Thursday, May 28, 2009

We are now technically one month from the due date...

Dear dear neglected blog! So sorry to abandon you for over a week, but I have busy with various things, including hanging out with Kelli who's in town from Providence, enjoying the most wondrous four-day excursion to Ruby and John's paradise in Healdsburg, and navigating some new and not-so-awesome preg effects. I feel like things have changed much in the past few weeks and it's hard to know where to start. Basically, we're in the home stretch now. As in, this baby's coming soon, and I'm feeling it. And that's actually a good place to start...

  • We saw Amrit last Thursday, and after a great visit (during which we went over the finer points of what to expect when labor begins, when to call her, what to prepare for, etc) it was time to feel the baby. When she went to feel Ivy's head, she couldn't find it (I was only worried that she'd somehow become headless for about .2 seconds)—then she moved her hands down further, pressed deeper and deeper into my pelvis, and said aha (or something like that). Then she looked at us and said Well. I think we're having this baby sooner than we think! And Jason and I said oh really?!? Basically, Ivy is very, very low, very much in the ready-to-be-born position, and Amrit thinks this indicates that she'll probably come sooner than June 28th, the Official EDD (which we've always found to be somewhat spurious, based as it is on the first day of my last period, and not when we think we actually conceived). Amrit was careful to point out that you never know, and that Ivy could just be incredibly well organized and prepared, and might stick around for a while. But! She also predicts that this will NOT be a July baby, and that as of, say, June 7th or so, we should have all our ducks in a row and be prepared for the Big Day. I feel great about all this, and was happy to learn yesterday that we can get our birth tub a week earlier (June 7th in fact). Just in case. It's worth mentioning here that the psychic mystic hippies that Jason and I met in the woods in Hawaii in December (the ones who told me it's a girl and sang crazy blessing chants to my belly) also told us that "I'm more pregnant than I think" and that we're "having this baby sooner" than the end of June. And I kind of intensely believe in those two trippy stoner women. (If they're right, I'm flying back to the Big Island and getting some more life predictions...)
  • The day after this visit, Jason and I headed up to Healdsburg to see Ruby, John, Julia, and Todd, and to help prepare for the weekend. I met up with them at the Future Farmers of America Fair, and we wandered around admiring baby animals and livestock (no fear of swine flu amongst the FFA crowd!); Julia and Todd were thrilled to have joined John and Ruby on the Healdsburg Fire Dept. truck in the FFA parade the previous day. (Especially Todd, who handed out candy to innocent children whilst sporting his scruffy beard and Truck Stop Spirit Animal t-shirt.) And then we went back to Ruby's, where I remained in a state of utter awe and joy for the next several days. Let me just say: RUBY AND JOHN CAN THROW A PARTY. I mean, really. REALLY. Ruby's party prep skills, her attention to detail, the generosity that those two possess...it's all unreal. Their house looked gorgeous, the pizza oven was all ready to go, there was an unbelievable amount of delicious food, and everything was so freaking organized and well-orchestrated. The muddled cocktail bar was ready to go, the veggies were grilled and arranged just so, the dips and spreads and breads were ready. And the sweet, thoughtful touches were everywhere—the personalized Ivy Cat growth chart that Ruby got us; the 'Open Letters to Ivy Cat' notebooks that were set out for people to write letters in (and they did, and I've read them, and I've cried); the onesies hung up on a clothesline with stenciled letters on them that spelled out I V Y C A T...So so so wonderful. Aubs and Mali joined us and everyone pitched in and helped set up, food prep, beer drink, etc. Julia and Todd hung stuff, replaced sod, and did all kinds of other epic yardwork. I helped by napping and drinking water and peeing. I also made pizza dough and we did some trial runs in the oven. And then Saturday rolled around, and the fog burned off around noon, exposing glorious magical sun. Our guests began to arrive around 1 (clad in sweaters and flannels, for it was weirdly freezing down in the Bay) and by around 3 we were grilling pizzas and playing Baggo (courtesy of Lara and Mitch, who always roll with the fun lawn sports) and it was this amazing gathering of some of my favorite people ever, all relaxing and hanging and drinking and eating and being happy and sweet and awesome. Erin and Scott came over with Baby Trent, who is 3 weeks old and so tiny and cute and we got to do some holding and cradling and ogling and 'whoa this is gonna be us!' The dogs were in heaven, racing around and exploring the river. The pizzas were incredible; my favorite was a sweet pizza with peaches, strawberries, candied nuts, honey, and goat and blue cheese. OMG. The muddled cocktail bar was ridiculous, and excellent for non-boozers too—I think my fave there was muddled cilantro and basil w/ lime juice, jalapeno, and mango juice. So we played and played all day, watched some Lakers, ate and ate and ate and ate, sat around the firepit, and adored each other. I crashed early, and many guests stayed in Tent City, which was set up in the back. Sunday kicked off with a mind-blowing brunch featuring my favorite foccacia ever from Downtown Bakery that Ruby special-ordered, because she's a magical gem of a friend, and there were amazing scrambled eggs and guac a la Julia, and salsa a la Chuck, and breakfast potatoes (BEST EVER) a la John, and pastries and fruit and juice and champagne and aaaaahhhhhhh. And then! More hanging! River time! Tri-tip BBQ lunch in the redwood grove! More Baggo! Lounging in the sun! Nap! Yes. Most folks departed late Sunday afternoon, and by Sunday night it was down to the core crew. We were completely exhausted and flopped on the couch to watch sports (to John's chagrin) and Ricky Gervais' stand-up DVD (to John's giddy delight). Ruby made us YET ANOTHER meal and we all passed out early. The following morning involved another huge breakfast (we went out, this time), more lounging and friend-appreciating, and then we finally tore ourselves away and headed home. It really was such an incredible time, a little wedding reunion with the same wondrous vibes of love and appreciation. And again, the thing that makes me so happy: seeing my friends be friends with each other, watching them connect and talk and enjoy each other as much as I enjoy them. Despite our no-gift request, some people couldn't resist, and brought the loveliest, sweet things. Ivy will be so psyched on her Santa Cruz onesie and hoodie, her Made in California t-shirt, her bird song book, her whale mobile, her wooden rattle, her soft green blanket, her apple-printed swaddling blanket, her gorgeous white cotton dress, her pigeon onesie, and everything else. (And I will be psyched on the nursing pads—thanks Erin!) Everyone wrote the sweetest letters to Ivy in the notebooks, and I felt so loved and supported and excited to bring this child into such an amazing community of people. She will have no shortage of doting aunties and uncles, that's for damn sure. It also felt great to have the chance to spend time with friends before we kind of disappear for a while...after this weekend, which is Shower #2, in San Jo, I think we're gonna be ready to begin to retreat, to slow down, to rest up. Not that we're going into hiding, but it'll be time to retract a bit, to hunker down...
  • Which does bring me to the fact that, after months and months of total bliss and close to zero complaints, I'm finally starting to, well, feel it. The PUPPP is getting better and is going away, and though I've found a few itchy spots on my hip, they don't bug me that much, and don't seem to be expanding or spreading. I exposed the belly to a lot of sun over the weekend, and I think it was good for the PUPPP. But I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping, as I wake up and my hips hurt and my body feels all tense and sore and I have to turn from side to side constantly. HOWEVER, the past two nights have been great, thanks, I think, to swimming and hiking on Tuesday, and to the amazing bodywork that Kim did on me last night. She worked the sh*t out of my hip joints, really dug in there and ooooo it hurt, but I breathed through it, knowing it was worth it, and I woke up today feeling great. I might need her to come over every night...But in general, I'm slowing down a lot. After too much exertion (and by exertion I mean walking around the house, bending down once or twice, getting up from a seated position, etc. Not like actual exertion) I get pretty intense Braxton-Hicks contractions and have to chill for a bit. I went for a hike with two new pregs on Tuesday, Leila and Maria, both of whom are due end of July (along with every other preg I know, except Kate H!), and they were both jetting along and I was Slowy McSlowerson, with my groin pain and crampy leg. I felt like a jaded old lady, all oh you just wait until you're 36 weeks along, you'll feel it then kiddo! (Despite lagging, it was a great hike, with two delightful new preg friends and Leila's sweet dog Sammy, who was a good companion for Buzz) Anyway. Groin pain! Got it. She's all over my pelvis, and I'm feeling that. Sometimes I get twinge-y pains in my groin/pelvis, which could be from her grinding her head on my pubic bone I believe. Again, I'm not in any major pain, nor is anything consistently uncomfortable, and I am certainly not miserable. But I am feeling this. I am definitely definitely very pregnant. I am definitely having this baby soon.
  • On that note, her movements are totally insane and alien-like and kind of freaky and she does this thing I call Serpent Elbow, or Serpent Foot, where she pushes against my side and it looks like a damn serpent under my skin, some kind of alien monster snake rising up and trying to escape the prison of my belly. As I've said before, I love feeling her move around, but jesus, it really freaks me out sometimes. It's also becoming uncomfortable, as she gets bigger and stronger—I'm getting rib jabs now, and if she doesn't like the way I'm sleeping, she lets me know by pummelling me until I roll over. She has opinions! I love it. Really, I do.
  • And in closing, this weekend is Shower #2, at my parents' place, and I am thrilled for this one too. Family and family friends will be in effect, including Liza and Madeleine, who are coming down from Seattle for the occasion. Uncle Howard's in from Park City, which is fantastic (we had to ensure him that there will be beer and other men present) and Jason's dad and stepmom and mom are all coming in too. Doug's been working hard on the yard, beautifying it extensively, and Barb is planning away. As with Ruby's shower, there will be little to no 'shower-y' elements, just friends and family and food and drink and lots and lots of love and excitement.
  • Finally, I f*cking LOVE nectarines right now. If you love me, buy me a nectarine. Have a truckload of nectarines delivered to my house. Plant a mature, fruiting nectarine tree in my bedroom. Plant an orchard. They are so so so good.
  • P.S. Shower pics coming soon! The ones Julia took are best, so I'm waiting for her to put 'em up on Flickr...

3 comments:

fish fishtofferson said...

YAY YOU RULE SO HARD. Way to go baby!

love, elka from dan's house

Leila said...

I made it into your fabulous blog! I am famous!

Emdeezy said...

Wow! The home stretch! I so remember that! I remember the groin pain, it was like my pelvis was opening up, which it was. Hailey was born with a little red spot on the top/side of her head because she was just chillin down there for such a long while...I used a yoga ball to roll my pelvis on during the most uncomfortable times, it helped tremendously. =) I think other than that, I will not offer more advice, as you seem to have your wits about you, as well as a very strong support system, so who am I to give advice??

I am so happy for you, and John & Buzz, and Miss Ivy Cat!!!!! (Sorry if I missed anyone else!) I am dying to see more photos!! You are beautiful, and my momma saw some pics and said the same too! =) YEAY, momma-to-be-is-she!!!