Pregnancy Ups and Downs

Downs:

• We still haven’t seen where the birth will happen. We still haven’t been able to tour the birthing center.  At our appointment this past Friday morning the entire birthing center was full! Now we’re getting worried the baby will be here before we are able to tour.
• Uncontrollable emotions. At our last midwife appointment we discussed the worst case scenarios for two different reasons I might have to have a c-section.  The first was the “we’ve tired absolutely everything but you aren’t progressing” scenario which results in a much more calm transition to c-section than the emergency. The second scenario is the emergency c-section, which after hearing their protocol/procedures around this left me feeling a little traumatized and I burst into tears.  This is only the second time during this pregnancy I have ever spontaneously become so overwhelmed with emotion that I burst into tears.   I already knew the reasons for a c-section, that there is always a possibility and the general info on how it works but it was really overwhelming to hear what could happen to ME. Luckily our birthing center/hospital as a 16% cesarean rate which is half of what the national average for c-sections.
• Aching hips. I had been doing really well with my hips and sleeping but this past week my hips have been killing me!

Ups:

• Babyshower – On Saturday my best friend, Cate, hosted a baby shower for Neil and I.  It was a wonderful party and we will be writing about it later this week!
• Tackling the “To-Do List” – We have lots to get done on our “Before The Baby Arrives List” and this past week(end) we were able to accomplish a number of them (some of which are weekly tasks) including laundry, cleaning out the fridge, dishes, and organizing.  We still have a lot more I want to do to get the house in a good place so that we can maintain some sort of order but it’s a start!
• Head Down. The baby is still head down! After finding out that s/he was breech at 31 weeks,  we had been a little worried that s/he wouldn’t flip.  At our last appointment, s/he had flipped but there was still time for them to move again.  At this point, our midwives say there is about a 2% chance that s/he won’t stay head down (or a 98% chance that they will!)!
• Date night. Neil and I went out  for date night on Friday, something we are trying to do as much as we can before the baby gets here.  We went for our traditional prenatal appointment day date at American Flatbread and had a great meal and great conversation.   We then headed to Burlington waterfront for his work’s annual  summer party(Studio 54 themed) and stayed until the tent was evacuated due to severe thunderstorms.  While we missed the rest of the  party (the original Village People played!), it was great to get out and see everyone dressed up and even catch up with people for as short of a time as it was.