Week 39 and Home Leave!

Yesterday marked the start of Week 39 - 2 weeks left, since we're going to Week 41. And we got a lovely baby present from the State Department: we've been granted an exemption to the policy that caps home leave at 25 days when coming from an overseas post to a domestic assignment. We weren't asking for much - 8 extra days - but even so, it took a lot of paperwork and long-winded explanations to make it happen. Home leave is paid vacation time that we're entitled to after serving overseas; in addition to some of the summer plans we've been trying to make, we also wanted to use it to stretch out the summer just a bit before I have to go back to work. I'll work for a month in Berlin after Pauline's born and before we transfer; but I wanted a few more months over the summer before I start full-time back in Washington.

So now we can start making our plans! We're planning to spend about 2 weeks in Cleveland, about 2 weeks in Omaha (the "about" has a lot to do with the fact that we'll be driving from Ohio to Nebraska, and with Pauline in tow, that's going to take longer than it used to!), and then head down to Washington to start moving into the house we're still trying to find. It'll give us about 3 weeks in Washington before I go back to work. It'll be busy, but hopefully we'll have enough time to receive our shipments, paint walls, set up Pauline's room, shop for some essential furniture; find a pediatrician; learn our way around our new neighborhood (shopping, library, and such essentials); and generally get settled. We've never moved all our things into housing in the States before - it should be an interesting challenge! And having the baby will make it even more interesting. But the extra 2 weeks will really help us get everything done.

Week 38 check-up

Yesterday was a busy day for the baby! She had her doctor's appointment - these will now be once a week, since we're almost to week 39. The Embassy nurse-practitioner, Jackie, mentioned to me that she was meeting with our doctor just before our appointment, so I invited her to sit in; it's always useful for her to see how actual check-ups go, and I think she was very happy to observe. Our doctor has also worked with quite a few other Embassy families, so it's useful for the Embassy health unit to know how that works out. Anyway, Pauline continues to grow right on schedule - her head is now measuring just under 10 cm in diameter, which is enough to make me a bit nervous although the doctor says it's perfectly normal. Her abdomen and femur measurements were also perfectly normal. And although she's growing right on schedule, I haven't gained any weight in the last 2 months, which means our efforts to control the gestational diabetes through diet and exercise seem to be working very well. We then spent a good 40 minutes on the fetal monitor - she was a little too active at first, and they wanted to get a full cycle of active and asleep. The doctor says no eminent risk of going into labor... which is a relief, since we really don't want to go too early, though it does mean I have 15 more days of pregnancy.

After lunch at the hospital cafeteria (really pretty decent), Tim and I went to the midwife's office for Round 2 of acupuncture. (Round one was last week.) There are a few reasons for this: first and foremost, it relaxes me and the baby. Secondly, it's supposed to help my body get ready for labor. We're planning to induce labor, but the closer we can get to being ready at that point, the easier it should go for both the baby and me. And as we learned yesterday, some of the acupuncture points can also help encourage my body to drain some of the excess fluid I'm now schlepping around in my legs and ankles. (Not quite cankles, but they're a lot puffier than usual these days...) Our first acupuncture session was wonderful. I don't know how much it may have helped with the labor thing, but boy, it sure worked to relax me. Yesterday's session was also wonderful, though I managed to stay awake through treatment and after returning to work when it was over. Our midwife's partner is actually the one who does the treatments, so we chat in German, but it's fun (and Tim says he can understand a lot of what we're saying, which is great.) She estimates that Pauline is now around 3.6 kilos, which is about 8 pounds. Given that Tim and I were both big babies, this is no surprise.

German health care practitioners are big believers in homeopathic and herbal remedies, and our midwives are no exception. Starting a week or two ago, I've been "prescribed" raspberry leaf tea to drink - it helps stimulate contractions. Getting the pharmacy to sell it to us was a bit of a chore! but we managed to get it. Yesterday, the midwife added green oat tea to my daily regimen. It looks and smells like hay, though the tea itself tastes a bit more like green tea. This is supposed to help with drainage; we'll see how it goes.

Not Quite a Nursery

We're not setting up a nursery for Pauline here in Berlin. Though every baby magazine we've seen and every website I've browsed suggests this makes us unfit parents right out of the gate, it just doesn't make sense for us, since we'll be moving again when she's just 3 months old.

That said, Tim's done a few things to make the small bedroom where she'll spend her first few months a bit more receptive to baby. We had the twin bed that used to be in here removed to make room for Pauline's bassinet, which is all set up and ready for her (but for now, it makes a great place to store diapers and extra sheets.) Tim also spent some time last week turning her bedroom from "random place for Mommy to store stuff" into a more inviting space. The books she's received so far (from us and from others) are in her bookends. The Classic Pooh letters I just had to get for her nursery are already unpacked, though we didn't have anywhere besides our video bookcase to put them. Pauline's growing collection of golden retrievers is now perched on top of the same bookcase, including the two fuzzy ones on the left that she got for Christmas from godmother Beth. I cleared out most of the space in her dresser to make room for her clothes, which I've begun to wash.

I know it's geeky of me, but since Tim rearranged things in there, I seem to find excuses to spend time in this room. Folding clothes, sorting things... it's fun to do it when I can turn my head and see the bassinet where she'll be sleeping in just a few weeks. (Or at least, where I hope she's sleeping from time to time...)

By the way, the framed piece of art next to her bed is a Christmas present Pauline and I received from Tim this year. It's an incredible black-and-white photo Tim took at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris of a little boy, face illuminated by a stand of votive candles. All around the photo, Tim wrote out one of my favorite Bible verses, which fits perfectly with the photo:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14-16)

I love that Pauline will get to see that every day.

Baby shower pictures

Here are a few pictures from our baby shower on Sunday:

This is most of the adults in the group in Pam and John DeVolder's living room. Clockwise from the enormous pregnant woman on the sofa: Betty, Martha, Jeff, John, Pam, Mia, Dave, Christy, and Kari.

Betty and Martha are flipping through the pregnancy scrapbook I've been keeping for Speck. I haven't put it in a book yet, but have been working on the pages as we go.

Meanwhile, Thorsten, Paul, Thomas, and Pawel are exploring the playroom. It was so much fun to have the kids around for the shower!

Baby shower!

We had our very first baby shower last weekend. Friends of ours here in Berlin got together for a lovely event - at our request, it was a mixed affair, not only for the ladies, since Speck is Tim's baby, too! Many of those who came have small kids, who seemed to enjoy the play date with one another. Having them included also felt very appropriate - a sort of sneak-peek of life with munchkins. Tim took a few pictures, which we'll post. Pauline got some more clothes, a few other baby essentials, and - best of all - the breast pump I'd registered for. OK, maybe it's more for me than it is for her, but it'll allow me to continue breastfeeding her when I go back to work. And even if we had settled on a different arrangement - both of us working, me staying home and Tim working, whatever - I think I'd still want to pump once Pauline and I have figured out how to nurse, so Tim can also be involved in feeding her. I can't imagine what it'll be like to breastfeed, but I know how much I enjoyed giving bottles to my niece Allie when she was younger - there's this incredible feeling as the baby stares up at you that I just love. I wouldn't want Tim to miss out on that bonding experience.

We've also been doing a few more things to get ready. We installed Pauline's car seat - it's an infant carrier that fits into a base and onto a stroller. I love these because if the baby falls asleep in the car (we're hoping she does, taking after Minka's example), you can lift her out when you get wherever you're going, without unstrapping her. You can then plunk her on the stroller, without unstrapping her. We wanted to put it in the car early so Minka (our dog) can get used to the concept of sharing the back seat with this contraption. She seems to be adapting fairly well, though it's an adjustment for her. Wait until that car seat has an occupant!

Tim rearranged things in Pauline's room to make a bit more space, and generally get the room ready for the baby. We're not setting up a nursery for her here, but we did need to have a little more room in there, and it looks a lot more welcoming now. I also spent some time last weekend rearranging things in the dresser in that room, getting her clothes ready to be washed for the first time (clipping tags, etc.), and so on. Now I just need to move some of my piles of scrapbook materials out of the way...

Speaking of clothes, we got a very special box in the mail today. There's a craft store in Armenia that specializes in machine-knit, hand-finished clothing. It's part of an assistance program (training and employing women) that's been around since I was in Yerevan. This little shop used to be one of the only places to get baby gifts; when friends at the Embassy would have showers, all the guests would clean out the baby-sized items in the shop! Anyway, it's still in business, and my friend Adela, who is now posted there, was kind enough to go shopping on my behalf. (She and her husband also included a few other items as gifts from them.) And the box they sent came today! I am so, so happy to have some of these beautiful clothes for Pauline.

Warm-up exercises, take one

We had a rather eventful evening yesterday! Out of the blue, I went from normal Braxton-Hicks contractions (becoming more and more common, especially after exercise or when the baby's doing her evening calisthenics) to something more like false labor. It felt something like a Charley Horse all over my belly and back. Tim started timing the waves while we frantically checked through the pregnancy books (this would be why we have them!) to see their notes on false vs. real labor. It was over after about an hour, but such a strange experience! We couldn't get to sleep after that... then as usual, I couldn't stay asleep after about 5:30, when the discomfort in my back and hips gets to be so painful I have to get out of bed. Our cats were thrilled to have me join them on the couch in the living room, but didn't quite understand that I wanted to sleep for a few more hours, so took turns trying to wake me up. Seriously, I know it isn't the same thing, but I really do believe that pets are wonderful practice for parenthood.

Here's hoping tonight is a bit less dramatic; I am entirely wiped out and really ready for some rest!

Doctor's Appointment - Week 36

Almost forgot: we had our check-up yesterday. Dr. Büscher was very happy with my blood sugar readings, and said we can step down to checking after meals a few times a week, instead of 6 times daily. (Whew!) Speck looked fine (though sleeping) on her ultrasound; she was kind enough to put on a show when we were strapped up for fetal monitoring, though, so they got a good idea of the range of her heartrate. There's something inherently hilarious about her active periods, when she moves enough to make my tummy move. A lot. As in, you can see it from across a room. It looks like I have a litter of puppies in there or something, not just one baby.

Anyway, her growth is still right on target. Her head is engaging; between that and the whole loosening of my pelvic ligaments, sleep has become a lot less comfortable for me lately. No risk of going into labor in the next week or two, so we'll go back in 2 weeks. We have a midwife appointment in the meantime, which will include acupuncture to stimulate the onset of labor. I'm intrigued by the concept.

I came down with an awful cold Sunday night, and so have been home nursing it with tea and bed rest. I'm back to work today, but taking it easy per the doctor's instructions. Other than some Tylenol for the general achiness, there's not much else I can do. This is no fun!