Happy Due Date!

Well, my due date is upon us. Tomorrow, November 12th, 2008, I'm officially "due." Thank goodness for the medical community, so glad they could be around to give me dates. PFFFT! I am posting today simply because I plan to have a girl's day tomorrow with friend Jackie and her baby Emily, so I won't be around to commiserate about how annoyed I am that I'm still pregnant.

I was feeling super cruddy today, Monday, and really achy over the weekend, so I think it's almost go time, but one can never be sure, and Aiden will come when he's ready. I just have to keep telling myself that. We are indeed ready to meet the little guy, and I'm hoping that between the appointment I have on Thursday and the full moon that same night, that things will get going and we can have a baby home this weekend. But again, Aiden will come when he's ready to come. :-)

I thought I would take this opportunity to make a few public service announcements.

1. You're probably not on the "short list" and won't get a call when the baby is born. A very few family and friends will hear from us shortly after the birth. Baris will do his best to get an e mail out to the master list in a timely manner, hopefully with a picture of our new little man. Don't be offended, we simply know too many people. And if you get missed on the e mail it was simply an oversight, the list is very long. If you want to be on the list and aren't sure if you are, drop a comment, I'll add you. I may have B post to the blog if we get an internet connection, so that will be a possibility.

2. We enjoy visitors. But with a new baby, anyone hanging at our house for more than 30 minutes can get a bit tiresome. Please be kind, make your visit short, and call before you come so we know. Exceptions are for those who want to do housework while here!

3. B has laid down a rule that anyone who visits must bring us meals. 2 meals, lunch or dinner or one of each. That's his rule, and I think it's fair. :-) I say if you come around meal time and bring food, we'll be happy to sit and eat with you and wave the 30 minute rule! LOL!

4. This may sound a little callus, but it's for all our sanity. B and I are a little alternative to a lot of our friends when it comes to parenting. We're glad the things you do work for you, but largely we are trying some other things with Aiden that seem to make sense to us. We love to hear your stories about your babies, but unless we ask, please don't push advice on us. This is something I think MOST parents want to say to their very kind and well-meaning friends. We adore you, we value you your friendship, your caring, and your thoughts. But we want some space and want to feel comfortable parenting in our way.

5. My personal pet peeve. I don't mind you holding the baby and all that. But if you think you'll be touching his face, please wash your hands. I don't know why this bugs me, but it does. Handling him is one thing, touching his face is another. He's got such a little tiny immune system. I'm not a germaphobe, just the face touching thing.

6. Please don't bring your kids if you can help it when you visit. At least not for the first week or so. I've noticed I have a short patience for other people's children here at the end of my pregnancy, and i don't think I'll feel up to your kids shortly after birth while I"m all sleep deprived and hormonal.

7. Hospital visiting rules...well, we would really like to limit in hospital visitors. We'll all be tuckered out and worn out anyway with the baby, the birth, and the nurses checking in on us every hour or so, so it's important that we have a chance to rest. If you want to visit at the hospital, please call us first to find out if it's a good time. It might not be, and we may want to visit with you after we come home.

I probably sound like a crabby hormonal b****, but the truth is, if you think back to your first baby, you were thinking a lot of the same things. We just really want a smooth transition home, help where it's needed, and space when we need it. We want this time to be a special time for the three of us, this is all new to us and we want to just take our time and take it one step at a time. It's hard to work on becoming a family if there is a constant stream of visitors. You don't need to wait for an invitation, but please be courteous about your visit, we want to see you, but probably not for 3 hours straight!

A fair warning for anyone who might be bothered by it...Aiden will be breastfed, and this includes whenever people are around, if he's hungry, I feed him. If it bugs you, you are welcome to leave the room, but I'm gonna sit where I'm comfy. :-) Cheers. I don't take kindly to "opinions" about breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, so I wouldn't bring it up if I were you. Only fair that I warn you before I turn into a raging postpartum lunatic right? :-)

Thursday is my 40 week appointment with the midwife. I'll post with anything interesting. As of last week Aiden was still head down (sure likes being upside down eh?) and sounding good. Measuring right on track. I haven't been "checked" in 3 weeks and this week I'm going to go ahead and have them check me. Mostly because I want them to do something called sweeping/stripping my mebranes. The idea being that it helps the cervix to release it's own prostaglandins, one of the major hormones that occurs during labor (prostaglandin is also what is found in semen, it helps to soften and ripen the cervix). Studies are all over the place on whether this helps to induce labor, but it's a pretty simple thing to do, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. It's not like going in for an induction and not being able to turn back. This is an encouragement procedure, done during the regular appointment, then I'll go home just like normal. If it does work, it usually results in the onset of labor within 36 hours, but again, the reviews are mixed as to whether it works. In addition, the cervix actually has to be dilated some in order for my midwife to do the procedure, so we shall see. I'm hoping between stripping my membranes and the full moon on Thursday, maybe we'll have a baby! :-)

In between now and show time, I'm just trying to keep busy. Tidying up around the house, resting (been feeling not so hot these last couple days) and getting in some walks. Sure feels good to have a nice clean house and no worries about work or anything! So freeing!

Hope everyone is well, take care and keep in touch. Sometime in the next 2 weeks, there will be a baby announcement!

Your local gestator,
Megz