Still Pregnant

I'm due in ten days, so I shouldn't be hoping to go into labor soon, but I am. Micah predicts next Monday. My last day of work is this Friday. Tonight I led a public meeting in Orinda for their Bicycle, Trail and Walkway Master Plan that I'm managing. Came home all invigorated from the meeting and am just now winding down enough to go to bed.

Real Round Belly - 38 weeks

This is probably the most surreal view of my larger-and-larger belly. I gained 1 pound this week, 3 pounds the week before. I'm just now beginning to want to stop being pregnant. It's kind of like wishing for Christmas to come, except with shortness of breath, inability to pick anything up from the floor, aching hips keeping me up at night, and exhaustion.

Real Round Belly - 38 weeks
Originally uploaded by lauren buckland
Oh, and here's some pictures from the baby shower.

Pica, Status, Baby Shower

Ever heard of pica? It's common in kids and pregnant women--a craving for inedible or strange things, like dirt, ice, baking soda. I'm pretty sure I have a mild form of it--I really like the smell of Pine Sol, roof tar and fresh asphalt. I discovered my cravings as they were repaving the street in front of our work building. They don't know what causes it, but it tends to be related to an iron deficiency. And women who had it as kids are more likely to have it when they're pregnant. I think I may have had pica as a kid--I remember standing in the car exhaust breathing in the fumes because they smelled so good. Plus I did (still do) really like the smell of mildew.

In other news, my doctor seems to think I'll be on time or maybe a bit early. Micah leans over to my belly several times a day and tells junior that he should just stay in there for a week and a half longer so Daddy can get his job applications done.

And, lastly, my neighbors Else and Emily threw a wonderful baby shower for us! Else's sister decorated the house, and we had a lot of our friends come for a potluck brunch. Micah's parents came down from Humboldt for the day. It was great to see everyone, and I'll post photos soon.

Things are Coming Together

We're close to ready. Some items that we've gotten done recently:

• Purchased used glider on Craigslist ($200 for $500 glider, great deal)
• Looked at rugs for office/baby room
• Got permission from our landlady to use a spare dresser she has in the garage (Micah's dresser will be the changing table)
  
• Found a doula in training who needs one more birth before she can become certified and will interview her soon
  
• Took cats to vet for a flea bath and nail trimming (they are so much happier now)
• Calculated how many days a week I have to go back to work in January (4 at my current salary, possibly 3 if we're really budget-conscious, I get a raise or we find low-cost daycare)
• Ordered diaper service
• Got references for about 15 home-based daycare centers in Berkeley near my work
• Researched breast pumps and decided on one
  
• Signed up for baby CPR and first aid classes
  

It's been a lot of work. Especially while working full-time, ok more than full-time, and not getting enough sleep at night. (Stress, aches and pains and a highly compressed bladder will do that to you.) Surprisingly, I'm not too overwhelmed. I think it helps that I'm still listening to the relaxation CD that came with our hypnosis class, and it works wonders. When Micah gets the chance to read a script to me, that is also very nice.

Saturday we have a little pre-baby birthday party brunch that my backyard neighbors are organizing. Super sweet!

Stinson Beach Day Off

My work organized a trip to Stinson Beach last Friday. You can see pictures if you click on the one below. It was actually really warm -- 73 degrees--and I probably could have gone swimming if I was so inclined.

Lauren Wading
Originally uploaded by lauren buckland

Only four weeks left!

The photo is from last week, but I'm already bigger. I don't look too happy because my back was hurting. I gave up biking to work because of it. Now I walk 1/2 mile to the bus stop or *gasp* drive to work.

This weekend Micah and I spent a lot of time organizing and cleaning the house and comparison shopping for the furniture we need--a glider chair for nursing, a new desk and desk chair for Micah, a new, possibly bigger bed for us, and a rug for the office/nursing room/studio.

I went to yoga class on Saturday and saw a woman from our hypnobirthing class--she's one week overdue and they want to induce her. She's trying all kinds of things to naturally induce labor--including eggplant parmesan and spicy pizza, walking, intimate relations with her husband. Another woman from our class gave birth 3 weeks early and it was less than three hours from her water breaking to delivery. First child, too.

My last day of work is Oct 17th, and I'm looking forward to having a week to relax and get the last things in order, and get some sleep before the little one comes along and changes everything.

Thirty Five Weeks
Originally uploaded by lauren buckland

No photos, but some stories

I guess I'm supposed to have people coming up to me and grabbing my belly and offering unsolicited, rude advice, but I haven't experienced that at all. Instead, my interactions with strangers has been really nice. Here's some examples, most taking place on public transit (and nicely illustrating why I like taking the train and bus):

Micah and I were waiting for BART at Embarcadero station after Sunday Streets and a man about 65 approached us with a plastic bag. The bag was completely full of dates. He offered us some, stating that back in his country, they always made sure pregnant women ate dates, as they were very good for pregnant women. We each grabbed a handful, and they were delicious.

I was walking back to BART along Market Street after having brunch at the Blue Bottle Cafe and seeing the Frieda Kahlo exhibit at SFMoma with Danette, Jay, Sabrina, Jenny, Derek, Alex and one of Alex's friends. A young (20's?) Asian guy walks up next to me and says, "you're having a girl." I say no, actually, it's a boy. We begin to talk and it turns out his high school sweetheart is pregnant. We walk down to BART together and he tells me about how they found out. His girlfriend's grandmother had a dream about fishes and at the next family gathering pointed to her granddaughter and said "I had a dream. You're pregnant." Turns out she was right, and neither of them knew at the time.

I was taking the bus home from work today and three preteen girls got on. They were chatting and giggling in the back of the bus, and one of them came up to me and asked if I was pregnant. I said yes, and the others all came over and asked if it was a boy or a girl and started telling me about how their sister and their cousin were both pregnant. We all got off at the same stop and one of the girls asked if she could touch my belly, and I said yes. Another asked if we had a name yet and I said no. She asked what the baby's father's name was, and I said Micah. She said we should name him that. Then they all got on another bus to go to Telegraph Avenue.

I got on the bus last week on my way to Cafe Grattitude to meet some friends for a birthday dinner. The bus driver saw me and said, "How you two doing?"

Oh there's one more...I was early to Cafe Grattitude (a vegan, raw, organic, hippy, love-in sort of place) and the hostess seated me early. As I was waiting for my friends, our waitress came over and told me about a website where women give birth in the Black Sea among dolphins birthasweknowit.com. Then the bartender gave me a free sample of an amazing sweet almond drink.