shokufeh is…home

Still waiting, still working. Except last Friday – I finally dragged my butt out of bed, took a shower, and then… instead of putting on clothes for work, ended up in a fresh nightgown. I was just so tired, and crampy.

It didn’t help that I had two people suggesting I rest, and a bit of a bloody nose. (The latter is something I’ve experienced only during pregnancy, and seemingly only when I stress my body, usually with not sleeping enough.) So I called in and said I’d try to make it in the afternoon. And then in the afternoon, I called again and said nevermind. Maybe the influence of a woman in our baby CPR class the night before? She asked when I was due, and I said next week – which surprised her. And me. And then she asked if I was still working and was shocked again. But, if Charla’s sisters are any indication, my swelling lips are a sign that we will meet Bean very soon.

One thing I finally did this weekend was to print birth announcements (- just the part that can be done now). Which meant, finally, use of the Gocco* that Sam bought for me last year! It was fun and easy to use, and I think the announcements turned out pretty nice. Those of you who have experience with the Gocco, do you save your masters over time, and use them again? The directions give two options of saving and using again in the next day or two, or throwing away. I was going to try to save anyway, but thought I’d ask about success with such.

*If Mariko’s brother is to be believed, I should be calling it a Print Gocco, but that extra word makes it a little too awkward for my tastes.

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In the past week, I’ve become more aware of how much we lean forward in carrying out daily activities – sitting at a table, getting into a car, using the toilet…. The reason behind my awareness? My leaning abilities have become severely limited by Bean’s mass. Before, my belly was big, but there was some wiggle room – for Bean, and for me. I could still lean, because there were parts of my belly that could relax and collapse a little. But now, the belly is filled to capacity so there is no leaning to be had. Makes daily living a little awkward.

*A reference to While You Were Sleeping, even though that kind of leaning is different from my kind of leaning (or, rather, not leaning).

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the consumption of high calorie foods. Bread pudding? French fries? Hot chocolate with whip cream? I haven’t yet decided where my craving is directing me.
My window of opportunity for eating these things while blaming it on Bean is steadily closing. Of course, in a few weeks, I’ll still be able to blame Bean, since I will be his/her only source of food. But there’s something more socially acceptable about a woman snarfing down food when she looks like she her shirt is occupied by a beach ball, rather than a deflated-yet-lumpy air mattress.

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less than two to go… until my due date. It’s strange – all along, I’ve assumed that Bean would enter the world sometime after the due date. Yet, every day I wonder if maybe this could be the day that we meet. I guess it’s a signal that, as nervous as I am about motherhood and the pain of getting there, my excitement about my new role, and meeting this little one I’ve been carrying around, is greater.

I’ve gone through the past few days feeling a bit crampy – something akin to mild menstrual cramps. And Bean’s activity has slowed down. Even, last night, after some major fruit consumption, something that usually results in the tarantella. So, I was sure that today’s OB visit would indicate some progress on my cervix’s part. But, still fully closed. After I commented that I’d been sure something would have changed, my OB did say that it might be thinning a bit. But it doesn’t seem like something to write home about. (Yet, apparently, it seems like something to blog about.)

In other close-to-the-end-of-pregnancy news, next Friday’s my last day at work until early February. Yay! Only eight more days of work! I’d thought about working until I go into labor, so that I can spend the maximum time possible with Bean (outside of the womb). But I recently decided that it would be easier, physically and mentally, to not work after my due date. If I go into labor early, so be it, but at least there’s a goal in sight as far as wrapping up work responsibilities.

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As you make your way around town (wherever you live), do you see dogs being pushed in baby strollers? It’s not something I see every day, but it’s common enough that I now only do a double take, rather than a triple one. I can’t help but wonder why people do this…. Maybe they think the two front legs somehow cancel out the two hind legs….
So, country/world-wide trend, or something gaining popularity only here?

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After a highly irregular Saturday full of rain*, and a rainy Sunday morning, today is gloriously fall-like. I’m still wearing a t-shirt and sandals, but the air is a bit cooler and crisper, and the sunlight shouts fall. I think the lighting is my favorite part of fall, and, luckily, I can get that here.

*Living here has made me appreciate a grey and rainy day, especially on the weekend: sometimes you want to stay home, or run errands, without the sun beating down on you. And this wasn’t the kind of day that fakes you out – starting grey and then turning sunny. It was rainy all the way, and I liked it.

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sprint up the stairs at the mall when 38 weeks pregnant. I wasn’t trying to freak them out – it just seemed like the least painful way of dealing with the escalator being broken: getting the climb over and done with. My mom and Sam weren’t the only ones surprised. I was, too, since I haven’t tried to move so fast since March. As I said on Friday, I should wear my girl power shoes more often.

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So, I’m back, still intact, not in labor. Walking and carting was a bit tiring, but not unmanageable. And I got a ride back.

My mom had wanted to come with me – I guess to serve as a sherpa of sorts. But I was sneaky and left the house without waking her up this morning. The walking wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated – I should start wearing my girl power shoes more often.

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I’m off to give a presentation – walking there, rolling my stuff in a cart. If I don’t show up, look behind the palace for a woman in labor.

Just kidding, Mom.

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Cold roasted barley tea (strong, as I let it steep over night in the fridge) with soy milk and a little maple syrup
Yum! (and a nice coffee substitute)

*an entry where I lose touch with punctuation

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