Week 31

Ah, week 31...and it feels like we're getting so close to the end! But then I remind myself that there are potentially 9 weeks left of this pregnancy, and I find it really hard to believe. I guess I'm completely setting myself up for disappointment if I do go late, but I just feel like this little guy is coming early. I forgot to ask the midwife at my last appointment whether past history is a strong indicator of whether labor will begin early or not...I'll try to remember that next time.
One of the exciting aspects of week 31 was taking a tour of the maternity ward of the hospital here in town. Although part of me still wishes I was doing a homebirth (you didn't see that, Aunt Elaine!) :), I was impressed by the family birthplace at the hospital and by the friendliness of the nurse who gave the tour. The facilities are very nice...the rooms are large...and the policies seem flexible enough to allow the birth to go the way I want it. However, when we took the hospital tour in Israel, we were also given the impression that we could dictate quite a bit about the birth; but when I actually went to the hospital in labor, it was quite a different story. So I'm a little skeptical about whether there really is as much freedom as I desire, or whether "hospital policy" will take over and try to tell us what to do when we get there. We shall see...

The above picture doesn't really do a great job of showing how big I'm getting, but honestly I'm well aware of that fact and don't need to be reminded of it! I like this picture though because of the old-fashioned sign I'm standing next to....and especially because of the way it captures the boys running and playing near me.

This picture shows the boys standing next to a fountain in the lobby of the hospital. Every time we go there, we MUST stop and look at this fountain...and if Daddy has two pennies in his pocket, the boys must each have one to throw into the fountain. :) The sound of the water from this fountain is very melodic and soothing, and the hospital does a good job of maintaining this area. Oddly enough, there is a beautiful grand piano in this lobby. What in the world do you need a grand piano in a hospital lobby for? While I'm in labor, shall I ask to come down and play "Moonlight Sonata" to help me relax? :)

At the beginning of week 31, I had an appointment with my midwife which is always fun. It's always nice to receive reassurance that all is well and there's nothing to be concerned about. Even though I feel the baby kicking and cavorting all the time, it's still nice to have someone else check and see that everything is fine. I actually keep expecting them to chastise me for something: "oh, Davene, your weight is going up too much; you need to watch what you eat now," or "I'm concerned about your blood pressure; we need to make some changes to bring it down," or some such thing. But no, there's been nothing of the sort. The midwives seem relaxed about me and my pregnancy, and that helps me relax, too! :)

My nesting instinct has gotten me to do some exciting things recently...like beginning to pack my bag for the hospital (I know--9 weeks early is not really necessary, but it's still fun!), bidding on a breastpump on ebay (and getting a fantastic deal on it--$4.99 right now!), unpacking our baby bottles and running them through the dishwasher before putting them away on a special turntable in our cupboard, and...last but not least...doing an inventory of sorts in our cellar to see what food we might need to stock up on before the baby's born. I mean, really, could I feel great about myself if we had any less than a half dozen cans of corn in the cellar before labor starts? And if we didn't have an extra bottle of caesar salad dressing, we would surely suffer. And then there's condensed sweetened milk--one never knows when that might come in handy! Always be prepared, as my mother would say--and there's never a better time for that than during the last weeks of a pregnancy! ;)