35 weeks going to 36

We have 29 days to go...29...Crazy!!!!

and we are soooo unprepared...Our blueberry has nothing but some old clothes that Claude's sister has sent us. He doesn't have a bed, baby bottles, a stroller, car seat, nothing...I'm hoping all will change in a week. I stopped working and now shopping for blueberry and getting ready for the birth will be my priorities. The past weeks went by kind of fast but here's what we have done:

The last ultrasound: I had my final ultrasound to confirm that he was in the right position, and yes he was, head down, his weight was about 2.7 kg (I think he is about 3 now), and all was fine. The doctor said that he was a little lower than where he was supposed to be but also said not to worry. I'm not worried, in fact, on the contrary, I'm thinking that the birth might be easier if he is already low. The next time I'll see him will be in person. Crazy!

Maternity visit: Last Tuesday, claude and I went to visit Clinique St Elisabeth in Brussels, where I will be giving birth. On tuesdays, a midwife gives the tour of the maternity ward, explain what they do, show the rooms, give practical info about where to go and what to do during labor. It was really funny to walk around with all the preggo ladies. This visit took the pressure off a little, at least we now know what the rooms look like. It was also very funny to see claude all stressed, raising hands, asking questions, taking notes. Somehow, at least for now, I'm calmer than him about labor.

Second hynobirthing class: I was not sure what Claude would think, but at the end, he said that he liked his experience and understood why I chose to work with midwives. He learned some massage techniques to relax me during labor. But the weirdest of all was when my midwife put me in a stage of relaxation. And she pressured my thighs. When I was in my beach (that's where I imagine I go under hypnosis), I was feeling that she was touching me but I just felt a gentle touch. After we finished the session, she showed me how strongly she was squeezing my thighs and I couldn't believe it. And claude confirmed that she was really pressuring. I didn't feel anything. So then I was convinced that this hynobirth thing could work.

Maternity leave: My fake post-doc glamorously ended today after I did a mind-blowing presentation :) I felt good and appreciated and I know that my research group is really hoping that I'll come back, which is nice.

The move: Finally, finally, we're moving to our new apartment this Sunday. We won't have anything there yet because our stuff from Strasbourg will only come on the 5th but still, we'll be in our new beautiful apartment. So I can finally and completely give in to my nesting instinct that I have been trying to fight back these past weeks.

The belly update: The photo is on its way. I'm huge, really, really big. Nobody passes by me without a gesture or a word. They either smile, open their eyes really big, throw me a sympathy gaze, yell things like good luck or hang in there, which is cute. I love Brussels for that. Plus spring has sprung...It's so pretty around here!

Will update you with new pix and if I can, before and after pix of the baby room. 

29 days....Oh my god!

nb1

33 Weeks Belly and Situation Update

Hello everyone, yes, the belly is getting bigger. This week, I wanted to share insteresting facts about my pregnant body.

• CH-square formula: Throughout the day, I alternate between CHeese and CHocolate.

• Impeded daily activities:

·         Getting off the bed: I sometimes need Claude to push my back so that I can get up.

·         Tying laces/putting on socks: I'm still proud of myself that I can put on my socks and shoes (with zipper) independently but tying laces is a task I cannot accomplish. 

·         Sleeping: I didn’t have major sleeping issues until this month. Now, I get up 3 times: around 3AM, because the baby wants to play, around 5AM, because I’m hungry, and another random time, just because. 

• Hormonal changes: I read something, I cry, I see something, I cry, I think of something, I cry...It's automated now...But it's never for more than 5 seconds...I cry and forget (see the item “pregnancy fog” below)

• Heat generation: I have to open windows everywhere I go.
• Penguin walk: I walk like a penguin, something like this:  Sometimes a very slow penguin, sometimes a fast one, but always left and right...

• Pregnancy fog: I regularly leave my wallet at public places or leave at home. Since I entered 3 times the wrong code for the credit card I use daily, it was blocked. I often forget to take my keys, almost never lock the door at public bathrooms, lost various accessories so far (gloves etc), and need to write everything down to remember.

• Pregnancy glow (!): Most pregnant women are bloated, feel terrible, and wonder who the hell invented the term pregnancy glow (must be a man!). But there's one time in the day that I really, really glow. It is when I apply all my natural oils, almond, olive, etc..then I glow...like a big round Humpty Dumpty soaked in butter.

• Pregnancy pity: This is one effect I have on people, which makes my life easy. Nobody can resist a pregnant penguin. People are sometimes so nice to me that I cannot believe. For instance, the other day, I needed to buy a weekly train ticket at the station. Then I noticed that I forgot my wallet at home, of course. The woman at the ticket counter who saw my sad pregnant face couldn't resist, and gave me a weekly ticket anyway! She told me to come the next day to pay! But, beware pregnant ladies, there's one exception to pregnancy pity. Rush hour bus. There’s no pity on the rush hour bus, if you find a seat, it’s yours, if not, no one will give you a seat, no matter how big your belly is.

 Have a great week!

nb1

Women's Day!

Happy international women's day everyone!!

I will do my best to raise a feminist blueberry...

nb1

My First Hynobirthing Class

I have to admit, this choice was not an informed one. I didn't read many different techniques and decided to go with hynobirth. Rather, it was the only class available to us since we were too late to sign up for other classes (classic!). And I said, why not.

Past Friday was my first session. I wasn’t sure what it was gonna be like but I went there ready to play. Sarah (my midwife) and I started the session by imagining my birth. She asked me to tell the story of my birth to her as if it already happened. So I wrote this 2-page story about my beautiful, easy, and wonderful birth experience until the moment it started (it was an evening and I felt some discomfort) to the moment I held my little one in my arms and started to breastfeed. It was a fun exercise.

Then we started talking about women’s body during labor, how the uterine muscles worked etc. It’s surprising and sad how we, women, know so little about how our body functions. The most interesting information she gave me was on contractions, which she calls waves. Ladies, apparently, all contractions for all women in this world always last 1 minute. That's right!! Plus during that one minute half of the time your body doesn't realize the contraction. So you just feel a very intense discomfort and pain only for 10 to 20 seconds!! So, she said that during labor, in an hour, you only have 12 minutes of uterine activity, with 6 minutes of sensing something, and 2 minutes of pain!!

This was very comforting for me. This is certainly not what we see in the movies. But of course, I can hear a lot of women who gave birth go: What hurts so much then? And their answer is fear. When you are afraid, your body’s sympathetic system is activated, only your vital organs function and all other functions, like digestion, are suspended. You start releasing stress hormones. And since your uterus is not a vital organ for defense, the blood in there is directed towards more vital organs, like heart. So, oxygen and blood which are essential during birth are restrained. This causes extreme pain. Anyway, I don’t know if you would buy this but it doesn’t sound too crazy to me.

Then we finished the session with a breathing exercise, I started breathing slowly and deeply, in and out, the way you do when you meditate. She said that during my labor, they will do everything to relax my body. I might have a dimmed light in the room, there will be a nice music on the background, I might choose to be in water, there will be no legs up position.

It all sounds perfect but I don’t know if I’ll manage to stay calm when I’m in extreme pain during those 20 long seconds. At least, I know that I'm not one of those women who will insist on having a natural birth despite being in complete agony. If I want the candy man (epidural) I'll get him, and if I need a c-section, I won't be disappointed in myself. I think for me the most important part of this is to feel prepared, get informed, and know what will happen that day to my body and to my baby.

The second class will be with Claude, we’ll see how that’ll go :)