EFW= 7lbs 7 oz. Although, I’m now wondering if they mean ‘right now’ or ‘at 40w.’ Anyone have any guesses?  So, no induction, cervix is still closed, NST fine, got swabbed to check for GBS, and next appointment is next Friday.

My OB is on call all week, and the weekend, and did mention that we’d reassess induction next week, depending on how favorable my cervix is. I can live with that.

Just killing time before my appointment, and trying to decide if it’s a sign that my friend who referred me to my fab doc and also got me the giant diaper bag that is packed for the hospital decded today, for the first time ever, to just drop in and visit.  Hmmmm. Certainly reaffirmed the pros of having Wonder OB deliver the baby, too. I dunno.  Anyway. Dave will be home in 40 minutes and we’re off. I’ll update ASAP.

I’m a person who runs on gut instinct almost all of the time. I listen to that little voice closely, and it usually guides me well. (Hell, it’s why I’m pregnant now, just a little idea that I might be ovulating 10 days earlier than normal last august…) I am already hearing the little voice guide me on my way to parenting choices, like the fact that my instinct is guiding me to breastfeed, for instance. Where I’m lost, is what to know to do about the possibility of induction.

My appointment is tomorrow, where my doctor will be doing an ultrasound to check the size of the baby, etc. We already have a game plan in place, depending on the information gleaned, but I’m still itchy about it. When I think about what I most FEAR about giving birth, it isn’t pain or needles or clock-watching, but presence. I really fear not being ‘present’ when I have my baby.

The biggest disconnected scenario I can imagine is a c-section. C-sections are a great tool of modern medicine, and I know plenty of people that have had them for plenty of reasons. But to me, it just terrifies me to imagine staring at ceiling tiles and a blue drape and having my arms tied down for the most important moment of my life. Absolutely terrifies me.  (Not more than losing the baby in childbirth, so I would absolutely have a c-section if it was medically necessary, don’t get me wrong….) And that’s where the induction worries come in.

First, I trust my doctor. I ADORE her. In all the conversations we’ve had about size, etc, she is quick to assure me that it’s MY CHOICE. From other people that have had her, they rave about her in the delivery room, that she is low pressure, one woman said "After, she told me I was 5minutes from a c-section, but I never knew it." That speaks to me, because it seems that many doctors DO let you ‘know it’ which can just be crazy-making at times. It also lets me know that if she thinks it needs to be a c-section, I assume she’s not making a hasty judgment.  Unlike other docs, like the one who schedules 38w c-sections in the second trimester for breech babies that haven’t even been given time to TURN yet…. I really do trust my doctor, but I also trust myself.

If her recommendation is to induce next week, the pro is that she is the one on call, and would be delivering the baby. The way my practice works is that if MY doc isn’t available, one of the other docs in the practice is, usually, and they are of similar minds, from what I know. However, weekends are shared among all the local practices, and I COULD end up being induced and having dr "hurry up and have the baby, I have dinner reservations" be attending to me, which I would NOT like.

I worry about Pitocin leading to an epidural leading to a stalled labor leading to a c-section, in that order.  And, in all that, I worry about ending up being not present when the baby is born. On the flip side, I worry about skipping an induction to only need a c-section in the end, anyway, and again, with MAYBE my doctor, or maybe someone else.  I worry that induction will be my window to a birth withthe least interventions and the most presence, and if I decline that when it’s offered, I’m just screwing myself in a different way.

It helps that I’ve heard of a recent induction that went really well, no c-section, and the mom was OBVIOUSLY ‘present,’ as it’s evident in how she tells the story.  I guess — I’m not looking for perfect. Perfect, to me, would be labor starts on its own, I labor at home, go to the hospital and find that I’m at LEAST 4cm. I bounce on the ball, get great support from Dave and Amy and the labor nurse (god, I hope I get a good one!) push twice and don’t tear and have a great moment of Dave announcing the sex. But that’s what EVERYONE wants, right? That would be perfect, but I know not to EXPECT perfection. Everyone is different, every birth is different, every experience is different. All I really want is presence. And, of COURSE, a healthy baby. To have even those two things would be more than some people EVER get, and I am aware of that.

I just worry that tomorrow will be a Day to Decide. I hope that it’s not — I hope that it’s "hey, the baby is only 6 pounds, and everything else is great!" and that the need to Decide Something doesn’t even come up. If it DID come up, barring any seriously dangerous issues (aside from size), it wouldn’t be an immediate thing anyway. I imagine it would be a matter of "I recommend an induction" and I decide what to do, and it’s scheduled for next week or whatever, during which time I do lots of things at home to try to ripen the ol’ cervix. (On top of the tea and evening primrose oil I’ve already started….)

I’m just so ready! and excited. I feel like it’s the last few days before a big trip to some new exciting place — my bags are packed, I’m ready to jump in with both feet, I’m ready to meet our baby. I just want to be sure I don’t end up in the wrong place, or that my bags don’t get rerouted, or whatever…  So, it’s all normal, right? To be 38w and nervous and excited and worried about making the (first) right choice?  (Positive induction stories are always welcome, too, either as a comment or email or link or whatever…..)

Two of my biggest worries about sliding into motherhood are almost total opposites of each other. I worry about suddenly having to deal with more company & attention because of the baby, and I worry about being isolated in the experience of the fourth trimester. It doesn’t make sense, really, unless you’re me. I just updated the family blog with a polite little post about our expectations regarding labor, delivery, the hospital, and postpartum visits. Basically — stay away, unless you’ve been cleared by us to come in. I’m just anxious about having to deal with inlaw advice at the same time as raging hormones and learning to figure out my baby all at the same time. I’m worried about my OWN family being too talkative or too whatever — my mom, for instance, has a problem with quiet rooms, and is always, always, talking. It drives me nuts on a good day — I can’t imagine dealing well with it as I’m trying to figure out a breastfeeding latch after a week of totally fucked sleep.  ANd then, inlaws… I just don’t WANT their advice, or anyone’s really, if they haven’t gone through the process as recently as I have. 

On the other hand, I am terrified of feeling isolated as a new mom. I’m really glad to have made a new-mama friend in town, who has just gone through the experience. That’s different. I’ve clicked with some of the pool people as well, and the Y is totally missing the boat in not having a postpartum group or something. We all go to the pool, get hugely pregnant, and waddle out, never to be seen again in most cases. Which, sucks!, if you find yourself clicking with someone, you know?  There should be a monthly meeting after the pool class, where the now-moms can come in and show off their babies/reconnect with the other moms that scatter into the wind after they have their babies. Or, have a mailing list or something so that you can re-find these people.   

So, there you go — terrified of too much advice from previous generations, and terrified of not enough advice from 2006 new moms. So twisted.  I definitely feel like I’m making headway on the isolation fears, I visited the new friend and held her smily little girl today before the pool class (so weird! I’m going to have one of those!) and a girl from the pool (not one that I necessarily clicked with, but due just 2weeks ahead of me) asked for my email address to um, invite me to a makeup party…. which I will probably try to attend, just because it’s a CONNECTION. (But yeah, makeup, hah. Not even on my RADAR of things I might spend money on…)

In other news, I’m feeling pretty good. Physically, I haven’t really felt too BAD throughout this experience. I had a bad night and day last week, but it passed.  I really have been more frustrated by the way my mind has been affected by pregnancy, more than my body. I still feel stupid, I feel like it takes me twice as long to be half as intelligent as I once was.  I’m hitting the red raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil, two homeopathic uterus/cervix toners/softeners that have no negative effects (unlike, say, castor oil, which I will NOT be trying) and may have some positive effects. The ultrasound is on Friday, along with another internal exam, and it would be pretty nice to hear that something has changed up in there, and that the u/s shows a regular sized baby that doesn’t need to be forcibly removed.

The hospital bags are packed, like, really PACKED, and my sister made it home to the lake yesterday, and there are only two more days of partial childcare issues regarding Amy’s availability to make it up here. I am reaaadddy. So I’ll probably be 2 weeks late.

Still here!  Yesterday and last night, though, I think the baby started to drop. I just felt weird walking around, even my pool class was more challenging than ever, and there was lots of new pressure and stretching happening. I could NOT get comfortable in bed, at all, and I tried pillows and more pillows, until I finally went to the couch at around 2, where at least I wasn’t making myself more antsy trying not to bother Dave. (As it was, he didn’t even realize I was gone until several hours later.)  I don’t know that it was contractions so much as just new muscles getting stretched — it felt like I had a rope tied around my waist, and under the belly that was squeezing everything, and getting comfy was just impossible. I also peed about twice as many times last night as any other night, so, there’s stuff starting to shift.

I had an appointment scheduled today anyway, and there was nothing regular about the discomfort, so I wasn’t worried, but it kind of freaked Dave out. I’ve been relatively spry up until now, according to others, anyway, my classmates keep saying each week "wow, you’re still moving right along!" and stuff, so to have me really wiggling around trying to get comfortable freaked him out. Also freaking him out: feeling the hiccups of the widget not on the side of my belly, but by sliding his hand between my belly and my thigh. The hiccups have moved down, for sure.

The appointment today involved my first non-stress test, which baby and I passed with flying colors — heartrate around 170, average, and no contractions while I was there, so that’s good. I also had my first cervical check — cervix is "starting to soften" but otherwise "Long, Closed, Tight, and Posterior" which means there is no dilation or effacement happening yet. The head is at -2, still fairly high, but definitely lower than it has been, I think.

The weirdest part was that I was given the carbons of my chart today. I didn’t quite get it, until the midwife explained that I would now be bringing them in at each visit to be updated, but that if anything happened between visits, I take them to the hospital with me. Oh. OH. WHOOOAAAA. Very weird.

The DSL was not resurrected over the weekend, so we are still internet-less at home. Egads.  Even the back seat of my car didn’t work, because the neighbors went away for the weekend and they turn off their wireless when not using it (heh, at MY SUGGESTION, too!) so I am not ashamed to say that I ended up at the Park & Ride commuter lot next to several hotels with open Wi-Fi to check my email and download my bloglines subs for later perusal.

Interestingly enough, one of my big motivations for needing to have internet access was because i wanted to check the hopsital website to see if Leslie, a girl from my pool class (one of the SVTs that ended up being connected to me via my students, my friends, and my parents) had had her baby yet. On Wednesday, the class leader called her to see what was up (she was due Monday) and told us that she was being induced Thursday.  She was the other person who wasn’t finding out the sex of her baby, and the rest of the people seemed to be having boys, so with the many layers of connections + wondering sex + 4w ahead of me due date, i really wanted to KNOW!  In a preemptive move to avoid getting screwed by Easter closing everything down, dave and I went to the grocery store at 8:30 on Saturday night for staples, and I realized in line that the guy ahead of us was her husband, there with their 2 boys, so i was all "HEY! What’d you have?!" Anyway, she had a girl, as yet unnamed at that point. So, um, yeah, it’s a small world, and a small town, and sometimes you don’t NEED the internet to get information, you just need a gallon of milk and to be nosy at the grocery store.  (Luckily, he remembered meeting me  at that same grocery store a few months ago, so knew who I WAS, and not just some crazed pregnant stalker stocking up on low carb ice cream bars, which, are my best find yet for the pregnancy atkins thing. Yum. Not the real thing, but damn, good enough anyway.)

Lack of DSL and having company on the way also motivated me to clean my house AND make muffins on Friday morning, which NEVER happens, but it was so coooool to have a real live BABY in the house! It’s odd, I have everything pretty much READY, but then, there’s a BABY coming over and I’m like "oh, weird, there’s never been a baby in my house." The baby slept the whole time, and did make a few noises, but the cat didn’t totally freak out, so that was nice. We’ll see how she does with OUR baby, but still, it was so cool to just see a baby and know that ours is coming, sooner than we think. JR, in the grocery store, asked us ‘how much longer?" and when I said ‘4 weeks,’ he responded "it will FLY." I’m sure he’s right. To be so close, and have all this baby energy around, though, is really making me excited to meet our baby.  They have such little toes! and scrunch all up into a sleepy little ball! I can’t. WAIT.

To that end, I found a box of Mother-To-Be tea in my pantry, from the first pregnancy, but it said it was good until May 06, so I’ve started drinking that, and I plan to pick up some red raspberry leaf tea this week as well. I brought down the yoga ball, and have been rolling around on that for a while each day, and since I’m full term on friday (37 weeks) and really would like to go on my own, I’d like to work on priming the pump as much as I can, naturally. I have a non-stress test on Thursday (still no cervical checks, so maybe I’ll get my first at the THursday 37w appt?) and the u/s next Friday will provide some data, but if I can make things ANY easier on my own, I will. Except castor oil. No freakin’ way with the castor oil.

I’ve also decided I need more kissaluvs, knowing that even bg’s 11 pound baby wore them for quite some time, and that they hold their value exceptionally well, I’m going to order 10 more of those to supplant the 5 I have. I practice on a doll each day, and the KL0s are sooo easy to use, esp for that newborn stage, that I figure it’s worh the investment. If they don’t work, or I need to drum up cash after they’re outgrown, they garner almost full price on ebay (which is why I’m just ordering them new, anyway) and if I use them for a second baby, then that’s cool too. I could just use them and sell them and have CD’ed for *free* essentially, which isn’t a bad idea, either. WHo knows when second baby might come, and what the circumstances might be then.

I’ve also started packing my hospital bag. It’s like packing for camp, or for the trip we used to go on with the band, where you start your list way in advance, detailing each outfit day by day, and what scrunchie you’ll need to go with it. I’ve actually evolved into a light packer in my old age, but the hospital bag is just some sort of mission for me. I picked up a cheap robe and grandma slippers at Walmart (amazing how my principles fly out the window when I’m trying to find cheap slippers to ruin), and some t-shirty drawstring lounge pants.  I have three (YES THREE) choices of going-home outfit for the baby, and will probably throw in a gown or two, now, too, on Amy’s advice. I also have three HATS for the baby, I guess in case the baby has three heads, and a SwaddleMe as well. I have my shampoo and conditioner and toothbrush (My travel stuff, of course) packed in there, and a rolly-massage ball and my backup cell phone charger.  I have nipple cream, and nursing pads, and a nursing bra, and and and …. and it’s all just sitting there, in the bedroom, ready to go. Just in case.

So, yeah, I’m a gon’ have a BABY soon. That is so weird.

And hopefully, the DSL returns before the baby arrives. I can imagine that trying to learn how to breastfeed while checking my email at the park & ride would be cumbersome, at best.

1. The DSL outage continues, I am surviving. Of course, one of my projects this week, conveniently enough, was to go wardriving, and in doing so I did find that if I sit in the backseat of my station wagon with the door open, I can get enough signal to check my email and stuff. I say ‘and stuff,’ because I could easily do all that I normally do from that position, but sitting in my parked car, in my driveway, with my iBook, looks weird. If I could get it from the PORCH, or the backyard, that’s less weird. Parked car=weird.

2. I had a moment of total annoyance at the pool yesterday. It’s a new term, so there’s a bunch of new people in the pool class, and I was being friendly since I’m like one of the senior members now.  As much as I make fun of the standard conversations of pregnancy, I tend to follow those rules anyway. You know, Name/Weeks/whatareyouhaving/isityourfirst.  So,I say to the person nearest me "I’m gretchen, 36 weeks, what’s your name?"and she says "Sarah, I’m 31 weeks, are you having your baby in a hospital?"  Dude! OFF-SCRIPT! And I have the greatest respect for homebirthing, I think it’s a FANTASTIC thing for those that want it, I wish it was more readily available for those that want it even though my ideal would probably be a freestanding birth center.  But, hello. Don’t start painting me with your judgy brush in your opening line, which is EXACTLY how I felt. Fuck, we don’t even have a choice of HOSPITALS, let alone a freestanding birth center, and the likelihood that asking any given pregnant woman in my zip code where she’s delivering being anything OTHER than EMMC is like, slim to none. Holy floating soapbox. Our isntructor homebirthed all four of her kids, living in Texas, years ago, so is very cool about anti-establishment birthing practices (although, even she has said that waterbirth is dangerous, which isn’t something I necessarily believe is true…) but, damn. Yeah, I’m delivering at the hospital. And, as this woman went around talking to other people, she said the same thing to others, like her most important criteria for talking to you was that you WEREN’T delivering in a hospital. WTF.  Really bugged me.

3.  After THAT, i had to go straight to the Diabetes Center for another appointment. This one was with an FNP, and was much better than the first two. She actually commented on how well I’ve done with weight gain (15lbs at 36w, yo) and my BP, and she evenhad me get on the table and measured my fundal height to add to my chart. I’ve told the others that I’m measuring fine, etc, but they never CHECKED, they just scolded me about my freakin’ banana intake. JESUS.  She wanted me to test more (i’ve gotten kind of lax about it, when we eat dinner at 9:30, I just don’t want to stay up til 11:30 to test, and now we basically eat dinners that have proven not to jack my carbs), but other than that, was like "you’re doing great!" Well, THANK YOU. NO SHIT.  I really think maybe their perspective is skewed there. In addition to being the Diabetes Center, they are also the office for gastric bypass surgery. (And MRI. I don’tget it either.) The scale I am weighed on is literally a 3×3 platform with handles, that has a ramp, so I guess you could be wheeled on? I just wonder if the wide array of patients they see means they are extra jaded or something. Anyway. I’ms o not concerned. I have found some low-carb products that are barely palatable, but at least have made breakfast doable — a Dannon Low carbyogurt, with frozen blueberriesand grape nuts, + a whole wheat english muffin with Promise spread — and I’ve even found the Breyer’s CarbSmart ice cream bars to be tasty when I’m wanting ice cream.  Although, I cannot WAIT to be able to have a bowl of cereal again.

4. I am so hot. And so tired. YAWN.  I think I could take a nap at anytime, anywhere, if presented the opportunity. I also find that the parking space that seems SOOOOclose in the morning, seems like it moves a mile by the end of the day. The trek to my car is just becoming more and more overwhelming. Ugh.

5. I decided I needed a proper going-home outfit for the baby, and so have spent a few days trying to find one. But, damn, everything in newborn sizes is pink, blue, or ugly. (And most of the pink & blue is ugly too.)  Nothing says "my parents didn’t find out my sex before I was born" like shit with ducks on it, apparently. Anyway, I ended up finding two possible outfits on the Old Navy sale rack, depending on weather, I guess — both long sleeved one pieces, one that looks like a white shirt under quilted off-white overalls, and another that is alternating stripes of cream and tan. No ducks. No trucks. No princess crowns or random bits of text professing the sleepers’ love of ‘mommy.’ It’ll do. If it’s a boy, there’s an outfit I’d use instead, probably — a vivid blue sleeper with green whales on it, that my sister got for us (there’s a matching cap and receiving blanket) — and I’d use the whale outfit on a girl, too, but not for GOINGHOME, which is apparently a big deal. (No, I know that in the big scheme of things it is so NOT a big deal, but now I can sleep at night knowing I’ve procured an Official Outfit.)

Thanks for the suggestions on what to take for myself, as well… I need to try to find some cheap slippers somwhere, because I don’t want my shearling slippers violated by an array of bodily fluids and hospital smells. And maybe a cheap robe, as I don’t have one myself.

(The DSL was shut off last night, and I’ve survived. So far.)

I’ve actually started packing my hospital bag, sorta. Since I won’t be going anyplace else til then, I put my travel stuff in there, and the massagey roller ball thing, and some stretchy non-mat pants. Any recommendations on what to bring to the hospital?

I’ve also gotten some things figured out (or close to figured out) for the fall.  As far as my practicum goes, there are two options: student teaching or create-my-own. Student teaching (biggest scam ever, ‘work’ full time for 15 weeks, and pay someone else for the privilege…) would fulfill the practicum requirement and earn me a 680 certification. Make my own would fulfill the practicum requirement, and allow me to do what I want, when I want. I can still get a 680 cert if I chose to teach later; I would just have a tranisitional cert until I completed a year of teaching (for pay.) Um, huh. Wonder what I’ll do . . . .

So, yay for flexible scheduling for the practicum part. I was afraid I might have to work 20 hours a week (school hours) or something, and I totally don’t. I could write a book about IT and have it count, seriously. That’s what one guy did. But, I do imagine I’ll need somechildcare to do that, whatever ‘that’ is, and I’m totally stoked because my boss’ daughter just got an apartment in town.  Yes, THAT boss. But, he found Jesus after he divorced his first wife (isn’t that always the case for the most holy), and the daughter is very much NOT a churchy person. She’s a freshman this year, in early childhood ed, and I see her every day I’m here so I definitely KNOW her. She’s very level-headed and responsible, and loves kids, and has been excitedly folliowing my pregnancy all year. She’s GREAT, seriously. And I would have no fears of her secretly trying to baptize the baby or anything. Anyway, her having an apartment in town and a college student’s schedule will be great for ME to find 3-6 hours or so a week where she can come to the house so that I can work on school stuff. When I heard about the apartment, I asked her right away, and she was totally excited about the prospect.  This is so great. Truly.  My night classes aren’t a concern, since Dave works 9-5 (and can flex that when I need to be at class by 5), but to have someone lined up for very part time babysitting is such a weight off my chest, you don’t even know.

The final trip to Portland was fun, and I am now pretty well stocked up and ready to have me a baby. The ol’ wallet took a hit over the last week, as we had to pick up a couple ‘big’ things, namely the pack-n-play and a temporal thermometer, and then I spent more money in Portland on exciting stuff like sheets and onesies. Woot.  It’s all washed and put away, now, and the PNP is set up in the dining room for our first-floor baby station, and the bassinet is made up and uh, yeah, we’re ready, I guess.

I still need a handful of things — a garbage pail with lid for the cloth diapers, and the swing, basically, and that’s it. Huh.

On the job front, I’ve landed in an awkward situation, in that Marilyn has already talked to the principal and sung my praises and really wants me to apply, andnow they are expecting an application, even though the posting closed on Friday. In the meantime, I decided that it really wasn’t the time — not with a newborn, not with still having classes to finish, etc — but then I don’t want to be the flake that’s been raved about that never makes herself known. And, it’s a small enough area that I don’t want to ruin my reputation already, you know? So, the wonderful Mrs K over at ADL has written just about the perfect letter to say "Here’s my resume, since you’re expecting it, but I don’t want a job." (I would formally apply, to interview, but to get all my documentation in order by tomorrow is just near impossible, and totally overwhelming, especially since I know I don’t want the job.)  And who knows, maybe next year the person they hire this year will move away and there will be a new opportunity to apply, at a much better time for ME to consider it.

What else — at 35+ weeks, I’ve gained 15 pounds (actually, I hit the 15lb gain at 26w, gained 2 more, went on Pregnancy Atkins and lost 2 pounds.) Depite that, my MIL told me it looks like I’m having twins. Uh, whatever. Dave totally called her on it — "so, you’re saying she’s huge?" but I think she’s in the camp of "saying someone is big is a compliment."  Amy has said I’m all belly — for reference, I weigh what I weighed when I went to NYC last summer, and NYC folks, YOU saw the picture from the shower — I surely didn’t look like THAT in NYC.  SInce I have around 5weeks left, I think that I’ve done pretty well for myself through this. You can’t really know until you’re in the thick of it how you’ll gain, and I have been (or was) really nervous, becuase I was starting overweight, but now I’m feeling really confident that I will be able to return to my pre-TTC weight in a decent amount of time. With the thyroid being treated, and the stressors of a bad school situation, slow TTC process, and m/c behind me (and, you know, hopefully the magic of breastfeeding will have an effect, as well) I’m looking forward to getting back to normal. 

Other than that, the heartburn sucks lately, as does the widget-induced faux-asthma-attack thingies, where it presses on my diaphragm (according to my doc) and makes me cough and talk weird, like I’m mid-asthmat attack, but I’m not. It’s very weird.  I imagine they are both related to baby position, but the heartburn means that I keep Tums on my nighstand, in my coat pocket, in the car, everywhere. Oof.

Soon, though, sooner than I really can even imagine, I’m sure, I’ll have a whole new list of sore spots, and a baby to take care of, too. Holy cow.

This time last year, I was on my way to Portland, a freshly positive HPT sitting on my nightstand upstairs.  A year later, the widget is wiggling around, all jacked up on a whole wheat english muffin and navel orange, and I’m getting ready to take a shower and go to Target before my OB appointment. Weird how things change.

Last night we washed all of the baby clothes we’ve received thus far, and sorted them by size, and then counted what we have. Like last year, I’m about to go to Portland (tomorrow) but this time, the BRU trip is with a purpose, to pick up some basics that we don’t have yet (I’ve never been to a shower where not ONE package of plain ol’ white Gerber onesies were given, until my own), and to have one last hurrah in the big city with Amy. The next time I go to Portland? I’ll be a mom. And it will probably be 2010.

All those little pieces are starting to line up for the end run, though. We have clothes. And diapers. And nursing supplies, and slings, and developmentally appropriate mobiles. And after tomorrow, plain ol’ white onesies and some more sleeper thingies.  So weird, you know? Baby is coming SOON. We’ll know if it’s a boy or girl, people will stop asking us about names, we’ll be totally sleep-deprived and overwhelmed, and damn, we’ll be PARENTS. That is so. weird.

On a technical note: we are switching our phone/DSL provider to save money, which means that we apparently will be without DSL for 7-10 days, OMG. So if you don’t see me on AIM, or wonder why I’m not posting or whatever, it is NOT because I am in labor. Though not having DSL for 7-10 days will be of a similar pain. But, yay, we get to support our local phone company, AND save 30 bucks a month. Whee.