a massage I have booked......my body is angry these last few months. Mostly it's the fact that my pelvis has been in pieces since about month four of this pregnancy--something that didn't happen until a few weeks before Edmund was born. This is the biggest part of my trouble sleeping--I'll be comfortable in a position for a while, but then when I need to change position I am in such agony. Fortunately, the rest of my spine seems to be doing well through this pregnancy--I've been to the chiropractor on two different occasions where nothing has been out of joint all along the middle, and just a few adjustments to my neck and sacrum have done the trick. That's really encouraging, considering how much weight I've put on with this babe. Let's just say I'm not going to meet my goal of gaining only forty pounds this pregnancy. I'll give you the finally tally when Pip gets here. But I comfort myself by reminding me that I lost it all with Edmund, and am likely to lose it faster with this one being born in the summer and still having to chase after Edmund routinely.

Hopefully we will have a few friends attend this birth. My dear friend Amy is coming up from Maryland to be here for the big day (we hope). Jason's mother will also be here, either to chase Edmund or to be in the room with us (if she wants to) if he's asleep at the time. I've also asked another friend who lives in town if she would be willing to come, in case Amy's not here at the time, and especially while we're waiting for Jason's mom to drive up (as I'm not sure how much warning this one will give us--Edmund came two hours after the midwives arrived at our house). She was very enthusiastic and said she'll be my pray-er anyway, regardless of whether she's watching Edmund or in the room with us. I was trying so hard to think of who I could ask to look after my son, and most of my friends have small children and/or full-time jobs or live in another country, so I was feeling a bit stuck. And then yesterday the inspiration just struck me to ask her, and she was totally into it and meets the necessary criteria (kids a bit older, not currently working outside the home, and a REALLY good friend). I feel like I pretty much have everything in place.

I hope.