As Long as We're Waiting, Here's a Picture!

Phil took this last weekend (39 weeks and 4 days prego). We were in the arboretum here in Wilmington (the same place we were married). Phil had a photography assignment and took a bunch of great photos of plants and flowers. And then we walked around. I spent ALL day walking. We left the house around 10:00am and came back home around 7:30pm and all we did in between was was walk walk walk in stores, around town, along our street.
It was a good day.

Happy Due Date!

Today is September 28, 2010. But does Ridley know that? It's not looking likely. But I am definitely ready! I just have to get my body and my baby on the same page.
Come on you two, let's do this!

Why Natural Childbirth?

I am very determined to have a natural childbirth. When I tell people this, I've gotten some pretty interesting reactions. From "Oh...well, good luck," to "Oh yeah? Well, you might as well tie your uterus to the bumper of that truck over there and pull the kid out that way; it would be less painful." (Thanks for that visual, by the way, Woman I Just Met).
But the most common reaction is simply curiosity. People want to know why I'm not opting for drugs. Why am I choosing to experience pain that is supposed to be incomparable to any other pain on earth?
I have a lot of reasons why I want to do this au' naturale. Google the question and you'll find many other women around the country giving the same reasons: because I can, because any drug given to a pregnant woman has a multiplied effect on the baby, because you never really know how a drug is going to affect you personally, because when labor is over I want it to be over and not still recovering from pain meds, because I don't want an epidural to possibly slow down my contractions and then have to be given MORE drugs to "speed me up," because...you get the idea.
Let me express that I believe this choice is for each individual woman to make. I'm not commenting or judging any other woman's decision, because the choice she made was what was best for her and her family. This is simply MY reasoning for what is best for ME and MY family. Also, I’m not saying that I won't accept medical intervention if the need arises. Of course I know that birthing is unpredictable, and I want to put the safety of Ridley and myself above all else. But when it comes to choosing my first option of how I ideally want to give birth, I choose natural.

Childbirth is THE life experience of life experiences. I have at times thought of myself as being a collector of life experiences. After all, what are we given life for if not to be experienced? We weren’t made to sit and watch from the side lines, but to get up and play the game. I get a lot of pleasure out of getting the opportunity to experience something for the first time after hearing other people try and describe it. Maybe "pleasure" isn't always the appropriate word for life experiences that aren't so positive, but I always at least find the value of having experienced something first hand for the first time.

When I was a kid, this meant riding the biggest roller coasters that I was tall enough to ride, but also getting my first ear ache. In middle school it meant kissing a boy, but also getting dumped for the first time. In high school it was testing out my independence with friends and going to prom, but also finding myself on the wrong side of the rumor mill. In college it was traveling the world, but also feeling the full weight of being homesick. After college it was getting married to an amazing man and earning money in a field of work I enjoyed, but also experiencing my first job interview rejection.

I have never been one who wanted to "dull" an experience, good or bad. Every experience we have shape who we are, how we think, and how we interact with other people in our lives. Pain is painful, but it can also be useful.

Giving birth to a child is about the most kick a$$ thing there is on the planet! What's more kick a$$ than giving birth to a new life? Not much. Talk about a "life experience!" Sorry Arnold and Sylvester, but nothing you could ever do on celluloid could match the awesome power and strength that women possess while giving birth. And half the human population doesn’t even get an opportunity to experience it! It's an experience that is only offered to women.

I understand I can experience childbirth and still have an epidural. Every woman who gives birth, no matter what her particular circumstances, has an undeniably strong memory of the event (of course!). But I’m a purist. I want to be completely present, cognizant and clear headed during the experience. I want to be in the moment. I don't want to dull any sensation because every sensation is part of the experience. I want to drink it all in and have it with me, knowing that you don’t get many opportunities to experience this Life Experience (yes, with a capital “L” and “E”). It may be the most intense pain that I'll ever feel in my life, but I'll know what that really means, completely. I'll know what every step of the labor journey feels like, from the first contraction to the last push.

If unforeseeable things occur and I end up getting an epidural or having a Cesarean section, then that is the experience that I will have collected. I don't want to feel disappointed if that happens, because of course the most important thing is the next set of life experiences I get to have throughout Ridley's life. But as an ideal, going natural is the way I want to experience childbirth.

So now you've read the entire long winded post and you can go ahead and say it: "Spoken like a woman who's never given birth." Yep. That's exactly my point.

Maternity Photos

The photos at our home are by Rhonda Howard and the beach photos are from the Dana Jackson Photography Shoot at Fort Fisher. I think I'm about 34 weeks in these shots. (Doesn't Philip look great?)

The Countdown is On...

Hello Week 39! The phone calls and texts have started: "How are you? How are you feeling?" aka "Are you in labor? Are you gonna be in labor soon? When is Ridley gonna arrive?!" Heehee.

Well, I feel great. No signs of labor or imminent labor. I was 1 cm at my last checkup, which I was told is "perfect" for 38 weeks. I have a checkup again tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll check my dilation again. I think I'll go crazy if it's still at 1cm. I think it's best not to know for now. I'll probably check next week though. Excitement has definitely hit, but honestly I'm trying to conserve it since I don't know if Ridley will be on time or two weeks late!

In other update news, Phil and I went to a breastfeeding class a couple of weekends ago. I know Phil just went to support me, but when we got there I think he got a lot out of it (and he definitely wasn't the only partner there). Of course the best teacher is experience, so I'm anxious to try out some of the techniques we learned.

I'm still going to prenatal yoga every week, which has been fantastic. I'm definitely the furthest along in the class now. It's strange because I remember starting the class and not really even showing yet. And then one by one there would be news of another one of the women giving birth. Finally one day after talking about the latest birth, the instructor casually asked, "So who's the next one due in here?" I looked around the room trying to access who the next Momma was going to be before noticing everyone else looking at me! "Ah, I guess I am!" It was a strange feeling and exciting at the same time.

7 days until due date. I know there won't be an immediate blog update if anything should happen, but I promise Phil and I will get the word out. We're on Ridley's schedule now!

13 days!

Less than two weeks until due date at this point! Physically, I feel pretty good, too. I'm still working and plan to work all the way up until the end. I do feel the occasional awkwardness of pregnancy throughout the day, that's for sure, but I don't feel bad by any means. And I feel lucky and grateful that I've enjoyed my pregnancy and continue to enjoy it in its final weeks.
Ridley gets the hiccups EVERY day! At least once. It's hilarious and I wonder if she'll continue to get hiccups once she is out in the world. I heard another wives' tale that frequent hiccups are a sign of a full head of hair (although I can't think of any logical reason why this would actually be true), so we'll have to see!
Last Sunday night I was having quite a few Braxton Hicks and it made me realize just how close I really am to due date! Of course I didn't feel a single one the entire next day. It's impossible to tell how far away Ridley's birthday really is. I have a checkup at the end of this week that I'm looking forward to if only to perhaps find out if my body is progressing towards labor yet or not (last time I was checked two weeks ago I was 1/2 a cm dilated).

But in the meantime, here are a few pictures of me at 38 weeks. I don't think the pictures really do justice to the size of my baby belly, but it's close.

38 weeks

A full shot of the belly photo

This was after walking the dogs in the evening.

Under Ridley's Tree

Updated Nursery Pictures:

Overall view

Butterfly on the wall. A little 3D art.

Where I'm sure to spend many late night/early morning feedings!

There's that monkey again with the incredible mobile Stephanie made.

The already cluttered bookshelf and changing table/dresser.

An Aunt Elizabeth original little rocker with a Mama Creech original doll (1984 edition).

Ridley's latest picture on display.

Sadie inspects the room.

Nine Months

I hit 36 weeks this past Tuesday. Amazing. We've been planning for, talking about, and dreaming about Ridley the entire year of 2010! Whew. And now we're very close to finally getting to meet her. We'll see what her little face looks like, what kind of baby she is and how much trouble we're in with her!

People are asking me how excited I am. And I'm very excited! I am also nervous, scared, happy, curious, etc. I'm just a ball of emotions. Phil is excited and I'd say a little nervous too.

We received our car seat and stroller yesterday (thanks, Tammi!), I have washed her little clothes with mild detergent, and I have all the cloth diapers I could fit under the changing table. We even have a borrowed cradle all set up and ready to rock (thanks, Felicia and Wendy!). And when we travel or go to Grammy's and Grandma's, we have an entire portable nursery (aka a play yard with bassinet, changing pad and mobile--thanks, Mom!). I guess we're all set up, though it doesn't entirely feel like we're ready! Does it ever?

Any gamblers out there want to place bets on when Ridley will decide to arrive? ;-)

Here is my 36 week and 1 day tummy photo:

36 weeks 1 day

September's Here!

The countdown is on! Hello September, aka the month of Ridley's due date. She's due on September 28th, but of course we'll have to see when she decides to arrive. She could decide to wait until October. I've heard that the last month of your pregnancy feels like the longest for this exact reason: you don't really know when your pregnancy is going to end! Since I'm a big planner, this is probably going to drive me crazy. But all I can do is make sure everything is ready for her and attempt to stay mentally busy with other tasks so that it isn't the only thing I'm thinking about (much easier said than done).