31 Weeks

I am exhausted. I am trying to finish up my last semester of my undergrad and we just moved into a new house and we are trying to unpack. Inevitably, things are going wrong in the house - our house is breaking us in quickly to the joys of homeownership... So things that we were supposed to be getting done - like carpeting the bedrooms and hallway upstairs are on hold for a bit. Which means that unpacking is slow going due to their not yet being a place to put a lot of things and not a whole lot of time to unpack anyway. Once school is over (NEXT WEEK!!!) I will be able to devote a lot more time to getting our sweet little love nest in order. As for pregnancy, I have definitely entered the third trimester! My feet are swollen, I pee every half an hour, I am always uncomfortable... but I am still enjoying the pregnancy - hopefully the next 9 or so weeks don't suck all that joy dry! Here I am this morning outside our front door.

Dad and I showing off our bellies in Florida...

30 Weeks

I cannot believe we are in the final 10 week stretch! It really feels as if it has gone by pretty quickly. We've moved into our new house and we are busy nesting and trying to get things in order for us and for Padma. I am also finishing up my last semester at University at Albany and will be graduating on May 16th. Things are crazy right now and, though I am definitely looking forward to things slowing down a bit, I am also really excited about all the changes. Here's a picture Dave took of me this morning. I am getting enormous - but it's well worth it, I think! :)

You're getting sleepy...

Tonight Amy and I had our second "Hypno-Birthing" class. I'm not sure if we covered this uber- new-agey substitute for Lamaze in previous posts. For those unfamiliar, we're shooting for a natural child birth and this class is about using hypnotic techniques to ease or eliminate labor pain. Now, I'm sure there are a lot of skeptics out there laughing at the idea of natural childbirth being pain free, but phooey to you! Tonight I witnessed it's potential and I have to say, it was pretty crazy.



So, each class we go through educational birth stuff, talk about the approach and then participate in some kind of relaxation technique. Our teacher is in outer-space but adorably eccentric and outspoken. Tonight during the demonstration section, she had Amy sit comfortably with her right arm on the armrest and the other in her lap and close her eyes. She had her visualize a ruler counting down from 35-0, while the instructor gently ran the back of her fingers up and down the arm on the armrest.



Now, up to this point, we had seen many videos of natural childbirths using this method, and they all seemed to go through it painlessly and with minimal effort and expended energy. I had no doubt that if they were capable, then Amy could do it (if she puts up with me, she can do work on this). I did, however, knowing Amy's wavering confidence, think she might psyche herself out. I wanted this experience to be fulfilling for her and wanted her to see what's she's really capable of.

So, back to spider fingers on the arm, Amy seemed to go into an extremely calm state. The instructor picked up her right arm and swayed it back and forth, showing me how limp it was and motioning she was going to let it drop. My eyes darted towards Amy's and back to the swaying hand. I expected to see some flinch or small reaction on Amy's face when the hand dropped. The instructor released her hand and I looked to Amy's face as it flapped into her lap. Not so much as a flutter.



The instructor continued with various calming suggestions and techniques like pushing down on Amy's shoulder's when she breathed out. Then she lifted Amy's right hand and placed it in her left. She proceeded to pinch Amy on the top of her hand. She dug her nails in and twisted it 180 degrees. Again, not the slightest sign of discomfort on Amy's face. My jaw literally dropped. The instructor released her vulture death grip and then told Amy to open her eyes when she was ready. Amy did so and the instructor showed her the hand still deeply embossed with the nail prints. Both of us were pretty astounded.



I've messed around with meditation but I've never seen someone go under hypnosis before. Now, perhaps those skeptics think a pinched hand and the discomfort of childbirth aren't anywhere close, this is true. Yet, to me it shows the great potential of this and now that Amy knows she can do it, there's nothing to stop her.

I was really quite impressed with Amy tonight. Later she told me that she was aware the whole time vaguely, but she didn't think the lady was pinching her that hard because it didn't hurt. Anyone who knows Amy's typical threshold for pain will attest that her not reacting to a hard pinch blows the very mind to pieces. So, I think both she and I have increased dramatically the confidence we have in things going well and we'll be able to deal with any surprises that may arise.

Phooey!

29 Weeks!

So here we are at 29 weeks. I am starting to feel uncomfortable and am becoming more and more incapable of tying my shoes or clipping my toenails. I can no longer see my lady parts at all. :) It's funny how quickly I am growing now. Padma is so strong and kicking at me ferociously. My bladder and ribs are her favorite targets, much to my chagrin. Here's how I am looking today.

28 Weeks

We've made it to the third trimester! Hurray! :) Dave and I are so excited and Padma must be too because she is doing somersaults in my tummy. We did the hospital tour and met a pediatrician. We need to set up a couple Pediatrician interviews still but we are not sure where we stand on the whole vaccination thing - which is slowing down the process for us. We need to make that decision before we decide on a doctor. We are slowly getting moved into our new house with an official move-in date of April 18th. We've been busy painting, having things installed and turned on, peeling wallpaper, spackling... yada yada yada. We should be getting a video camera soon and I will walk around the house and take video to post on here as soon as we do. Dave insists we buy wisely and so we are "researching" the best video camera to get... Here's what I am looking like today! I braved a bare belly shot this time!

Breast Crawl

Pretty amazing video!!

27 Weeks!

Hurray! Only 91 days to go! Padma is 15 inches long and just over two pounds now! I cannot believe how far we've come already. Though, admittedly, it seems to have taken forever. We now have only 13 weeks left and I am growing so anxious to meet our little girl. She wiggles around in my belly SO much. Every time I go to the doctor they mention how much she moves around. She will be an energetic little lady for sure. :) Here's what I look like today.