One week from due date...

[mollyringle]

I can't believe I thought I had a belly to show in pictures like this one, from July. Cracked up Steve and me when we discovered that photo the other night. I mean, for God's sake, this is more like pregnancy. (From yesterday.) Even so, it's hard to believe there's a seven-pound baby stuffed in there. Well, some of the time it's hard to believe. Other times I fully believe it--like when a fist is buzzing nerves at the base of my pelvic bone, while a foot is simultaneously bumping my ribs; or when I try to turn over in bed and my hip joints cry out in protest at the weight I am forcing upon them.

But I believe there are two bright sides here. First,
Things I actually have liked about pregnancy:
Knowing where the kid is at all times, and that he's safe
NOT getting half the ailments other women warned me about
NOT gaining as much weight as I thought I might (I seem to have levelled out at a gain of about 25 lbs)
The hormones that have made me sweeter, more loving, and blessed with hotter dreams
The skin - I do have extra glow/flush in that photo because we were watching a comedy and I had been laughing (The 40-Year-Old Virgin; hee!), but still, the amount of cover-up makeup stick I have used lately has been quite minimal. I will really, really miss that, if the breakout-prone conditions return after the birth.
Having a great excuse to avoid all kinds of tasks and events

Second,
Things I look forward to for after the birth:
Being able to turn over in bed easily
Being able to sleep on my back without feeling suffocated
Being able to get close to sinks again
Being able to climb stairs or exert myself without panting like an overheated Bernese Mountain Dog
Having a slimmer waist again, but larger breasts (yay for breastfeeding!)
Eating a lot, but LOSING weight; and having the baby gain instead of me (another "yay" for breastfeeding!)
The general cuddling and cuteness and mushy stuff
A glass of scotch, or a full-strength latte, now and then
My joints and tissues easing off from their hypersensitivity and returning to normal
Corollary: not bleeding for ages at the slightest paper cut, or from vigorous flossing; and not slobbering on pillows practically every time I fall asleep (all your body fluids work overtime during pregnancy, which is annoying, but no major drama)
Knowing What It Was Like, which is almost always better and less scary than Not Knowing What It Will Be Like
Similarly: earning the honor badge of having gone through pregnancy, start to finish, A to Z, preface to afterword, and being able to close that book. And open the one about pediatrics.

But, no. I am still not in labor. So you may be stuck with my musings on the subject for as long as another 3 weeks.

Comments

[dirae.livejournal.com]

Are you wearing a Barsuk shirt in the latest photo (of the belly)? [Oh, I think I felt the baby move last night for the first time :)]

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yep! Steve got me the Barsuk shirt (that one, which he can wear later; and a smaller one I can wear later) along with a bunch of their artists' CD's, for Xmas. It's a very cozy shirt--soft and stretchy.

The moving-baby is the best part. Couple weeks longer, and you'll be quite sure of it. :)

*laughs at that icon, by the way*

[dirae.livejournal.com]

Those Barsuk shirts last forever and take tons of abuse. I just found mine again last weekend after being misplaced over a year ago (unfortunately, it is a Youth Large and is a bit snug for my comfort just now) :).

In my opinion, Sulu would have been a bit more multifaceted if he would have been into "dressing up" his Starfleet uniform with a feather boa. George Takei...he's a dandy and one has to love him.

[jennae.livejournal.com]

Wow, you're one of the most beautiful pregnant ladies I've EVER seen!

...and I'm impressed that you've stayed so tiny!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Now that right there is a good comment. :D Thank you! Though I think people like Elle Macpherson and Reese Witherspoon have looked better...

[elfinity.livejournal.com]

No, no, see - those have crossed the line of "staying tiny" and plunged into the territory of "watermelon on a stick".

You do look very pretty, especially in that "glowing" photo - you have a very sweet smile.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You are sweet. :) Hehe, well, we'll see how Angelina Jolie does, then. She seems to be the latest big celebrity pregnancy.

[pokeystar.livejournal.com]

I think it's very cute that you think you will be sleeping at all for the next threes months or so, if you are lucky. (it will only be three months).

:-)

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sure she'll be smart and nap in the daytime when the baby does, but that first full night long sleep is wonderful...except that you wake up in the morning and run in and make sure the baby is ok!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Well, even if I can only sleep for 45 minutes at a time on my back, it will be good to sleep on my back again. :) But yes, as the anonymous one commented, I'll try the "sleep when baby sleeps" thing and hopefully at least get a little bit here and there. Though my mom tells me I "never" slept as a baby, so I guess that's a possibility too...

[jewelsong.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you've had a GREAT pregnancy!

Can't wait to see the baby!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I seem to have been lucky with my health so far--though I do think having a good attitude helps a huge amount. (And a great husband!) Will likely spam you all with baby photos eventually...

*puts on the doula hat*

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

Not to be a big fat downer, but it might be longer than 3 weeks - 1st babies are notoriously late!

My birth advice: Bathtubs, birthballs and hot&cold packs are your friend.

I'd offer to be your doula, but I'm getting married like two days before you're due!

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

*smacks forehead* YOU'RE Mali! All this time I've been thinking your name was spelled "Molly" (egocentric of me), and wondering who "Mali and Janusz" were, and whether I'd met them at a Tolkien thing or if they just had my email address because it was on a big Tolkien-related list somewhere. Hah. Dork, right here. Congratulations!!

Anyway, yah - the birth suites at UWMC each have a private bath w/ tub, which sounds lovely; and I think they might have those ball things too. Probably can provide hot/cold packs as well, but just in case, I plan to bring all the massage-type items in my possession. I firmly believe having my feet rubbed will get me a long way.

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

(In my experiences)

UW is a GREAT place to give birth!

They are very good about not being PUSHY either about drugs or about "letting" you labor for a long time. At a lot of hospitals after like an hour of pushing they start badgering you into a ceasarian birth. At UW they wait much much longer. As long as your'e okay and bay's okay really. My friend imsosquare pushed for five hours before they started suggesting a ceasarian.

They have birthballs and rocking chairs and sweet-ass labor bars and collaspy beds.

I think the one thing Heather didn't like was the nurse who put her IV in did a crappy job and Heather had to bitch a LOT before they would redo it.

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Sweet! Glad to hear it. Yeah, I'm seeing the midwife (CNM) group there, and since I'm "low risk," they're perfectly happy with my requests to keep medical interventions to a minimum. I came in with my demands--no epidural, no episiotomy, no time limits if baby & I are OK, limited use of exams and electronic monitoring, etc.--and they shrugged and said, "Sounds like the kind of birth we do all the time."

Also, in the checkups, they're very nice, and keep telling me I'm doing great, which is most reassuring. We took a childbirth class at Swedish (because it was closer to our house), which only made us more glad we had chosen UWMC. Swedish is a good hospital, but their approach to childbirth did seem a lot more "medical," which would only stress me out. Though if "anything happens" and we need medical specialists, naturally UW has plenty of those right down the hall, so it's the best of both worlds.

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

Having been to births at both places, I think I would prefer to give birth at UW, although the food at Swedish is WAY better.

I think one reason UW is so nice is because they have a lot of non-english speakers and such so they are used to lots of different "takes" on how birth should be done.

They also do the most high-risk births in Seattle, so you are in good hands IF you need something.

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[dirae.livejournal.com]

Given the fact that you are opting for a more "natural" childbirth, I was wondering if you planned on any sort of placenta (disposal) ritual? I know of a woman who swears that placenta wards off postpartum depression and makes her skin/hair healthier for weeks afterwards...

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hehe - no, I'm not taking it that far. I'm just squeamish enough to draw the line before that. I did look into donating the cord blood to research and therapy (because it's rich in stem cells, and thus can treat leukemia and other diseases), but was disqualified because of my 3 months spent in the UK in '96. Mad cow, you know. Ah well.

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

"*smacks forehead* YOU'RE Mali!"


You are a collasal retard and I still love you.

Re: *puts on the doula hat*

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

LOL
Yes. Yes, I am. And thank you.

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

Yay for baby update!

Sounds like you've made out pretty well! Here's hoping this is equally true of labor and all that good stuff.

Being able to get close to sinks again

Hee hee. This made me think of that insurance commercial (you may have seen it at some point) with the little pregnant gal in a leather recliner who can't get out of her chair to answer the door because she has no use of her abs to pull herself up. It's such a giggle-worthy little commercial.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thanks - though I figure, even if labor is awful, I'll have made out pretty good in the end. Better to have nine good months and then one or two horrible days, than vice-versa. I hear about women who were throwing up the ENTIRE nine months, and jeez, I figure nothing could be worse than that. But that's rare, so don't fear, and all. :)

Hehe - I am totally getting to the point of groaning and grabbing the edge of the couch to haul myself up. Getting out of bed is interesting too. (You know how cows and elephants have to do a couple practice rolls, when lying on their side, before they can gather the momentum to heave themselves up? Yeah, it's similar.)

[elfinity.livejournal.com]

(You know how cows and elephants have to do a couple practice rolls, when lying on their side, before they can gather the momentum to heave themselves up? Yeah, it's similar.)
Lol! Sorry, it's very funny the way you describe it ^_^

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hee hee. It's OK; it's meant to be funny. Humor keeps me healthy.

[elfinity.livejournal.com]

Good luck, and I hope you have an easy time in labor!

I've been so scared about pregnancies from all the horror stories that it is nice to hear something good about them.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thanks again. Yes, I got fed up with hearing the horror stories, and wanted to make sure the "other" side was heard. Enough with the reign of terror! :) As with many topics, I think the "silent majority" has a fairly easy, or at least not bad, time of things. It's just the loud complainers we hear more often.

[elycia.livejournal.com]

You look FANTASTIC. And you'll be so happy with yourself when you don't have to worry about shedding 50 or so excess pounds down the road. You've kept an eye on celebs w/child--did you see pics of Kate Hudson? My god, she looked like a beached, bloated whale. That's got to be insanely hard on one's body.

You made me laugh with your comment aboe about not being sick for all nine months. I had a coworker whose wife went through that, REFUSED to do it again, got her tubes tied, and found out a month or so later she was pregnant when she had the procedure (and doomed to another nine months of barfing). Life has a sick sense of humor on occastion...

I have *plenty* of friends who've had straightforward, unremarkable labors and births. The horror stories are the exception. The woman who lived in our house before me gave birth to her last two kids right there in the house, w/o meds. Among my friends, the only ones who've had major problems at birthing knew they were going to have them way ahead of time (placenta previa, pre-eclampsia, etc. etc.). And even in those cases moms & kids are fine today. So while labor isn't probably what you'd choose for a relaxing holiday weekend, I think it will be nowhere near as bad as some folks would like to scare you into thinking.

And maybe you'll be like one of my good friends, who made me *cringe* by sitting crosslegged on her hospital bed and bouncing around twelve hours after giving birth. (The child in question is now over 20 years old, but I still tease my friend about it.)

Thanks for the update! Look forward to the birth announcement! (And I still like "Schroeder.") ;-)

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

One of my online friends also suffers from extreme morning sickness. She's pregnant for the second time and just spends all day throwing up. Ugh. *shudders* Here's hoping that doesn't happen to me!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Eeek, poor woman. Well, most pregos feel some nausea at least, but it's seldom as bad as that. I do wish modern medicine would figure out WHY, and how to fix it, though. (Insert obligatory "If men got pregnant..." comment here.) :)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Oof - the tube-tying story does indeed indicate a sick sense of humor on fate's part. That kid must have been determined to exist. :)

Hah, I don't recall seeing pictures of Kate Hudson in that state, but I remember hearing she gained 60 pounds. Yikes.

Anyway, THANK YOU for the reassuring words! My family's got pretty ordinary birth histories too, so I'm not too worried, but it's always good to hear all the same.

And maybe you'll be like one of my good friends, who made me *cringe* by sitting crosslegged on her hospital bed and bouncing around twelve hours after giving birth.

I can hope so. Or even like my mom, who was apparently up and shoving her hospital bed into a more desirable position not long after giving birth to one of my older sisters. Rather shocked my grandmother, when she walked into the room to find her delicate recovering daughter involved in this activity. :)

(Schroeder is pretty cute...though not easy for everyone to spell...)

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

Molly dear, you are really remarkable! Even when you're waddling about you still manage to write entertaining posts. :)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's a good diversion. I guess writing always has been, come to think of it.

[modmerseygirl.livejournal.com]

I found this post very interesting, indeed :-)....and thanks for sharing that current photo with us! It shouldn't be long now. :-) Looking forward to hearing about your little boy as he grows up. Those will make for some fabulous Live Journal entries, no doubt. :-)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thanks, m'dear. Sometimes it seems like the day will NEVER arrive, but I guess that's one guarantee of pregnancy...it does end, and generally within a very definite time frame. :)

[narfistic.livejournal.com]

I sort-of missed feeling the baby move. Not the almost painful squirming and kicking naturally, but before that. It was a very strange feeling, unlike anything else. Made me feel unreal.

Also, I didn't "connect", emotionally, the baby I ended up having with the baby-in-my-tummy, who was a different creature altogether. I didn't _miss_ the baby-in-my-tummy, but a few times those first weeks I suddenly thought of it and was momentarily surprised that it was gone.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, anyway. :) It'll be great to meet the little person and see who he/she is.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thank you - yes, I've been curious how my preconceptions of this baby will need to be altered once I meet him "for real". I could almost see myself missing the sensation of feeling him move, except that I'll still get to--just from the outside. :)