Saturday, February 14, 2009

the wait begins

the britax car seat is finally in the car, albeit uninstalled. i called the police department to schedule an safety check, only to be played a message about 'budgetary constraints' and 'no longer offering this service.'

maybe it's the cold, but i'm tired and my brain is slowly curling up in a ball. i need to come up with a paper proposal by tomorrow, but of course i've procrastinated for the past month. there's still a bit of work left to be done for my adviser's book illustrations, yet all i want to do is nap and listen to music. i guess this is what happens when you're 38.5 weeks pregnant. i still need to go into the office next week--yesterday i felt great, today not so much. if it weren't so cold all the time, i would go to the library and try to get some work done. i'm feeling restless today, nervous and tired at the same time.

we now have a short list of about 5 names. i wasn't sharing any for the longest time, but now people are managing to coax names out of me. i had no idea settling on a name would be so difficult. it's almost as bad as finishing this chapter....

oh, and our birth plan consists of two things:
quiet environment (i.e. no chitchatting near me)
do not offer pain medication/interventions

we like to keep things simple.

10 comments:

Catherine said...

Very exciting being so near, and totally agree with the birth plan points. The one no-drug pain reliever I can recommend (which in my experience and other's also helps dilatation) is to get in a nice warm shower when contractions are getting on. Direct the shower head around your pelvis and back. I know it was my second birth but I went from 2cm to 8/10cm in about 1.5 - 2 hrs. Full on, for sure, but at least the birth wasn't drawn out leaving me exhausted (like my first). In any case, it helped with the pain so well worth trying.

Be sure to rest. It certainly doesn't sound like you are! Stuff the books and paper, I say. This time is all about y.o.u..

erica said...

4 hours of mild contractions last night, 5-6 minutes apart, and then this morning, nothing.

sigh.

i agree, i need to rest, but oh it really had me panicked last night, too, because i need to turn in something to my advisers today or tomorrow if i'm already having contractions 8 days before my due date.

congrats on lucy deux, i can't believe your labor only lasted 3 hours! i will definitely take a warm shower when things are really getting started...

Moya said...

My friend Amanda also took a shower (although her labor was long and difficult). I hope everything goes well, Erica. My friend Nicole had contractions for several days before she had her son last summer.

erica said...

moya-
i suspect this is going to take a while for me, too, especially since it's my first.

i guess this means i should try and take naps during the day, who knows whether my nights will consist of timing contractions this week!

i'll keep everyone updated...

Moya said...

Amanda slept during her labor, just so you know! I believe she slept in the shower.

Please keep us posted--you are in our thoughts and we wish you well as you go into your final days of pregnancy.

Catherine said...

As for the contractions that come and go, I do believe they are quietly progressing things. I was already three cm before being induced. They won't be for nought!

erica said...

i hope things are progressing, after that first bout of contractions--nothing. well, it'll happen when it happens, i guess.

it's a good thing i have so much work left to do, otherwise i would worry myself endlessly.

evencleveland said...

Hang in there - and I agree with Lucy. Do whatever you need to do to feel happy and rested - paper proposals be damned!

erica said...

ugh, my adviser emailed me last night asking for a bunch of things (outline, second chapter) by today. there's something wrong with staying up until 1am when you're having preliminary signs of labor.

this baby is coming in the next day or two, you can bet on it. the real question is, can i finish a chapter draft today? no. but i'm going to try anyway. otherwise, there's a good chance i won't have funding for next year. it really makes me wonder why we do this to ourselves.

Moya said...

I'm sorry that you're going through that with your advisor, Erica. Just get anything to him/her. There's always time to edit later (I say this as a horrid perfectionist who goes back over drafts way too many times).