Thirty-Five

It’s July 1^st and I’m officially in my last full month of pregnancy. It’s hard to think about at the end of this month I’ll be giving birth in just a few days. I don’t think it will officially hit me until August 1^st but I do feel like we’re getting closer and closer to “the day”.

 

This week was really nice! We got a few “surprise” deliveries from Glen’s family. Home-made gifts are always very special and money for the baby is definitely appreciated. We also received some really cute items from one of Glen’s best friends, Crystal (and family). They got the baby a Boston Red Sox sweatshirt sleeper, an adorable hat and a book. Crystal also sent us a plush Penguin from “Doreen” (Glen’s late mother) that almost brought me to tears! Everything was so nice and it felt absolutely wonderful that Glen’s family was thinking of us and our new baby.

 

Glen and I went to our last child birthing class on Thursday. It was held at the hospital near Labor and Delivery in a conference room with projector. We arrived to a birth scene on the giant projector and within minutes of being there we had watched an actual vaginal birth. I’ll be honest, my confidence was slowly dissipating after that scene. It was really scary to actually “see” it happen with my own two eyes. After the video the instructor talked about the actual birth and the pushing. She also went into a little bit of detail about c-sections. We learned about what happens after the baby is born and what to expect. She also told us about vaccinations, circumcisions and breastfeeding. For about a half hour, she allowed the class to ask her questions and it was really neat to know that I wasn’t the only person that had questions on just about everything. Originally the class was to end with a tour of Labor & Delivery. Because it was a rather busy night, we had a virtual tour that was shown on the projector. They went through the different rooms and showed you where everything was and what to expect. We then went for a quick walk through Labor and Delivery (just the hallway) and passed the nursery. One little newborn girl was sleeping in the nursery and the nurse showed her off. The baby was 8 pounds, 5 oz, but still looked so very small. The women in the class cooed over the baby girl and I was overwhelmed with the excitement that I will be here in a month cooing over my own little baby boy. We said goodbye to our instructor and exchanged numbers with some other parents-to-be and left the hospital. I feel really ready. I’m ready to do this and I know I can do this.

 

In house news, our air conditioner is fixed and we have delicious, beautiful, central air once again! Coming home to a house that’s 72 feels like heaven compared to the days where I came home and it was 85. I’ve been able to sleep better and my swelling has gone way down. Physical Therapy seems to be helping my pelvis a lot! I am still in some pain, but it’s more of a slight discomfort than total incapacitation. There is still no relief in my right hand (despite the fact that I’m now wearing a snazzy new wrist brace) but the Physical Therapists are going to start having me do hand exercises next week. I just keep reminding myself that everything will feel better in about a month.