39 weeks, 4 days August
  ¶ 12:58 AM

  39 weeks, 1 day At 3AM, I started having contractions every 10-12 minutes. This went on for an hour and a half so I woke Anand up just to let him know. Then we both fell asleep until about 5:45AM. At that point, he became wide awake and started recording the time of the contractions (still 12 minutes apart, 30 seconds in duration) . This can go on for days, but we're still very happy and excited about the progress. At this point they feel like weak to average menstrual cramps but the strength of some seem to be an indicator of things to come.
  ¶ 3:21 PM

  38 weeks, 5 days August is finally here! The month of August, that is. Baby August is still taking his sweet time. Now and then she gets into the right position, facing my back, head towards the ground. Then she kicks a kidney, punches the liver. It was much more comfortable when she was in her old favorite position, head towards the ground, facing my right side. The midwife said August is at the -2 position and I was possibly 80% effaced. Our doula was quite surprised. She said some of her clients have gone into labor at -2. Other signs that August is on his way: I lost weight (1-2 pounds), had some bloody show this morning, and August got really excited about some of the practice contractions. The contractions are quite small though. If I'm busy, say, reorganizing the junk drawer, I barely notice.
  ¶ 10:00 PM

  38 weeks, 1 day My sister organized our baby shower brunch this Sunday and it couldn't have come at a better time.  I had been looking forward to it all week.  I'm at the point where going out and seeing folks is a mite inconvenient.  I simply have to be near a bathroom, water, and food at all times.  Woe to Anand if one of those is somehow lacking. 

Anyways, the friends came and they brought food!  Some even brought both food and a gift!  We supplied bagels & spread, milkbread straight from the oven, homemade peach pie, and balls of three different types of melons (Canary, Casaba, and Cantaloupe).  The guests brought several kinds of muffins, fresh squeezed OJ, pastries,  yummy bread from Campbell Baking, lox for the bagels, & ice cream.

The requisite games were amusing overall.  The baby food tasting contest was in another category.  For starters, the taste of the food did not match up with the identity of the food.  The fishy smelling jar turned out to be beef.  And just to prove this point, the person who won this contest (Julia) did not even bother to taste any of the baby food.  She merely observed the colors, textures, and smell.  Good thing for her.  It turns out that Gerber baby food has recently had a ricin contamination scare in California.  It's been going on since May but for some reason the story has only been released today. 

It was great to see everyone - but I did feel overwhelmed by the realization that I won't be seeing these friends so easily in the coming months.  It'll require special effort - I'll be a sleep-deprived milk machine and Anand will be a diapering automaton.  In any case, this realization made me appreciate seeing them all the more. 

Another highlight was the kids!  Nicholas was the center of attention with his verbal virtuosity, little Cyrus (who happens to be a lover of flowers) surprised everyone by pulling the balloons from the ceiling, and Evelyn screamed with delight at just about everything, but especially when Cyrus pulled the balloons down.    It was great fun watching them bounce from one play activity to the next.

My only shower related regret is that in my sleepless fog, I didn't think to pass around all the cute and cool presents for everyone to play with.  Who can resist commenting on little hat & booties or a handknit blanket?  

Alright, I'm going to try to get some real sleep tonight if the hormones will let me. 


  ¶ 10:56 PM

  36 weeks, 4.5 days  
We just bought a used infant car seat and stroller combo.   There's a possibility this gear is unnecessary since we have the convertible car seat and a sling, but it's nice to be prepared just in case the baby takes after Anand and hates to be woken up.  The convertible is HUGE compared to the infant car seat.  As far as car solutions go, we're all set for the next 2 years. 
  ¶ 12:38 PM

  36 weeks, 4 days I hear that the baby starts to move less sometime in the last month due to lack of space.   I'm starting to believe that since nobody told August about this, August tries to make more space... every 3 hours.  Hard to believe a 5.x pound baby can kick so hard!  When August is at it for longer than 30 minutes, I often feel sore in several places.  Anand has a lot of fun watching the action from across the room.  I suppose this is our new source of entertainment now that we've cancelled cable tv.
 
It's possible that the sheer act of writing out exactly what we do and don't have for August contributed to the terror I was feeling last night.  To assuage these feelings, Anand and I went on a shopping spree at 11PM last night on BabyCenter.  We thought hard about what we had to have to make our first week comfortable and came up with: Combi infant rocker (that will serve as our mini-bassinet for toting around the house - unlike Anand, I don't think I will be able to sling August 24/7), Euro baby bathtub (supposedly more comfortable than sponge baths), high speed baby thermometer (for rectal or underarm readings), Balmex diaper cream, Brest Friend nursing pillow, Avent newborn bottles and pacifiers (recommended for switching between bottle and breast), and the all important tube of nipple lotion.  After that, we signed up for all the diapering gear from our local diaper monopolist: cloth, disposable, clips, wipes, hamper, and plastic pants.  The baby shower is in a week, yes, but at least now we have the absolute basics.  We've even read both Penny Simkin books.  We're ready.  Everytime I say this, I get a little closer to believing it.  
  
  ¶ 7:32 AM

  36 weeks, 3 days Anand & I took the whole week off from work and spent the time preparing for the baby.  We made room in the office, but still need to finish clearing out the boxes.  We shopped for a crib, but decided that we preferred to sleep with the baby next to us or to put the baby in a fully reclinable rocker.  We shopped for a stroller, but decided that that could wait as well.  We actually put a changing table/dresser into a shopping cart and wheeled it around, but decided we would change the baby on the floor and buy a nice dresser when it was old enough to help "clean up".  After much discussion, we only managed to purchase a few things.  We bought 10 washcloths and 2 stuffed animals.  Anand looked into a diapering service.  The local one apparently has a monopoly.  We already have a few onesies and swaddling blankets from my mom.  We bought a sling to carry the baby in- I was amazed that we both had approximately the same chest size *sob*.  The carseat my mom bought still needs to be installed into the car.  We purchased a huge inflatable (65cm) ball for me to sit on - even the glider chair has become uncomfortable.  We cleared out a shelving unit for all the baby gear.  The blanket that Julia knit for us has a proud shelf all to itself.  I still need to pack a bag for the hospital.  We finally got around to doing enough research to finish our wish list.  http://amazon.com/gp/registry/2CYIFF2FPYEXS  Jennie is organizing our potluck brunch & baby shower.  Anand and I bought some sandals.  Due to the swelling, I am down to just one pair of shoes and the sandals.    We discussed our birth plan with our doula and it has our midwife's approval.  Our doula is going to meet with us again this Saturday to give it another once over.  Here's the birth plan:
 
Birth Plan for Connie Chin & Anand Hattiangadi
 
 
Midwife: Olga Libova & Lin Lee
Labor Support: Anand (husband), Gloria Tzuang (doula)
Hospital: El Camino Hospital
 
Introduction
We desire a birth with a natural focus.  Since we are usually quiet and mellow, we prefer a nurse with a similar personality and a desire to help with a natural birth.  Connie would prefer a quiet room with natural or dim light.
 
Connie’s Fears:
1) Needles
2) Strangers suddenly showing up, especially men.  Connie prefers female nurses.
 
First stage
Pain management: Massage, breathing exercises, staying mobile by walking and changing positions, warm compresses, warm showers.  No need for nurses to offer drugs – Connie will ask if pain relief is desired.
 
Medical intervention: Connie prefers intermittent monitoring to accommodate changing positions.  If continuous monitoring is necessary, we would appreciate the use of a telemetry unit.  Connie prefers no pitocin augmentation.  If labor is not progressing, Connie would like to try other natural methods such as nipple stimulation and walking. If her water has broken she would like to wait as long as possible before trying pitocin.  Connie prefers no IV unless necessary due to her fear of needles.
 
Second stage
Positioning for delivery: Connie would like to try multiple positions (i.e., hands and knees, squatting) to find the one that works best for her.
 
Pushing: Connie would like to practice spontaneous pushing, i.e., wait for an urge to push before starting to push. Also, Anand or Gloria will do the counting if it’s needed.  Connie would appreciate guidance in when to push and when to stop so the perineum can stretch.
 
Medical intervention: We would prefer to try vacuum extraction or forceps if possible before a C-section.  But if a C-section is necessary, Connie would like to have Anand & Gloria with her at all times.  Also, if the baby is not in distress after the C-section, we would appreciate Anand being given the baby to hold as soon as possible.  

 
Newborn Plan for Connie Chin & Anand Hattiangadi 
  
Connie would like to have the baby placed on her chest immediately after delivery. 
Unless there is an unusual situation, Connie would appreciate if the cord cutting and evaluation of the baby can be done with the baby on her chest, both covered by a blanket.
Connie would like to keep the baby on her while she delivers the placenta and any tissue repairs are made. 
Anand would like to cut the cord. 
Connie would like to delay eyedrops until the baby is taken to the nursery. 
Anand does not want the baby to be circumcised. 
Please allow Anand to accompany the baby to the nursery.
Connie would like to see a Lactation Consultant.
Connie would like the baby to room-in with her.
We plan to delay the Hep B vaccine.
We prefer that the baby not have any sugar water, formula, or pacifiers because we plan to breastfeed exclusively.
Please discuss any procedures with us prior to administering them.  
   

  ¶ 8:06 AM

  33 weeks, 5 days We just finished our childbirth classes. I thought all Americans watched a childbirth video as part of their traumatic, Puritan sex ed at around age 11. But from the nervous reactions of the 20-30-something year olds in our childbirth class, maybe this is not the case. I'm just glad our instructor forgot to show us graphic scenes of C-sections. She offered us a choice of leaving the room for 2 minutes but she forgot to show us the video. Half of the class did get teary and sniffly at the birth scenes, including us. I was really quite surprised having never been moved by childbirth scenes- the TV and movie versions don't come close to capturing the emotional intensity. Unfortunately, I think our media gives everyone preconceptions of the intensity of the pain instead of the emotion. I don't doubt that it is painful, but I do expect the difficulties to be around endurance, not pain.   ¶ 11:40 AM

  33 weeks, 5 days For most of the pregnancy, I had an aversion to chocolate. All it took was some handmade chocolates from Confiserie Louise Decarie (4424 St-Denis, Montreal (514) 499-3445) to turn that all around though. Uniquely Quebecoise - chocolates made in the French tradition, but many of them have heavenly maple syrup fillings!   ¶ 11:34 AM