26 Weeks

Almost in the third trimester (28 weeks), and still feeling pretty awesome! Belly is taking on a slightly different shape, at least this morning, as seen in the picture. I think the baby may be resting sideways, where it usually is up and down. Speaking of which, a few mornings ago, I was able to feel what I'm fairly certain was the head just above my naval. What a cool - and, slightly creepy - feeling!

This baby is so, so active most days, it's unbelievable! I've become almost obsessed with just watching my belly move in waves and bumps. I'm still in awe (and, perhaps always will be) that there's life in my belly.

We've had some nice visits with family and friends lately, and look forward to more.

Mike's mom came into town back on the 3rd and was with us for 6 days. She and I had lots of time to catch up and connect. Then, that Saturday, the 6th, mom and Jim came down for the day. Despite the horrible time trying to find an alternate route to the farmers market, due to construction, we had a very enjoyable visit. They brought us yet more baby stuff! We now have a little bathtub, and even more little onesies and jammies. Just this Friday evening, we went to a BBQ some friends were having, and were able to catch up with some good people. We've been terribly nonsocial lately, so it was nice to get out.

Next Friday, the 19th, Jacqui will be coming in from WI, house sitting for some folks for a week, so we'll have lots of time to catch up, including some time with our friend Jolene. I think it will be a great week! I really want to get out and continue visiting and being social as long as I'm comfortable and the weather stays tolerable. So, please, anyone, come visit or invite us to do things!! We'll welcome it.

Like I said, I'm feeling really good these days. I'm doing yoga (at Blooma - love that place!!) more regularly, and my wonderful husband is stepping up the motivational prompts to do my Bradley "exercises" (tailor sitting, squatting, kegels), all of which is going to aid tremendously in our intended natural birth. I'm also thinking of taking up the HypnoBirthing method, whether through a class or just picking up the book and some tapes.

We were back and forth, for a bit, about whether or not to do a home birth. We really want to, and have no fears about it, but we'd have to pay for it out of pocket. Insurance doesn't cover it (even though it's far less expensive!). With our debt and the fact that Michael's is the only income we have right now, we need insurance to cover as much as possible. We're definitely going to have a detailed birth plan going into the experience, however, so that our hospital (or birth center) will know what we're expecting (and, more importantly, what we're not expecting - check out this amazing documentary). I feel good about at least having a midwife, wherever we happen to be giving birth. However, I hate that it's luck of the draw, as far as who will be attending, as Fairview - being a hospital - has on call midwives just as they would on call docs, so it isn't up to us who we have. Regardless, I'm much more comfortable having a midwife than an OB. Also, we're fairly certain we'll be hiring a doula to assist. This is also not covered by insurance, but it's a cost we may be able to handle.

Babe's room is currently serving as office, as we're having some work done in the basement. I'm wishing we could just get in there and get things done. I can't wait to look in and see that it's all ready to welcome baby home. We have plenty of time, but it seems like things of this nature tend to creep up, and before we know it, we're scrambling. There's so much to do, - and to get! We haven't even begun buying diapers (cloth) and covers, but we may register for those at our favorite local shop, Twin Cities Green, where anyone can buy from their online site and we can pick it up ourselves at the store. We'll let everyone know when we've done that. We also need to get a car seat, a breast pump and supplies, a sidecar crib... We need to schedule tours of the hospital and see about birth centers, interview doulas, research further about vaccines; I need to take a breastfeeding class; we'd like to take child CPR and massage courses... Wow, it's a good thing our muffin isn't going to be here next week!