The reality that my time as a pregnant lady is coming to a close is starting to set in and I don’t know how I feel about it.
I’m less than three weeks away from 37 weeks, at which point it sounds like any sniff of an “off” lab result is likely going to result in an induction. Soo, given that, we’re basically planning to bring home a baby in three weeks.
Every time I complain about being huge and uncomfortable, Paul jokingly asks me if I “want him out yet?” The honest answer to that is no. As much as there are aspects of being pregnant that aren’t awesome (like the whole beached whale feeling every time I have to get up from a laying down position), I have really enjoyed being pregnant and want to savor every moment of it. I’m not confident in my abilities as a mom, but I think I’m okay at being pregnant. I think Paul is actually more eager to have him out so he can start being a dad (which he’s going to be AMAZING at)!
The truth is I don’t deal well with change and it’s starting to hit me that everything is about to change.
More truth? The thing I’m most scared of is that I’ll resent the baby because I won’t have Paul 100% to myself once he’s here. Is that crazy? On second thought, don’t answer that. I know it is.
Anyway, given that we finally figured out it’s crunch time and we couldn’t put things off any longer, we’ve really kicked into high gear with preparing for Cheeks’ imminent arrival. Our house is actually starting to resemble a place where a baby might be living soon! I even laundered some baby clothes and Paul installed the carseat! We still don’t have a lot of things but I’m hoping that our baby shower this weekend will take care of a lot of what we’re missing. If not, I’m joining Ama.zon Mom on Sunday and will start ordering all the remaining essentials off our registry.
I also decided on a traditional Chinese postpartum meal delivery service which should relieve the stress of figuring out meals for the first month. I’m not totally sold on the postpartum “confinement” period but I have decided to do my own version of it. I told my mom I’m only going to do what I’m comfortable with and am just hoping she respects that.
According to eastern beliefs, the 30-45 days after a woman gives birth is a critical time where she has the ability to “reset” her body. The idea is that if you take proper care of yourself during this period you can improve health issues you had from before the pregnancy and avoid common complaints that women have after pregnancy (i.e. backaches, headaches, etc.). I think there is some basis for this in western medicine as well, for example the idea that pregnancy can potentially “cure” endometriosis, not only because you don’t get a period for 9-10 months, but also because it sort of resets the hormones in your body. I’ve heard stories of women who have had their lupus symptoms completely disappear after pregnancy so, I’m hoping maybe I can be one of those lucky ones!
My doctors have all warned me that bad flares are common postpartum so I’ve decided that in addition to the traditional meals (which I’m doing as much for convenience as for the potential health benefits!) I’m going to adhere to the parts that call for taking it super easy and being pampered 🙂 Paul has agreed that at least while he’s home he’s going to do the bulk of the baby care. Outside of breastfeeding, he’ll be doing all the diapering, cleaning and soothing.
I will probably leave the house and shower and wash my hair, but I think the logic behind not doing any of those things is a bit anachronistic in that they were mainly all geared towards not letting yourself get cold in an age where there wasn’t much access to hot water and homes were drafty. So I’m modifying it a bit to things like, when I do leave the house, I’ll be well bundled (including a warm hat!) and when I shower I’ll make sure to dry off and get into warm clothes right away (like while I’m still in the steamy bathroom). I’ve agreed to wash my hair less frequently but not stop altogether, but when I do wash my hair I promised my mom I’d wash it with ginger which is supposed to keep your head warmer (I figure this can’t hurt right?) and I’ll blow dry my hair immediately and thoroughly instead of walking around with damp hair like I normally do.
Oh and I’m also planning to do the belly binding, although not with a traditional wrap but instead using a postpartum corset or something along those lines. I’ve done some research and a lot of women (non-Asian) do it and it sounds like it really works. Maybe now that I actually have some bo.obs I can work my way to an hourglass figure for the first time in my life 🙂
Tomorrow I have another NST, Cheeks has been back to his active little self these last few days so I’m hoping he passes this one! I’m going tiger mom on his little baby booty – no more failing tests kiddo!