I spent the first part of the week (Mon-Wed) in Chicago on business. The weather was perfect. I think the daytime temps were in the mid-60s. Nice change from the 100+ temps we’re still having in Phoenix. Fortunately the worksite was right downtown, just a block away from the Art Institute of Chicago. I only had an hour to spend in the museum. Fortunately the Impressionist collection was out on loan. Otherwise it would have been a real drag to only have one hour to view them. I saw some of Millennium Park, including the Cloud Gate (very cool!).
Check out the rest of the Flickr photoset.
Debra had a busy week at school, which isn’t easy with only five weeks to go until the baby’s due! She never complains though. If it wasn’t for the perfectly round belly, you’d never know she was pregnant. Monday night she had a breastfeeding class at Banner. We had another class at Banner Thursday night on infant care, featuring a very spirited nurse/doula that Debra knew in a past life from Shadow Rock.
We had our second in-home appointment with Robin and Mani, our midwife and doula. They are wonderful. They spent over an hour with Debra, Diane and me, answering our questions and checking Debra’s vitals. Everything looks great. The baby is active and right on schedule growth-wise.
This last week we met with our midwife for the first time. Debra and I have decided to have a home birth. If you hadn’t already heard, I’m sure your first reaction might be akin to ARE YOU NUTS?! We came to the decision quite naturally. There were many things that we wanted as part of a hospital birth that we knew would be resisted by the OB and hospital staff. Initially we considered hiring a doula to advocate for us at the hospital. Then we met several women who had home births. After hearing their stories we were hooked. We’ll be blogging more about this soon as we want expand on why we made the decision and the implications of a home birth.
This weekend Marissa and John hosted a party for all the August birthdays (John, Marissa and Jason). We had a blast swimming with the kids. John grilled up some excellent sausage. Debra did underwater handstands to turn the baby (she’s breech). We think it worked. I insulted Jason with the ‘doofus mode’ comment. Sorry brother. I swear it was a reflex action 
Complete Flickr photoset.
We got a load of baby gear from Amy and Colby (stroller, jogger, highchair, etc.) last weekend. We cleaned it all up and it’s practically brand new. Thanks guys! We can’t wait to put it all to good use.
Well, only nine weeks to go now. The prospect of becoming parents is growing more real by the day. We are so excited……and nervous…….and terrified. Mostly excited. Don’t misunderstand. We’ve had our occasional moments of panic. But I think we realize for all the preparation we do, we are totally unprepared. That’s the common theme offered by all of our family and friends with kids.
Debra spent part of the weekend sorting all of the clothes we’ve received from family and friends. We also picked up a load of baby gear from Colby and Amy (jogger, stroller, etc.). Everyone has been so generous. I think we’ve been given more clothes than she will ever wear.
I’m not sure who gave us the onsies with the bear on the bottom, but I love ‘em.
We have just under 11 weeks until the due date. We’ve been in overdrive nesting mode, cleaning and reorganizing. I finally got the garage cleaned and ready for all the stuff we need to pack from what will become the baby’s room. That’s currently our catch-all-junk room. Debra’s done reorganizing the kitchen. That was no small task given the load of stuff we have. It looks great.
We attended a cloth diaper class on 7/26 at Wildflower Diapers to learn about all the different options for cloth diapering. We’re determined to raise this little girl without disposable diapers. The reaction most folks have to our decision is, “Really?”.
A few nights ago I had my head to Debra’s stomach, feeling the baby’s movements. I was stunned when I heard her little heartbeat. It was so strong and fast. I never knew you could hear the heartbeat without some sort of monitoring device. I was in awe.
Debra is back at school today, getting ready for the students who return next Monday. I can’t imagine having to deal with a classroom full of unruly third graders at 29 weeks pregnant. Fortunately her new assistant is supposed to be quite assertive. That should help.
She made this ultrasound tough, flipping and kicking the whole time. She’s healthy and she’s big. At 25 weeks she weighs 2.3 pounds. That puts her in the 89th percentile for her age. She’s already an overachiever.
