Howeberry

From adulthood to parenthood, or something like that…

Nov 30

41 Weeks and Still Pregnant

by Lisa

So here we are. Forty-one weeks pregnant and still no sign of baby.

If this egg doesn’t start hatching by Saturday night, the State of New Jersey will no longer let me have my home birth and we’ll be back to the original plan of birthing at Morristown Memorial Hospital. For some reason, me trying to explain this to my very round baby-belly has not been working to encourage things along. It’s starting to feel like I’m running out of time. I’m sure this can’t be helping things.

Last Sunday we had a non-stress test with the Midwives. After sitting in a very comfortable chair for 20 minutes, feet up, watching an awful Sunday afternoon movie, my midwife was happy with the results. Baby is healthy, active, and not showing signs of stress. She gave us a couple suggestions of things to try to encourage things, but there is no rush since baby is doing well.

We mentioned to her that both my sister and I were 13 days late and the midwife suggested it could just be a family trait. She has a patient who’s family generally goes 42-43 weeks and that’s just normal for them. She suggested I could blame my mom for my baby’s lateness (like mother, like daughter!), which is fun but doesn’t help relieve the “is that baby here yet?!” pressure.

Oddly and happily, and with the exception of being terribly sick for two weeks, I’ve been and still am rather comfortable. I still get around rather well, although much more slowly than I use to. My main complaint has been trying to roll over in bed and getting up from laying down. Try rolling over with an 8-pound ball attached to your tummy. It’s not easy! Oh yeah, and my belly bumps into things all the time.

At this point, I REALLY miss not being pregnant, being able to wear normal clothes, being able to enjoy wine, sushi, and tuna steaks. Don’t get me wrong, the random conversations with strangers in stores has been fun. I’ve discovered that not everyone in the Garden State pretends that no one else exists and everyone who’s started a conversation with me has been really excited for me and my baby-to-be.

With it being 6:30 PM on the last day of November, Howeberry will most definitely be a December baby. This also means that’s I’ve been pregnant for most of the last year and I’m really ready to not be anymore. The only month I will have not been pregnant in 2010 is January. Joy…

And so we wait. We wait for my body and baby to decide it’s time. We wait for nature to take it’s course.

That does not mean we won’t be trying some of the suggestions we’ve been given. Tonight, we’ll try Chinese food.

3rd Trimester

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Nov 21

November 21

by Lisa

Today is November 21st. November 21st is my due date.

I have to think of it like baking. Just because the recipe says 40 weeks does not mean it’s ready yet. Baking times and ovens vary and it can take up to 42 weeks (before the state of NJ will encourage things along). So now the waiting and wondering begins.

I’ve been told baby’s considered full term at 37 weeks. But somehow a due date just feels so firm in a world that goes by schedules and planned events.  I’ve also been told that first time moms generally go 7-10 days late. So what was unknown before is still unknown and will only become known when little Howeberry decides to make his or her appearance.

Of course this does not mean that I wonder if baby is getting ready every time baby dances in my belly.

I’ve looked and felt like death for the last week. Despite me being very ill, baby has made progress in dropping.  The Midwives said baby was looking good, agreed he/she had started moving down, and said baby’s heartbeat sounded great. So baby has been more or less unaffected by my nasty cold, and has hopefully developed resistance to whatever has filled my head with bottomless phlegm the last 8 days. If anything, I hope baby waits to make his/her way out until I am 100% healthy again and have the energy to labor, push and deliver.

For the sake of my parents’ travel plans, I hope baby is patient and waits until Wednesday the 24th to start making movements.

At 11 PM on November 21, looks like baby will be waiting for another day.

I’m taking bets. When do you think Howeberry will make his or her appearance?

3rd Trimester

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Nov 16

Nesting or simply organizing?

by Lisa

I have been terribly neglectful of my lovely baby-blog and have no excuse other than I’ve been busy!

This will be my fourth week home on maternity leave. I have been busying myself with last minute baby purchases, laundering and preparing cloth diapers and baby clothes, and finding homes for things like those adorable baby clothes (because they can’t live in storage forever!). I’ve also been busy spoiling my husband by cooking him breakfast nearly every morning I’ve been home, preparing his lunches, and arranging or making dinner. And since I’ve decided little Howeberry will be rooming in with us for at least the first 3 months, Jason has more time to work on the nursery (more on that story later).

So what does all this organizing look like?

Basically it looks like a book shelf that’s been converted into a dresser:

The mess of clothes on top are my maternity clothes, since they do not fit into my own dresser and are best kept separate.

The bottom two shelves are bins ready to cover baby’s butt, literally. The very bottom two are filled to the brim with cloth diapers, neatly folded and waiting to be used.

The bins above contain prep items such as cream and wipes: disposable for taking care of newborn meconium and cloth for the easier to clean poop that baby will be producing later. And probably my favorite thing I’m waiting to use on baby is in the bin next to the prep-bin, which are my lovely diaper covers. In particular, my wool diaper covers. These are only water resistant due to the lanolin they’ve been prepped with, but they are so very soft! I probably will not be able to use them until baby’s cord falls off, but they are ready and waiting until that time.

The top row of baskets is full of those beautiful baby clothes we’ve been collecting, whether on our own or from our wonderful friends and family. Particular items have been set on top to identify them as baby’s first outfit.

Everything is clean and ready whenever Howeberry is ready.

And then there is the rest of the stuff. It’s still very much in an organized mess in the living room. Car seat included (which, at 5 days until my due date, should really be in the car, but we have time. Right?). The cradle is still in the three boxes they shipped in from Mom and Dad. The rocking chair is also still in the basement and the cushion covers still need to be cleaned.

But somehow, I’m not too concerned.

My help will be here next week to assemble the cradle and move the last items to our bedroom. The stack of baby books will someday have a home in the baby room. And hopefully we’ll find a suitable place for the stroller, which may end up being the back of a car. We have oodles of blankets, most of which have been washed, along with the baby towels. Again, they just need a home.

All this cleaning and organizing has taken place over the last several weeks.

However, I would say I had one day of a primal sort of nesting since I’ve been home. That was last week when I took Windex to my kitchen and discovered: how clear and reflective I can make the windows in my back door; how white the back door actually is; and how reflective the black microwave  and dishwasher can become.

3rd Trimester

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