Preparing by the 40s

A couple weeks ago, when (my sister) Lora was here at the end of our road trip through France, I was explaining to her how weeks are a better measure of the length of a pregnancy, that it's actually not 9 months but 40 weeks (right now we are at 32 weeks). A few days later, I realized that this is quite Biblical - preparing one's self for something in 40 days/years. Moses spent 40 years preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. Noah had to wait 40 days to leave the ark and start all over again. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness.

Although I'm anxious to see this child, to meet him/her and find out what Baby is like, I guess this helps put things in a little perspective. There must be something to the number 40 - it must be good in some way. Baby certainly needs 40 weeks to be created (I don't want it to be born before it's fully developed), to be strong and healthy, so I must need all that time to prepare for Baby's arrival too.

On Sunday, I had a good conversation with a woman at church who had a baby 4 1/2 months ago. I was telling her how strange it is to have a baby on the way, to know the baby (because we've been living with it for the past several months and know it's been there since its very conception) but to not know it (because we've never actually seen it and interacted with it). She told me about her feelings toward her new baby - that although it's too young to show its personality, she still treats him with respect because it has a personality waiting to reveal itself and a soul. It's human, in other words. She said I would need to wait about three months until Baby "evolved" some more and started to get control of itself. So, although in a short two months' time, I will finally get to see Baby and meet this new person in our lives, I will have to wait a little longer after that to really start discovering what type of person he/she is. (Again, my first instict with Baby will be to invite it out to lunch so I can ask it, "So, tell me about yourself. What do you like? What do you like to do?" - the way I would get to know a new acquaintance in my life.)

So, we're just biding our time, waiting for 40 weeks to be up.

Our pediatrician

We met with our pediatrician today. For some reason, I was all nervous about it. I even had a dream/nightmare about it. I think partly because I did not know what to expect and as usual, the whole question of 'how good will their English be?' It went fine and we got lots of useful information. Stephen had some good questions about vaccinations and living in a third world country with a baby. In case you are interested, the only real difference between Swiss and US vaccinations is when they do the one for Hepatitis B. Glad we have that out of the way.

Our next appointment with the 'baby' doctor is at the end of next week. We have been seeing her once a month, but I have a feeling she will soon step up the frequency. I think this time she wants to check where the baby's head is.

Traveling around

During our road trip, I wore the shirt Stephen gave me for Mother's Day (see photo) a couple of days. For those of you who can't read French, it says 'It's for August.' All of the comments I had were interestingly from men - I think they thought it was amusing.

We stayed at a couple of b-and-b type places; there the women had to comment on our pregnancy, when was the baby due, was it our first, did we know the sex, etc. Stephen and I had stayed at this one place before; we couldn't believe how excited the woman was for us! She was amazed that we had taken this baby on a 2,839 kilometer trip - she is sure that will make the baby 'show its nose' early! I am also finding I am getting preferential treatment becuase of my tummy - someone offered me their seat on the bus, I have jumped the queue in the restroom (by invitation!). I feel I little guilty - I am not that big yet!

More on the Moving

Sometimes this child is SO active that I wish it would calm down a bit! I wouldn't necessarily say it moves at certain times during the day, but I generally feel it around lunchtime and then some time during the night - any where from 2:00 to 7:00 in the morning. I don't mind the 7:00 times, but if it is rather forceful at 2:00, I would rather it was sleeping so that I could sleep! The other night, the moevements were so strong, I swear I was feeling a body part - most likely the head based on the position. That's a bit creepy for me. It's more like an alien than a child then to me. Something is trying to come out of me - straight through the abdomen.

Otherwise, in answer to the most frequently asked question, I am feeling fine. Tired because of not enough sleep, but I think that is the only reason. We only have 12 weeks to go!

The cutest little fetus face

Here's the picture Sarah mentioned in her last blog entry - the one from our latest ultrasound that we had last week that shows Baby's face from the front.

In the picture, Baby appears to be sleeping and quite peaceful and serene. But, as I can attest to, it is often active and moving. The other night, Sarah was awake around 2:00 or 3:00 and said Baby was moving forcefully. I put my hand on her stomach and felt a swift kick or jerking from some body part!

We visited the doctor yesterday morning for the follow-up to this ultrasound. She said that a baby's movement is only a sign of health. She also remarked that Baby is big for this stage of the pregnancy! Our fears of a difficult birth are only growing. My theory is that it's like putting lots of fertilizer in the garden - the plants then grow extra large - so I've told Sarah to stop eating so many healthy things so Baby doesn't grow abnormally big!

I also asked if I would be allowed in the delivery room. The doctor said I was allowed everywhere, even in the operating room if they have to do a C-section. She said, however, that gone are the days of fathers having to wear the whole hospital scrubs and masks and all. That was what I was looking forward to - dressing up and playing doctor! The whole fun of it is coming out of the delivery room into the waiting room and ripping the mask off a sweaty face and exclaiming, "It's a boy/girl!"

We're off tomorrow on a long road trip to Normandy, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany with future Aunt Lora. Baby is already well-traveled!

Mother's Day

Stephen got me a gift for Mother's Day as a Mother to be. It made me a little teary-eyed. Sometimes, I really can't believe that this is happening and I wonder, "Do we really know what we have gotten into?" We will have to share a picture of this gift, but it might be a while. We leave on Thursday for a road trip through France. This picture is from our most recent trip to France - which included a side trip to Chartres to view the catherdral there.

We had another ultrsound on Thursday to check the progress of the baby's thryoid (since I have a low active one). Everything looks good they said. The baby is now approximately 1.2 kilos. It will be around 2.8-3.6 kilograms at birth the technician told us. Supposedly, we are right on track. We also have a picture to share from that but that may also take a while! It's a cute frontal view of the face. Hard to tell who it really looks like, personally.

Things are lining up...

We now have a pediatrician! I wouldn't have known really that I needed to look for one in advance except the paperwork for the clinic asked for the name of your pediatrician. So our doctor recommended three names; I managed to find two of them in the phone book (guessed well enough at the spelling of their names); called one and she was accepting new patients. So we have a prenatal appointment the first week of June. Stephen doesn't quite get why we need to go, but the receptionist (with her limited English) said usually one should come in 2 months before the due date. I think it is mainly just to meet this person. One more thing taken care.

We are supposed to start our prenatal classes (in English) in June, but I haven't been able to get the start date confirmed. That is making me a little nervous, but the Swiss are usually good about getting back to you.

An American whose two children were born here told us today that because our baby is being born in Switzerland, if our child does not marry an American and is not living in the US when they have a child, our potential grandchild would not automatically have US citizenship. Interesting and strange ...some things you never think about - and wonder who comes up with these rules!