07.27.08 ~ Week Twenty-Two

CBS Appointment
Last Monday (the 21st) we had another check up with the midwives (with Barbie/Barbara this time). I went alone since Jason had just taken off from work the week before for the sonogram. But these appointments have become somewhat uneventful, so he didn’t miss out on much. My urine test, blood pressure, and weight gain were all normal (I’ve gained about 4 more pounds since the last visit - which averages to about a pound per week – right on target). And for the first time she measured my belly which she said was exactly the size it should be. I spent a lot of time asking her inane questions like can the baby get uncomfortable in the uterus if I sit in funny positions (she said no), and is there anything I can do to make sure the baby doesn’t end up breech (again no – but it only happens in about 4% of cases and she did fill me in on what we would do if I ended up in that 4%). Lastly, I talked to her a little about my back which is already strained under the new weight. She gave me some things I can do to take some of the strain off of my spine. But eventually I might have to turn to my in-house physical therapist – Dr. Vera Philipsen.

Mama Muumuu
Last weekend I finally decided that it was time to buy some maternity clothes. None of my pants close, many of my tops are too short, and several of my dresses don’t zip up anymore. I’ve been wearing the same things to work/school over and over and have noticed that even those last few suitable items were getting tighter by the day. So I made Jason come with me as we trudged around from Old Navy, to H&M, to the Gap, and back to H&M. I refuse to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes – and my resolve only got stronger as I stood in the H&M dressing room and pulled on my first pair of maternity jeans. For someone who had a hard time finding regular jeans to fit my body shape pre-pregnancy – this was a total nightmare. The first pair I tried on were too long in the legs, too tight in the thighs, and the elastic that holds the pants up over your belly stretched almost all the way up to my neck. Every shirt I tried on (even “smalls”) ballooned out over my boob and belly areas. Although my personal impression is that I have massive new ta-tas and that my belly is gigantic – I was quickly realizing that many maternity clothes are designed for the six foot tall, nine-month pregnant woman – not me, five foot three at five months.

After hours of looking around and trying things on I settled on a couple of cotton shirts, a pair of jeans from H&M, a second pair from the GAP (which are way too long and still need to be hemmed before I can wear them), and a cotton dress from Old Navy. These things will hold me over for a little while until I go for a round two shopping trip with Kim in the next few months.

My only clothing related oversight became clear over the last week when I realized that none of the tank tops and shorts I normally sleep in fit anymore. I really should have looked for some maternity pajamas. All of my tank tops are tight to the point of uncomfortable and the waist bands on my shorts constrain my bulging belly. So I’ve taken to sleeping in a big purple tank top that hangs to my knees and has oversized arm holes (like a basketball jersey). It’s 80’s style and truly hideous and evokes lots of pointing and laughing from Jason. But it’s my mama muumuu and I’ve slept very comfortably in it for the last few nights. So there.

He-He-He- Hoo
Another pregnancy landmark reached this past week was registering for Lamaze classes. After some calling around and online research I settled on signing us up for classes at the hospital where we’re delivering. I say “settled” because initially Barbie/Barbara warned against the hospital classes because she said they may be too much review (too simplistic) for the daughter of a Lamaze teacher. But then later I spoke on the phone with a private Lamaze teacher in the area she said that in terms of group classes she ranks those at Roosevelt as the best in Manhattan. Additionally (and this was the selling point for me) she said it might be nice to spend time in the place where we’ll be delivering and become familiar with the hospital ahead of time. This sounded like a good idea to me since I’ve never been admitted to any hospital ever before (knock on wood) and I am sure that fact alone will be making me very nervous when we go there to deliver. Also, unlike me, Jason didn’t sit through the entire Lamaze series when he was in elementary school, so simplistic might actually be good for us as a couple. So it’s a six class series that we’ll start in October on Thursday nights. I also signed myself up for the Birthing Center class which is a requirement to qualify for delivery there, and put us both on a waiting list for a baby care and CPR class – just for good measure. I happily reported all of this progress to Barbie/Barbara who replied “Be careful – just last week I had a patient who said ‘I am going to die if I have to attend one more fucking class’”.

Welcome Ethan!!
The most exciting part of this past week was that Ethan Nathaniel Nicholls was born on Friday July 25th at about 8:45 pm. He was born 7 pounds and 12 ounces. After Emily’s water broke, sending her to the hospital first thing Friday morning, we got periodic updates from Jessica, Katie, and Carol throughout the day. By 7pm we were informed that she was about ready to push. At that time Jason and I were heading down to Riverside Park to eat sandwiches by the water and watch the sun set. At about 8:30pm we were sitting on a park bench watching the western sky redden, when Jason commented how relaxed we were at the exact moment when Emily was probably grunting and pushing and doing really hard work to get a baby out. We sat there a little while longer in stillness until our little baby started kicking and moving around. Jason looked down at his watch and at 8:41 exactly he joked that this probably meant Ethan had just been born and our baby was letting us know. Little did we know that Ethan really was being born at that exact moment – coincidence? I think not. Our little bugger is probably already in tune with his cousin and future BFF.