Week 24: Little Earthquakes

We had a mostly productive 4th of July weekend. It was nice to have a few days off together and I got my fix of BBQ’ed red meat (I do think it’s a bit of a pregnancy craving) so that was great. Overall, I think we both intended to get a lot more done in the baby’s room (I intended to clear more of my crap out of the closet in there, anyway) but got Shanghai-ed by social engagements and a little bit of legitimate paying work that, for me, was nice to have. But, for the most part, progress was still made and Johann’s fabulous vision for baby’s wall décor is starting to come together. Of course, we don’t exactly have furniture in there yet but at least baby will have stylish walls, right?

The topic of conversation at our social activities this weekend revolved around baby. Saturday night we went to Chelan and Mike’s new place in Magnolia to meet their parents (hers are in town from Ireland) which was fun and it was great to see the new, big house. But, inevitably, conversation turned to baby. Mostly, people were curious what we’re going to name it. I get a little skiddish over this line of questioning, partly because we haven’t discussed names yet with each other and partly because when we do decide on a name, we want to keep it a secret. However, people love to talk about this stuff and they love even more to offer suggestions. Mike’s very delightful parents, who are of the Jewish faith, had many, many fine Hebrew names to offer (and they knew all the meanings behind them too which was very impressive). Not sure that we’re necessarily looking for a Hebrew name but you have to appreciate the sincerity with which people offer helpful suggestions.

Inevitably, in a crowd like this, you also get an assortment of birthing stories – whether you want to hear them or not. Some are horrifying, like the guy who’s married to Chelan’s belly dancing instructor who relayed their harrowing 70 hour labor story which became death-defying in the end. Yikes. He still seems a little traumatized over that. And, on the opposite spectrum, Chelan’s mom, Theresa, mother of eight, who only had the first of them in a hospital and birthed the rest, relatively straightforwardly, she indicated, at home with no complications. It’s amazing how different birth experiences can be and it all just drove the point home to me that if there’s one thing that’s impossible to predict, it’s labor. It’s simply going to be what it is and you have to be ready for, literally, anything.

Well, if baby was playing for FIFA last week, baby should be working for Cal-Tech this week. Whoever I’ve got in there, he/she is really a rocker. I get these big movements/kicks that kind of shake my whole pelvis and the first time I felt one, it felt like there was a little earthquake going on. At least, that’s the first thought that went through my head until I realized it was only ME who was having an earthquake. Hilarious! I must really be a California girl at heart.

Then, on Sunday night, Johann got to see the baby move in my belly. It was over on my left side kicking away and I could see a little bump in my abdomen each time it did. So, I told him to watch that spot for a second and sure enough, he says he did see a little something move there. It’s still pretty subtle but there is visible movement from time to time. Yes, it’s totally surreal. Every time there’s a new advancement in baby’s movement like this, it takes my brain a minute to adjust to the initial craziness of it all. Yes, there’s a baby in there and yes, it’s getting bigger and bigger.

After days and days of overcast weather, it’s finally heating up in Seattle. Operation: Heat Absorbing Window Shades is in full force at home and we’ll see how well it goes. I’ve been given the go-ahead by J to limit dinners to cold, green salads and ice cream if the kitchen is too hot to cook (okay, I added that part about ice cream myself :P) so we have a Plan B in case our hot box of a condo lives up to its reputation. I just keep comforting myself that the last six to eight weeks of this pregnancy will be in the cooling off phase of September and October which are usually quite cool here. The positive thinking, I've found, really does help. :)

J.