Well, it's two days after my due date and I'm still pregnant. Throughout this pregnancy I've felt physically quite well - remarkably well considering the complaints many women have while growing a new person. My pregnancy-induced mental/emotional malfunctions seem to have resolved, with things at Sean's office at a reasonably good place and the Piddies shop closed until further notice. I'm focusing most of my energy on getting ready for a new member of the family, and overall feeling calm and ready. Admittedly, I'd feel a lot more ready if my floors were clean, but negotiating the movements necessary for cleaning floors at this late, rotund stage may just be a little more than I'm able to do.
Knowing that once this baby makes his or her arrival Ella's life is going to be plunged into utter boring-itude, I've been taking advantage of each day I have with our current only child. We've been to the zoo, the park, have taken lots of walks, and have spent many an hour on the floor of her bedroom playing and reading stories. I hope it's enough to hold her over until I'm able to pull it together enough to be fun again.
It's already a well-known fact that I am planning on and have prepared extensively for an unmedicated, natural birth. (Please hold the root canal comparisons - they don't jive well for a woman married to a dentist anyway.) After our rather horrendous experience with Ella's birth and the disastrous side effects of the epidural which nearly caused me to have a c-section, I am confident that barring an emergency, the allure of an epidural will not prove too tempting this time. Between my midwife, doula, and Sean, I feel completely supported and am actually looking forward to this baby's birth with surprisingly calm focus. The aftermath of having a toddler and a newborn to care for simultaneously I am approaching with more of a fuzzy, how-in-the-hell-am-I-going-to-survive squint.
Being weighed & measured - about 2 hrs old.
Sean's baby footprint "tattoo".
Sean & Betty, 2 hrs old.
1st carseat ride! On our way home for the first time - 12 hrs old.
Getting ready to leave the hospital.
Ella thinking about nursing Betty.
Ella loves her new baby!
Ella discovers that Betty can hold her finger.
Hanging out with Daddy. Look at all that hair!
Ella washing Betty's hair.
Washing "sticky-up horse" in Betty's bath.
Sisters (one week old).
