I'm sitting here staring at a mound of cardboard to go out in next week's recycling. Shower... the aftermath. Our BOB stroller arrived this week (thanks Biegansky ladies) and was a snap to put together, but between that and all the packaging the condo is feeling a little crowded at the moment. It's feeling like a busy weekend, a lot due to Stetsi preparations. I started to fill out the hospital preadmission form this morning, but we need to enter our Pediatrician's name, which is not yet decided. We're talking to one later this week, so hopefully she turns out to be the one so that we can preregister.
Birthing class #2 was this week, and focused mostly on pain relief options during delivery. So now we know the menu of narcotics and other drugs. Hopefully Nicole swearing at me will relieve her pain, because I foresee a lot of that happening. It's never happened before, but I've seen The Wrath of Nicole, and since I'll be her support during labor, I expect to take the full brunt of it. We did gain a better understanding of the different phases of labor, how long to expect to be in each, and what pain relief options are available in each. Another thing that came up was clarifying expectations of what role the labor support person would take; coach (give suggestions, be assertive), teammate (be the advocate and cheerleader), or witness (cower in the corner or pass out). I'm going for teammate. We also got the reminder to pack our hospital bags so we're ready to go when the time comes. Another thing on this weekend's list.
Today we crossed the five week threshold. We celebrated by keeping up the weekend ritual of playing tennis and swimming. I can't believe Nicole is still playing tennis, but I think by keeping very active throughout the pregnancy she's been able to maintain her balance and coordination. It does look pretty amusing to look over the net and to see the nice round belly though. And with five more weeks to go, Nicole has three more weeks of work before going on leave. So things are really feeling close now, close enough that we need to get the car seat installed pretty quickly. Especially since they won't let you leave the hospital without it.
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Interesting politically correct terms - coach, teammate, witness. You are going to be addressed by a woman whose pain you made possible.
ReplyDeleteYou can see the fetal monitor - she probably cannot - so you get to announce when the contractions are coming and are ending. For the first, you get grief. For the second you get questioned - when is it really ending. You have a choice to accept them as part of the coming of the second best person in your life (Nicole being the best) or consider it wrath. You get grief being there but scorn for not being there. I regret not being there for your birth. Now I would rather have fainted. Each man must decide for themselves. I said you would beat me at something in life - here is a good chance.
PS - My opinion, not being there at the time of delivery is worse than fainting. You have a choice where you are looking - and looking at Nicole's glowing face when she first sees Stetsi is a lifetime memory. Worse case, the medical team just steps over you and life continues.