Twenty Six...and Twenty Seven....Weeks

Well, pooh, I've almost made it to the end of this week, and I never posted about last week! (Counting for the week ends every Wednesday.) So, I think I'll smoosh the two weeks together, since they're mostly smooshed in my mind, anyway.

I had a dream last night that Caleb was born. The birth was so easy--the only hard part was that I'd gotten bee stings all over my arms from a random swarm of bees, who were all now dead, through an even more random poison in the house that obviously affected no one but the bees. I guess I figured, after bee stings, what's a little labor and delivery, eh?

Last night was our second Lamaze class, and we saw two videos, not just one. As a side note, these videos remind me a lot of nature videos. We're watching this natural occurrence (which looks very unnatural, by the way) which takes about the same time as watching a snake molt--and almost as boring until the very end--and there's a soft narrator in the background: The mother draws inside herself, no longer worried about the world around her, but pulling from the strength of her instincts. Her family gives her constant and quiet support. She rests when she can.... I'm pretty sure they just pull the script from "How Farm Animals Are Born" and add in a bit about families or something to make it for us. Thankfully, the end of the movie ends in happiness and tears, whereas the other nature movies usually end in, "And the mother eats her young, thus negating all her hard work." Every time a baby is born in these movies, I tear up. It reminds me of when Ian was born, and what a relief to see him and hear him. I know I'm going to cry when Caleb's born, and it's a pretty safe bet that Jon will be crying (Caleb, too, now that I think of it), so you can bet we'll be a big snotty mess at the end of our ordeal!

On another note, last night's videos were about the different positions to be in during labor. Everything was fine until they showed a lady screaming during contractions. I thought I could do this, and then it turns out they've been editing out all the horror stories. That one just managed to slip through the cracks, and now I'm not so sure I want Caleb to come out. Ever.

Speaking of the little guy, let's see what kind of growing he's been doing the last couple of weeks.... Caleb is almost 2 pounds now! He's 14.5 inches long, and his lungs are developed enough at this point that they would be able to function (with medical intervention) out in the open. Let's hope he doesn't have to try them out for several more weeks!

I've been trying to notice things about Caleb: does he have a sleep pattern, has he gotten the hiccups, how is he situated in the uterus. But, alas, I have no idea about any of these questions. I've never been good at noticing developing patterns. I think I would've noticed the hiccups, though. I do notice that he seems to have direct access to my hip bone, because I could swear he pokes it every once in awhile. Sometimes his pokes actually make me jump, though they're so fleeting that they don't really hurt.

My belly seems to have slowed its growth--maybe it's absorbing the 8 pounds I packed on last month, which evidently did NOT, in fact, go to my belly. I know this because I now have stretch marks on my rear, not my belly, and I know that Caleb is not growing in my rear. That's all me....sigh.... Anyway, there's a girl who's 8 weeks behind me, and her belly is as big as mine! Granted, she's teeny tiny, so she's all belly, but still, I have an 8-week jump on her! I guess Caleb is just spreading out more than balling up in front.

Otherwise on the pregnancy front, I've noticed it's getting harder to get up and down from the floor, which is where I spend a lot of my time during photo shoots! I've also cried more--twice in two days last week--which is very unusual for me. On a good note, I'm sleeping through the night, now! It turns out that it wasn't me having to get up to pee that made me wake up. It was the cats. They've been kicked out of the room, and I'm sleeping very nicely. A couple of nights in a row, I slept very fitfully, but I think it was from an overworked brain still trying to think things out. Three photo shoots and the Big Shift in one weekend can do that to you, I guess.

Speaking of the Big Shift, it's almost complete! Our living room is all shifted around, desks and computer added, and I really like it! I mean, not just, "oh, I can tolerate it for the next few months." I really like it! I think it's a good layout, and won't feel too cramped at all. So that's nice. When we get all the random stuff put away, I'll take pictures.

And I think that about covers these last two weeks! More to come on this exciting journey!