We had a wonderful time visiting our families during our couple of vacation weeks. All of our travel went smoothly. We got to see many good friends and relatives we don't always get to see on trips home. We also had a really lovely baby shower thrown by my mom and sister. Then we flew to Alabama.
Alabama has been quite an adjustment for us. It's hot and very humid, but those things don't bother me as much as all the bugs. There are tons of giant cockroaches, mosquitos, and all kinds of other bugs I don't have names for because I've never seen them before now. I guess you could say this place is very full of life in that respect. Oh and then there's this from my walk with the dog a few mornings ago:
We've also noticed a difference in culture, of course. The biggest cultural difference I've noticed since we arrived, is how often people (mostly women, but some men too) comment on my pregnancy. I had only received one comment from a stranger prior to arriving here. Now I get comments and questions everywhere I go. Mostly I don't mind, but when someone says, "Wow! You're going to have a good-size baby!" in response to hearing my due date, I'm a little offended. It seems any people I've encountered have at least learned to ask before touching a pregnant woman's belly - I sincerely appreciate that. But it also appears, that there are a few slow learners out there, who have yet to understand how rude it is to comment on a pregnant woman's size. On the other hand, one very kind woman who passed by me at Ikea said simply: "You look so beautiful." That was so sweet I nearly cried.
I've been to my new OB/GYN twice. Interestingly, my high blood pressure has ceased to be an issue because all my blood pressure measurements have been normal here. I suspect it has something to do with the pleasant office environment and the very kind staff. Also, at my last appointment I had an ultrasound to check up on my placenta. It had been low-lying (too close to my cervix) at my 20 week ultrasound, but now it's moved up out of baby's way. The ultrasound technician also took various measurements of baby girl's anatomy, and she is head down and right on schedule for her age. It's so nice to have the reassurance that everything is going well as we enter the last two months. Here is a cute profile picture the technician printed for me:
I have my next appointment, the 34 week check-up, this week.
Lee and I have attended childbirth class, breastfeeding class, and infant CPR and safety class. We've toured the hospital where I'll be giving birth. We have one more class on caring for a newborn, but otherwise we're nearly "ready". Ready in the technical sense that we've done what we can to get ready, not necessarily actually ready. We are kind of actually ready. Ready to meet our girl and find out what she's like - though we are still working on names - and taking suggestions! Any suggestions? On the other hand, we have no idea how we're going to handle labor and delivery, or for that matter, caring for our infant after delivery. It seems like there is so much we just have to figure out as we go.
Otherwise, I'm tired. I guess growing a kid wears you out. I'm also a little swollen with all the heat and humidity here. But, I am sleeping well thanks to A/C and my special Snoogle pillow, and that keeps me feeling pretty good overall :-) Six weeks to go!
For those who noticed it's been over a month since we posted to the blog, I expect we'll be back to posting updates more regularly now that things have settled down.
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