Impeccable Hearing

My friend Paula is pregnant and she said her hearing is way better. I didn't really believe her but I have noticed it too. I can hear Bryce's phone vibrate two floors away. Last night I could hear dripping above me and I knew that our roof was leaking in the attic. I woke Bryce up and we got buckets placed to catch the small drip.

Durbins due in July

Durbins due in July, originally uploaded by Shannon Marye.

This weekend we went to Kate Durbin and Chris Pickett's wedding. It was a lot of fun. All the immediate family was there and in a great mood. Teresa and I are due a week a part.

It's just one-two days

On the roller coaster of emotions, I am on the small hill going down. Last weak I was freaking about labor, this week I am realizing it is just one day, maybe two. I can do that.
I'm doing way to much these days. My "I have to get ready" brain is in full tilt.

100th post, 80 days left

Baby is finally heavy to the point where I feel the extra weight when I switch positions or start walking. I am pulling muscles all over. I have babysitting Diana on the weekends and I am exhausted. I feel a turn coming as I am getting movement on my left side, which has never happened before.

Who s Yoni

Bryce and I learned a new hippy dippy term this month. Yoni. Our midwives need a yoni update from time to time. This week I also got a "prescription" of sorts to let my yoni get plenty of sunlight. Not exactly sure how that is going to happen.

i wish i were an elephant

i want to be an elephant. i can't believe i only have like 2 months left of being pregnant. why so short? i want to be pregnant forever. i like having a family of 3 without the third one outside the belly. i also like not having to think about labor. i know it is going to be great but i am scared. it's like signing up for the iron man only it will be a surprise when the event actually takes place. i don't know how prepared i am for it. fortunately i am super confident in my support team. the only thing is after the event is over your life doesn't go back to normal, ever. ahhh, why did i do this? i know when June starts i am probably going to start peeing my pants on a regular basis. i'm going to be so clenched up i am going to be in labor forever just trying to relax and open.

Peanut Butter

It finally happened. I was eating grapes and thought "Hmm, these would be good with peanut butter." Unfortunately grapes are rather hard to dip into peanut butter. This probably isn't too far off because of course jelly is made of grapes, but still it seemed weird. I do not think I will be eating ice cream some day soon and want to put pickles in it however. I really only like pickles with beef.

Are you going to find out the gender?

Eventually.
I mean baby is not going to come out with a permanent loincloth on.
It is interesting what gender people think baby is.
My family all think it is a boy, partially because they just had a girl and want variety.
My internet old wives tale and Chinese horoscope says girl.
I dreamed last night I gave birth to a girl, but I've been thinking it is a boy.
I would love a little boy to give my dad a little side kick.
I would love a little girl to conquer the world with.
I love being surprised but I also hate the suspense when I know there is a surprise waiting. Maybe I should just go have a secret ultrasound and find out.

Knitting and Baby Group

On Wednesday I took off some work to go to a knitting group with a bunch of my favorite women in Elkader. They want to get me started on a little baby sweater they all said was really easy. They are going to meet every two weeks, the only negative thing is it in Wednesday mornings, during work. I have so much in common with these women except for a few major things. 1. I am not in my early 40s. 2. Although I am married to a man with his name in the title of his company, his profits do not yet allow me to comfortably be a stay at home woman with lots of extra curricular projects. Instead I am a working woman with lots of extra curricular projects.
Bryce and I were on the Seder Supper committee at Peace Church so we cooked all night on Wednesday, knowing the fruits of our labor would go unseen by us because we had a baby class last night. We brought Matza balls as to the potluck to connect us.
The baby class was great. Unfortunately, not all the couples were there. One is close to delivery, the other group was teaching a clay pottery class at Art Haus. We talked about comfort and how to deal with heartburn without Tums and exercises to keep baby moving to face the back. We also went over our diet records and I was encouraged to eat more. It is so weird for a woman over 200 pounds to find eating so difficult, but uh, I am just not hungry at all. We also watched a video of a birth in France that happened last month where the woman used low chanting to have one of the most beautiful births. I am very encouraged by how much laughter there always is at group meetings and I can just imagine the birth being just as relaxing as laughter unfolds. That is one thing I really want. Everyone thought my short clip about how tiny babies look when you are not pregnant and how huge they look when you are pregnant was entertaining.
Brenda did my exam this time and she noticed baby had a "beautiful growth." I love Brenda. Probably because she knows what lies under my flesh at this time more than I do. She talks to the baby just like it was lying on of my stomach rather than inside. When she felt for the baby it kicked in exactly each place she touched. She is like the baby whisperer or something. I have never had baby react to anything so directly before.
We also got a speech on elimination communication, which is not insane, but seems pretty close to it. If you want to learn more about it go to diaperfreebaby.org. Moira is a big supporter. Moira is a little extreme on things (Vegan is almost always the first sign), but one thing I admire is that she is able to live so inexpensively and yet organically and close to earth. She has great tips for how to buy organic without having to use the co-op.
Today baby is tickling my ribs. I don't know if it hand grasping or maybe the brushing of a lot of hair on internal organs, but it feels really weird.

Meeting with Dr. Schwartz yesterday was really great. We both felt reassured that home birth is a safe and viable alternative, and that we're not crazy or ignorant or (necessarily) brave.

Shannon was surprised to discover that the baby was breach during our visit (perfectly normal since the baby will move around a lot). I was surprised that the doctor had a guess about the sex of the baby just from listening to the speed of the heartbeat, but Shannon told me that it's a good indicator (I don't know which is which, though).