And here ya go Tammy : )

(So weird to think he fit in there!)

In the meantime, here’s our schedule for our last weekend BC (before child):

Friday night:

Movie: (Dan in Real Life is supposed to be good)

Saturday morning:

Coffee at Hernandez 9:30am (to read paper for as long as we want)

Wander up Oxford to window shop and say goodbye to the latest fashions

Saturday night:

Sob that we’re missing Larissa & Darren’s wedding

Waratahs v Hurricanes 7:30p at Mansions pub in Kings Cross

Sunday morning:

Breakfast at Lemon 10a.m.

Sunday afternoon:

Nap

Visit the nieces in North Sydney

Sunday night:

Tropfest 7ish in the Domain

Any other activities you would suggest? Hard to know what we’re going to miss…

Suddenly feeling very pregnant. Waddling. Shuffling about slowly.

No turning yet. Were signed up for an appointment where they turn it manually but there weren’t enough fluids to do it. All is well otherwise -heart rate, size, movement and weight: 8 lbs! That c-section isn’t looking so bad now. It’s scheduled for the 20th, by the way, unless labor kicks off before hand.

Have finished all of my work projects -just need to sort out my taxes really quick. THEN it can come.

(still doesn’t feel real yet!)

Only three weeks to go!

The first thing I did was go to my friend who is an Alexander Techniques instructor -and also a midwife. She taught me how stand, sit and walk without wrenching my neck as I do by habit. This puts less pressure on the spine and hips and generally gives the whole bump more room. When I remember, I feel a remarkable difference in energy. Charles has even started doing it. Says it feels like we’re walking with books on our heads. But it just looks like good posture.

She also told me to put my feet up on the wall 3x a day with a pillow under my butt -a bit of gentle upsidedown-ness.

Everyonce in a while I’ll do a handstand in the pool.

My friend Lisa, a maternity nurse, told me that for low fluids they recommend lots of water and bedrest to their patients. So now Charles has become a nap Nazi. Think he might just be a little jealous.

My friend Sharon was told to just visualize the baby turning, which worked for her, so I’m doing that too.

And then on Tuesday I went for acupuncture. They stuck in a few needles and I had a lovely nap. And then she held a cigar-shaped burning stick above my little toe just far enough away so it doesn’t burn. She gave me two sticks and told me to do it for 20 minutes 2x a day for 5 days. So each night now, Charles and I go to the back patio and sit there in the smoke and the whole house smells of it when you walk in. The baby has been much more active though, especially at night so we’ll see.

And finally, they also suggested that I may have a cold liver and I’m not to eat anything raw or cold -ie directly from the fridge for the next 5 days. It’s been harder than I thought -no humous, no cottage cheese, having to turn on the stove…

So there you go. All worth a try, I figure. Either way, by Sunday morning I’ll be back to slouching over my cold-milk covered muesli.

That plus all the stuff my friend Jess is loaning us, plus clothes from Charles’ family, we’re all set for the bub to arrive.

Technically, that is.

Went to a black-tie wedding this weekend. A very nice friend lent me a very stretchy dress. It was a great wedding too -they are both involved in all sorts of community theatre so they had lots of fabulous performances. And of course tons of soft cheese, shell fish and high-priced champagne which I’m sure was all incredibly delicious.

So we switched to the other hospital because it has a birthing centre -a separate section across the hall from the labour ward, staffed by midwives and all set up for natural labour -including big spa tubs.

Between my zen practice and my childbearing hips, I was all set and phyched up for giving it a go without an epidural.

But over the past two weeks, it’s become clear that the baby is breech (head is up when it’s suppose to be down) and not likely to turn. Also, it seems I have low fluids in the embriotic sac. This scared the crap out of us at first but then Charles’ Mum looked it up on a special medical site and found quite a few studies that show that with all else being normal (which it is), it’s not an indicator of anything wrong.

But what it does mean is that I’ll most likely have to have a c-section.

And of course, this week there are all sorts of articles in the paper about how much better natural birth is for the kid than c-sections.

So, I’m a bit bummed but getting used to the idea.  And overall just totally grateful that I live in a time where it’s highly likely we’ll both be ok no matter what.