Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Settling Down

I know it's likely pure folly to wish for the early arrival of this kiddo, but wish I do. And I talk to him, too. He's actually a very good listener. I asked him to turn from breech to head-down at 32 weeks, and only did a handful of inversion poses to coax him along, and what do you know? Within two days he was head down. I am not going to take this as any sign that this kid will be compliant once he emerges from my womb; indeed, he has two of the most bullheaded, contrarian parents around, so it would be a miracle if he did listen to us.

Yesterday I had my first cervix ripening acupuncture appointment. My cervix is already pretty soft and low, and this was confirmed when my doula Nickie's mom Juli, who's a midwife, gave me an exam last night. Apparently I'm 1 cm dilated on the outer oss, and my cervix is low and centered, but not quite forward yet, and very soft. Julie asked me if my due date could possibly be off, since at 35 weeks I am already quite a bit ahead of the game as far as this goes. I don't think it could be, though, at least not by much . . . it could be that the little dude is just eager to get out into the world and go exploring with us, see what that barky puppy he's been hearing for the past many months actually looks like, get a glimpse of the East Bay Hills from an Ergo.

Juli also palpated my stomach again, and in her opinion, the babe isn't much more than 6 pounds. That's still big for his age, but not by much. And again, the mommies in my family all give birth to big old babies, so this isn't unexpected by any means. She also told me that I have a very open pelvis, which of course will help matters during labor.

Strangely, I've gotten another burst of endurance, and the belly, as big as it is, isn't bothering me too much. I've been taking long, brisk hikes, and though I haven't been swimming, I have been sewing and nesting like a right idiot. I've sewn two soft baby toys (one with jingle bells in it) and two portable, roll-up baby changing mats. I've also re-washed all of the baby clothes and all of the cloth diapers and organized them, gotten the babe's room together (though he will sleep with us for a long time, of course), and continued to try to get the house tidy and ready for his arrival.

We got good news from Nickie, our doula, last night, that Uli (the babe) is getting a limited edition vinyl copy of the new High on Fire record signed by Matt Pike, which made Peter nearly pee his pants with joy. I reminded him that the record was for Uli, not him, and Peter said that he would of course give Uli the record upon the occasion of his reaching adulthood. Pretty sweet. Due to this new news, we are considering an additional second middle name. But that's a top secret secret until we get the birth certificate signed!

10 comments:

  1. Is the middle name Pike? That would be cool... love the pic, can't wait.

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  2. So, what, it'll be Uli Stoner Rock Spoerl?

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  3. "[...]nesting like a right idiot" struck me the greatest phrase I have read by you in a while. (And you've got plenty to choose from.) Thanks for this good-vibin' Feb post. You look great!

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  4. I second the kudos for "nesting like a right idiot." Wish I'd written that.
    Does the boy have a full name yet? Uli, as in short for Ulysses??? Sayer was almost names Ulysses or Aksel.

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  5. Melissa!! I WANTED TO NAME OUR BABY AKSEL! Same spelling! Axel was my grandfather Alex's nickname, and I love Aksel, but Peter didn't go for it. His name is Uli, (oo-lee), as in the German nickname, or after Uller, the Norse god of winter, skiing, and glitter frost. His middle name is Forster, which is German for lumberjack (or, as I like to think of it, "of the forest"), and the other potential middle name? Well Stef, it's not Stoner, and Chelsea, it's not Pike. We'll see if it gets in there. It would be pretty rocking if it did.

    BTW, Stef, Peter wants you to know that High on Fire is not stoner rock, it is HEAVY METAL!! It is FUCKING HEAVY METAL!! You know, just to clarify. ;)

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  6. Uli Forster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I love it. But I'm worried for you that a kid with a Norse god lumberjack name is bound to have gigantic baby head. Like a bobble head. Not so much with the awesomeness in terms of delivery, but perfect for crazy ladies like me to smooch and cuddle!

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  7. Carla, I can't wait for you to see him when you're here for Stef's wedding, and give him lots of smooches and cuddles. Also, you've seen the size of Peter's dumb head; the babe may indeed have a giant skull. Luckily it's in many pieces and can hopefully shift enough to accommodate me without toooooooo much pain and screaming. I already realized that I may want to chase after Peter when I am in labor and try to bite him, because that would make me feel better, but I don't think that would go over well. Boo.

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  8. Your craftiness and organization amaze me!!

    I just got the Ergo and tried it for the first time today. It's pretty awesome -- an instant sedative for Amelia, but my back hurt. Hopefully I wasn't wearing it exactly right. It is a bit tricky at first. We shall se...

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  9. So funny about Aksel. It's a family name on Josh's side. We really loved it, but Sayer just didn't look like an Aksel when he showed up.

    On the Ergo and backaches: Try putting the belt down low, like you would a hiking pack, so the weight is on the hips. That might help. I just carted my 3.5 year old through the Dallas airport on my back with the Ergo. It rocks.

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