Liam came three weeks earlier than expected (I was induced because of preeclampsia), but he was healthy enough on delivery to go straight into my arms, without pediatric intervention, and was released from the hospital, along with me, after the usual amount of time.
We couldn’t believe it when they let us, underslept as we were, take this little being home from the hospital, and the first few weeks of being new parents were rough. We’ve had some worries and scares, too, such as when Liam wasn’t gaining weight within a week of his birth (he’s now passed his birth weight, hurray!) and when he was hospitalized for a night because of suspected epilepsy (it turned out to be benign sleep myoclonus). My mother, bless her heart, was with us during the weekdays for the first three weeks we were home to help us get used to this parenting thing and keep the household from devolving into complete chaos. Many friends have come through for us with advice, deliveries of food, grocery shopping and other assistance. Now that we are getting more experienced, and Liam is sleeping for longer periods of time, it’s getting easier. Thank goodness.
]]>So while we don’t yet feel fully prepared (will we ever?), between our friends’ generosity and some more purchases of our own this past weekend, we’re getting there. Next step: installing the car seat…
]]>Yesterday – Tuesday – was our 32-week ultrasound, the one to determine “route of delivery”, i.e. will Sproglet come out the natural way or will he and I go under the knife at a predetermined time? The reason this was a question was because of a large, inconveniently placed fibroid located behind the birth canal. I’d been put on notice very early on, at around 10 weeks, that I would likely have a C-section birth because of it. Sigh.
Then, at around 24 weeks, the young OB in my practice made noises about “maybe not a C-section after all” and “it’s beneficial to be in labor for a while before having a C-section”. Oh great, I thought, confuse me! I was reconciled to the one and now I have to be prepared for the other? So I asked questions, got more information (tho’ not a definitive yea or nay – that had to wait until the next ultrasound), and we signed up for childbirth education, just in case.
But yesterday the ultrasound tech, as she swiped the transponder around on my ever-growing belly, said, “Ya know, I think the fibroid might not be a problem after all. Let me just see if Dr. S. is here to have a look himself to confirm.” Dr. S. came, and after a few minutes of swiping and looking, said “Yep, we’ll have Dr. M. do the pelvic exam to confirm, but it sure looks like that fibroid got pulled up out of the pelvis as the uterus grew. I think we can definitively confirm that we won’t be doing a scheduled C-section.” (Note the use of “scheduled” – he’s been around long enough to know that other things can come up, and I know that, too. But here’s hoping!)
So while I didn’t kiss the OB, I hugged him, and I fairly skipped and jigged into the next room to have the pelvic exam, which did confirm the first OB’s observations. Sprog is fully head-down and there’s nothing blocking his way out. Hurray!
P.S. Sproglet is now 3 lbs 13 oz (1.8 kg) and from all indications healthy and active. At one point, he even kicked the ultrasound transponder as it swept by his feet: in utero target practice!
]]>Life in Expectant-Parent-Land also means changing all sorts of priorities. Sleep has become very important. So has a good diet. My commitment to regularly attending Quaker meeting faded rapidly when it turned out that Meeting conflicts with pre-natal yoga on Sundays and childbirth education on Wednesdays; and doctor’s appointments trump everything during the work day.
But there are bright sides. It’s wondrous (when occasionally a bit painful) to feel the baby kick and squirm, and I’ve never felt so pleased to see my waistline expand. I feel great for being seven months pregnant – happy, fruitful, confident, balanced. There are worries, naturally, and I’ve had a few hormone meltdowns, but I also feel tremendously supported by family and friends. And C and I have gotten closer – a wonderful, wonderful thing. Truly, I feel blessed.
]]>We opted to miss the Point Brewery “Beer, Brats and Bands” festival, given that my ankle was/is still acting up, but did go to the downtown farmer’s market to get fresh veggies and flowers. The market has grown fantastically in recent years, and you can get everything from honey and maple syrup to goat milk soap to 9 different kinds of garlic to purple carrots and yellow wax beans. Neat.
We also wandered over to the Wisconsin River to see how it looked after the “draw-down”. The water level had been lowered in order for the dam to be repaired, exposing meters and meters of shallow riverbed. Despite warnings about blastomycosis, a nasty respiratory disease that can result from fungus present in the mud, all sorts of people were wandering about. Some were doing serious clean-up, and were dressed appropriately; others, well, let’s just say that they hadn’t paid attention to the sign.
The birthday celebration that night was very mellow—grilled steak, patatas alioli, French beans, and chocolate mini cupcakes. Mom gave me some maternity clothes that she found, plus things that she had gotten for the baby, as well as a hat/sweater/bootie set that she knitted from yarn my Grandma Doxtator gave her 30-odd years ago. Wow. Mom got a small but lovely ceramic bud vase from a gallery in Kinsale. (We also gave Dad a jar of honey from the Beara peninsula so that he wouldn’t feel left out.) Sunday, before we left, Mom harvested the first ripe tomato from their backyard and we also took a couple shots of me and my six-month belly to send to my brother. Another birthday happily and gently celebrated.
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