Nothing like being too big to get out of the car to make a pregnant girl feel pretty. Here's the tale:
Dave's mom, Gloria, and I were returning from my weekly midwife appointment and her Suburban was parked on the ferry. I had to pee, per usual, and attempted to exit the vehicle. Unfortunately, the space between the car door and the center wall of the boat was a good 12 inches shy of belly clearance. This led to several minutes of Gloria, along with 2 ferry employees, maneuvering the giant SUV into a position where the whale in the passenger seat could get out to empty her ever-demanding bladder. I saw car doors opening and heads peering out of windows all over the boat to see what all the commotion was about. Based on a previous experience (I stumbled walking off the boat a couple months ago. Went down on one knee. Not a big deal. Upon meeting a woman for the first time on the Island recently, she said, "Oh, I heard about your fall on the boat. Everyone was really worried." My FALL?? Its not like I tumbled down a flight of stairs and had to be triaged. I stumbled. STUMBLED.), I'm pretty sure this incident will be on the front page of the Washington Island Observer. Sigh.
A mere 1 1/2 weeks til D-Day. I can't say I'm super anxious/excited/worried etc. Not that I'm not looking forward to the inside kid being an outside kid, but the strange calm that descended earlier on in this pregnancy has fallen again. Which is a vast improvement to my standard high-anxiety state over the most mundane of life changes. And I have to say, I'm no longer feeling the "get this kid out of me" urgency I was a few short weeks ago. Make no mistake, I'm ready. I'm just letting everyone else get all excited and worked up for me...we're averaging at least 2 "check-ins" per day ie: "Are you in labor?" "Any signs?" "How are you feeling?", and my favorite, from the always succint Ms. Olive, "Lost your mucus plug yet?" (Answer: no.)
In case I don't have a chance to post another blog pre-delivery, I'm going to take this opportunity to bookend my gestation with another list of some unanticipated pros of pregnancy:
-The joy of having a sweet tooth. Never before have I understood how profoundly gratifying it is to give into the siren song of a glazed donut.
-An expanded awareness of the variety of bodily fluids in existence: meconium, lochia, colostrum...who knew?
-Built-in (literally) entertainment everyday watching my stomach move. Fascinating.
-I've discovered how much I like to swim. Thanks to breech boy I started swimming to turn him and haven't stopped.
-Almost 10 months hangover-free.
-My family relationships have become much closer.
And finally, a brief Hynobirthing update, since we finished the 5 week class: my opinion hasn't really changed from the first class. I love the support of natural birth, the approach to viewing the whole thing as what it is, a normal function that women's bodies are capable of, focusing on the positive, using breathing and meditation to quell fear and as a result, pain etc. However, 5 classes was a bit much. I got all that from one class and reading the books. Maybe because our frame of reference included a 6 hour round trip journey and an overnight stay to get to the class, we didn't find it as worthwhile as the couple who just drove across town. I'd recommend it to anyone as a tool, but maybe just buy the book and do a one-day class or workshop. Also, thanks to my firmly entrenched procrastination habits, I haven't exactly been practicing the techniques everyday like I'm supposed to. Overall effectiveness in labor as a result?
To be determined.
Much like a lot of things in the next few weeks.
