Ding. All Done.

I am ready to meet this kid. And sick of being pregnant. I think, considering I'm 37w, 2d, this isn't unexpected news.

I've reached the stage where everything is harder to do - I can't tie my shoes without sounding like I'm in the final stages of running a 10K, can't get up and down easily, can't do more than a flight of stairs without pausing...

I'm tired of commuting. Or, really, of metro. The MARC train is fine as I take the same trains every day. The conductors know me and will find me a seat. They ask how I'm feeling and show me pictures of their kids and grandkids. On the other hand, metro is nightmare. It is overcrowded, what with tourist season and the Nationals starting to play. People seem to be under the impression that my belly is collapsible and will try to squeeze themselves onto the train. Which leads to me yelling.

I'm having more frequent Braxton Hicks now. My midwife assures me all is well and that they are caused by the baby being so very, very low. She's turned a bit, from full-on posterior (that is facing up, with her back against mine) to facing my left hip. This is excellent as posterior babies can make for harder labor.

The midwife guesstimated that I'll deliver near to on-time, given Ruth's position. I hope she's right.

In the interim, I'm distracting myself with trips to awesome local businesses.

For Posterity!

Since the point of doing this cast is to document the pregnancy, I guess this photo is sort of meta-documentation...



I'm just hoping I can get it off in one piece. I think I may actually try to paint it and suspend it in a frame, as a solution to what to do with it... Suggestions from the more artistically inclined are welcome.

So, Uh, This is Really Happening Then, I Guess

Diapers have arrived.

I can't promise that Ruth won't end up with three or four of these wrapped around her some early AM.

T-Minus 3- 4 Weeks

M went to see the midwife and found that she'd actually gone down in size. Turns out that Ruth has dropped and is now "well-engaged" with the pelvis. So, we're in the final stretch here. Baby is Go!

Odds and Ends

I went it for another midwife appointment this morning.

Everything is continuing apace. My blood pressure remains slightly elevated; my provider emphasized the need for me to get off my feet in the evening, elevate my lower extremities, and rest on my left side (resting on the left encourages the vena cava, the main drain for the lower body to empty which helps to relieve swelling). I'm to monitor and control my stress level as well.

The baby is posterior at the moment. That means she is head-down but facing up, with her back against mine. Delivering a posterior baby can be more difficult than delivering an anterior baby since the hardest parts of the baby (head and spine) press against the hardest parts of mom (pelvis and spine). My midwife said there is time for her to roll over and gave me some exercises to help encourage her.

My sister and friend threw us a baby shower the weekend before last. We are lucky to have very generous friends and family. Our daughter will be far better dressed than either of her parents.

I completed my breastfeeding class last week and feel pretty well prepared. I have a breastfeeding pillow, the phone numbers of friends who breast fed and pumped, a supportive work environment, and a provider with two lactation consultants on staff. I've also got the phone number for the local La Leche League.

Wow!

So, a post I wrote for another website, Momocrats, was picked up by the Wall Street Journal.

You can read the post on how federal spending affects the lives of poor women here.

Doing Good

If anyone is interested in having a little fun AND contributing to the greater good, here's your chance:

We're taking bets on Ruth's arrival date/time and birth weight. My estimated due date is April 19.

If you'd like to make a guess about either/both, we're going to ask that you donate a small amount ($1 per guess, as many as you'd like). Whomever has the closest correct guess wins 50% of the pot to donate to the charity of their choice. You can donate the funds via PayPal (leave a comment and I'll send how-to instructions).

What happens to the other 50%? We're so glad you asked!

Apopo, will get 25%. Apopo is a 10-year-old NGO that works in Mozambique. They train giant -- and I mean GIANT -- African pouched rats from Tanzania to detect land mines (the rats are light enough to detect, but not to set off, the mine). Following the long civil war, many areas of the country are virtually uninhabitable due to heavy mining -- children cannot play in open areas for fear they will lose a limb or worse.

And, just in case you think this sounds...odd...keep in mind that the rats passed official licensing tests according to IMAS standards under supervision of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).

The remaining 25% will go to PATH, an international NGO that develops solutions to long-standing health problems, particularly in resource-poor areas. PATH developed a terrific new medical device -- Uniject.

Uniject can be used my minimally-trained people to deliver vaccines and drugs to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. It is single use, so helps lessen the worry about proper sterilization and transmission of HIV/AIDS.

We're tremendously lucky that Ruth will never have to run a gauntlet of land mines to attend school. And while childbirth carries risk, the likelihood that I'll be lost to postpartum hemorrhage is infinitesimal compared to women in the developing world. And we won't lose Ruth to neonatal tetanus, a major killer in areas without access to vaccines.