I think everyone's kind of worried that we're just going to suddenly announce the birth of our baby one day without any prior warning. Jenny called Kim today and the first thing Kim wanted to know was whether there was any news to tell.
I'd really like to set everyone's mind at ease and say we'll let people know as faithfully as we can given time constraints (not sure even the most excited want a call at 3 a.m. to say labor has begun...). The actual due date is still a few weeks away (January 31), but after the big Make-Sure-All-Is-Ready visit by Eileen the midwife this week, it looks like we might be coming up on a slightly earlier birthday for Peanut. His little head is all settled in a good position ready to go and he's far enough down that his chances of flipping breech are a lot slimmer than they used to be. I also have some physical things going on that indicate we're pretty close now. And I've had so many contractions that my muscles ought to be marathon ready at this point - seriously, I had no idea I was going to do quite this much practicing ahead of time, but I'm thankful for it because moms who do this much practicing usually have nice smooth fast labors. Hey, I can be optimistic, right? Over the past week, I've had so many people tell me what days the baby can or can't be born on that I'm a little confused myself - someone needs to create a calendar for me so I know which days it's okay to go ahead and get on with things. My extended family has some type of betting system going on in which everyone has picked a day they expect the baby to be born on - as far as I can tell, from here until February 1st, every day is covered so someone is going to win something. If anyone's interested, I'll put my candy bar on the 16th. Just for the fun of it. Everything around here is very quiet and sleepy for the most part. I haven't had a lot of energy, so I get a few important things done every day and then spend a lot of time with my feet up. Grandma has learned to transfer herself on one leg from wheelchair to regular chair to toilet to bed, etc., so I take care of getting her medicine and meals and making her bed and coaching her now and then when she forgets which side to position the wheelchair on to get into her easy chair. We had a consultation last week with the orthopedic surgeon and it looks like Grandma may be doing this for a very long time, perhaps the rest of her life, in order to preserve the hip joint that's thinning around the spacer that connects her hip to her leg. We are investigating the possibility that she might need to get the joint replaced altogether, but it's a tough decision to make because right now things are very tolerable and doing the surgery would be extremely rough. The question is whether keeping Grandma from walking will preserve the joint long enough for her to have a peaceful and relatively pain-free life to the end of her days or if she'll have the joint break down in a few years and cause a pretty catastrophic situation. The orthopedic surgeon, by the way, does not think Grandma really has a broken hip but says it's very difficult to tell and to keep her off that foot until the beginning of February just to be safe. Grandma herself still is not suffering pain unless she starts thinking about her hip having a problem; and even then, it appears what pain she's suffering is now coming from the joint and muscle stiffness that accompanies not actively using that leg. If we do her exercises with her, the aching gets much better. Ben is a good physical therapist. He's also a good coach. He's been telling me every day that he's looking forward to this baby's birth and he thinks it's going to be a very special and enjoyable thing and he has every confidence that I'm going to handle it just fine. I haven't felt terribly jittery or anything about the upcoming birth, but I appreciate every one of the times Ben tells me, "This is going to be an amazing thing we're going to do and you're going to handle it wonderfully. You were made to and I absolutely believe you will." He is also patiently putting up with me waking him up by snoring at night (this is extremely embarrassing - I've always been a very quiet sleeper) and having a lot of dinners that are essentially soup and sandwiches and he sits and reads to me when I take baths at night to get sore muscles to ease up. Yep, it's a pretty rough life around here these past few weeks. We're just waiting and staying close to home and hopefully avoiding the outbreak of norovirus in the area (yikes...that'd be no fun to get right now!). We had a surprise delivery of a dumpster to our driveway because of a project my family is doing a few streets away: our garage and basement are free of construction debris for the first time in a year and that was our big excitement of the week. So for all of you betting and waiting along with us, know that currently there's nothing much going on and we will most certainly let you know as soon as we can if something is.
Jill
1/12/2013 11:02:39 am
Every time I read ANYTHING that you write, Lauren, my heart smiles. Real big. :)
Lauren
1/14/2013 03:48:17 am
I'm so glad to add to your smiles!
Leah
1/13/2013 08:00:54 am
Hey Lauren, just in case you're wondering, I said the baby would be born the day after you said it would... the 17th! : )
Lauren
1/14/2013 03:50:07 am
Well, I'd say those are valid picks!
Mary Kay
1/16/2013 11:02:17 am
Hey Lauren, the kids think you'll really have the baby on Anna's birthday. :) They were all laughing but NOT ME.
Lauren
1/20/2013 03:30:31 am
Yikes. I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility...but you're right, that's NOT funny!
Rachel
1/19/2013 11:10:47 am
I'm excited for you. To me, giving birth is one of the most beautiful, amazing experiences in life! I get excited and teary whenever I think about it. (and yes, most people look at me like I have a second head growing out of my shoulder when I say that! lol) Maybe I appreciate it more because I was denied the opportunity with Michael (last minute breech c-section), but to me it is beautiful and glorious! And having a supportive and involved husband is an amazing blessing.....as I read your blog, I think you and I have both been blessed with exceptional men. Praise God for His goodness in bringing us men perfect for us! Excited to hear some news, and a little jealous :-) We're still waiting on God to bless us with another little one since we lost our little one in the spring. I am thankful for the peace in knowing His plans and ways are trustworthy!
Lauren
1/20/2013 03:40:31 am
Thank you, Rachel! I imagine having the c-section with Michael does make a huge difference in how you feel about being able to have a normal birth - I was pretty relieved to hear that this little guy is so far down that it's kind of tough for him to flip breech now because I did keep wondering for some reason if we would have a breech baby.
Elizabeth
1/20/2013 08:40:52 am
Don't worry Lauren, we talk big about what day you should have the baby, and I'm sure you know it's a lot of hot air, as we're all going to be excited no matter what day. I think Aaron just wants to know the minute you go into labor, and is trying to make you think about it by making a big deal about 'labor parties' :D He doesn't want you to think 'well, it's three in the morning, but no one will want to be woken up....let's wait'. You know with Mom that for those who can't do anything half the fun is waiting around and anticipating! Remember running around the apple tree and singing 'Michael's going to be born tonight' when Leah was about on the way? :D Of course you do.
Lauren
1/26/2013 09:37:55 am
I suppose for Aaron the downside about wanting to know the minute I'm in labor is that he gets to hear about the false alarms too *grin*.
Sandra
1/23/2013 10:37:04 am
I just love these little insights into your family's life. Love you Lauren! Praying for healthy delivery and also for grandma. For what it's worth, I put my vote on the 27th. Just for kicks and giggles :-) hugs!
Lauren
1/26/2013 09:39:43 am
Well, there's still time...that's Dad's and somebody else's bet also (can't remember the second person...). Ben and Papa put their bets on the 28th, which is Ben's birthday. After that, there's just Nana on February 1st. I might just outlast all the bets after all!
Katherine
1/24/2013 09:17:32 am
well, somehow I caught what dad had a week after he first caught it (don't ask me how) but I hope that nobody else gets it (or at least if they did that they would be better by the time "Peanut Turner" is born. Well just thinking of you and catching up on the blog, hopefully see you soon. ;)
Lauren
1/26/2013 09:41:28 am
How COULD you????? You are supposed to be HEALTHY when this baby is born!!!!
Katherine
1/27/2013 04:12:05 am
I'll do my VERY best believe me.... this is the first cold for 2 years that I've had croup from... you should of heard what was left of my voice.. or maybe not. Nana and Papa got home safely last night along with aunt Peggy. Tuesday is the one week mark from when I caught the cold, Michael caught the cold Wednesday and so far we are the only ones... and I hope it stays that way. Comments are closed.
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Author: LaurenWife of Benjamin and mother to two wonderful little girls who are getting bigger every day. Enjoys writing down thoughts and discussions we are having within the family and sharing them with whoever is interested in reading. CommentPlease don't be shy! If you're reading the blog updates, we'd like to hear what you think. Click on the "comments" link to send us a note.
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