He said: I don’t know.
She said: Maybe there’s nothing to know.
He said: Maybe there is everything to know.
She said: Maybe everything is known, it’s just a matter of remembering.
He said: I don’t know…
This is not an unusual conversation between my husband and myself. Just another of the hundreds, nay thousands, of reasons we are perfect for each other. We like to talk about stuff, even when it’s really nothing.
It’s official my favorite blue jeans no longer fit, not even with a belly band. But the sprout is growing! I’ve gained 8 pounds in the last month, making that 8 pounds total for the pregnancy. I’m starting to feel very well-rounded. I started doing some pregnancy meditations—“36 weekly practices for bonding with your unborn baby”. I wish I’d started sooner, they are wonderful. This week, week 23, included a short poem that is really beautiful. I’d like to share it.
That then, is loveliness
we said
Children in wonder watching
the stars,
Is the aim at the end.~Dylan Thomas
And now…Voila! The long awaited belly photos.
My belly from 4.5 months to 5.5 months.
Before we found out the gender, we had a few names that were strong boy name contenders. Once we found out it was a boy, we chucked the list and let the flood gates of our creativity open wide. It was a lot of fun…at first.
We’d lay in bed, throwing out every random name (and sometimes object) we could think of—some of the more memorable ones included: Titus, Eddard, Henry, Cloyd, Ian, Maximus, Teague, Mads, Perrin, Fod, Trailer, and Shoe. It was a free-for-all. No object or name was safe. Chris even joked that we should call him Marquis. Our last name begins with “Mark”. So, genius. Not that I would seriously call my son Marquis, but oh my goodness that is a fun name.
Then the other day, we were playing the game again, calling out random names, “Kitten Paw,” I said. “Hitch,” he replied. “Blue Sky,” I said. “Wait,” he said, “Look up this name.” He said a long awkward name, which I couldn’t even spell. But we figured it out. And now, Chris is infatuated with this name—like, not joking, seriously, wants to name our son this name.
Early on, I told him he’d have the majority say on the name if it was a boy. I just feel strongly that a man should have the right to give his son the name of his choice, sort of a rite of passage. I had no idea I’d have to contend with this. Really, the name would not be so bad from a meaning stand point, “Great Warrior King”. But here are my issues with the name:
So, I’m hoping a bit of time and finding another name just as strong will help sway him. In the mean time, my husband is calling our baby Vecingetorix.
Finally, last night, while I was soaking in the tub Spout (aka Marquis, aka Vercingetorix—more on this later) made his presence known. It wasn’t gas this time–for real! It was full on baby rumble time in my belly.
He kept it up for about 30 minutes. I haven’t felt any more today, but I’m really stoked that I have finally felt the kiddo moving. I’m a happy mama this Friday.
Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife (cover image)
Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’m a little obsessed at the moment with reading birth stories. Honestly, I can’t get enough of them especially natural and home birth stories because I don’t know that many women personally who have given birth without medication. I am fascinated with the timeline, the pain, what happened, where it happened and how they handled it. Hospital and medicated birth stories are interesting too; I’m just really interested in the honest truth about the un-medicated pain all the way through and methods for dealing with the pain when there are no meds involved.
Peggy Vincent’s Baby Catcher was the perfect solution to my quest for birth stories. She covers almost every kind of birth or situation possible—even some situations I had not even considered: quick births, slow births, seemingly painless and quiet birth, loud crazy births and giving birth in a moving car. Her book also offers a prospective on birthing and being a midwife in America.
I found myself rapt with attention to every detail, holding my breath during exciting births and crying at the joys and triumphs of birth. There are also many passages that had me laughing so hard I cried, like this one from the chapter titled, “Pragmatism in Action.” After a very exciting emergency delivery at the hospital, a woman who just gave birth, Susie, has a friend named Teri, a large lesbian woman wearing dock martin’s and a noisy key ring hanging off her belt loop who offers to run home and get a few things for her while she has to wait an hour to be checked out. Susie’s list goes on and on, and the friend listens to her requests, nods and smiles and then turns to leave…
“…I whispered to her at the doorway,
‘Can you really remember all the stuff?’
Speaking from the corner of her mouth with a deadpan expression, she muttered,
‘Shit no. She’s gonna be home within ten minutes of my gettin’ back here. Chenille bathrobe, my ass. I’m gonna bring whatever the hell I think she might need to survive a ten-minute ride in a pre-heated car…”
If you love a good non-fiction, with true stories about real women giving birth and the challenges and obstacles facing midwives then you would enjoy this easy to read and informative chronicle of a modern midwife.
Oh Leachco Snoogle Loop Contoured Fit Body Pillow, when we first met I was skeptical. As a dyed-in-the-wool back sleeper, I just could believe that a pillow would make sleeping on my side more comfortable than sleeping on my back. I’ve met other body pillows and it just didn’t seem likely. But I was willing to give you a try, as my belly is growing and slumber eluded my regular sleeping positions.
Alas, dear pillow, if I had only known! I’m cushioned and cradled and I sleep better than (dare I say it) ever before in my life. I know, I know, it’s a bold statement but I wake up feeling great. Inspired. Transcendent. My body doesn’t ache and as I stretch out to begin my day I feel that much more hopeful. It’s true; a pillow has given me hope.
I like to call you my nest. Chris calls you my life boat. Either way, it’s all true. While my husbands arms are by-far the number 1 most comfortable place in the world, you dear pillow are an exceptional 2nd place. Superior only in that you do not complain when I am fidgety.
I am so enamored dear Snoogle that I am tempted to bring into the house your cousin, the Back ‘N Belly Contoured Body Pillow. Not that I would abandon you, but only give you a night off now and again.
Thank you Snoogle. Thank you Leacho*. Never a pillow so wonderful did I ever meet.
*I was not paid, just inspired.
We are going to have a son. A little boy that calls me mama and him papa and looks to us for love, support and guidance…and maybe a little mischief now and then. Friday, we went for our anatomy scan. All the important parts are there and one extra part that offers proof of his masculinity.
For the past 4 months, I thought it might be a girl. It was just a feeling. So, how do I feel now that I know it’s a boy? Amazed and proud are a few of the emotions I’m feeling. I wonder if I’ll be able to relate to him. I hope that I can make him laugh. I feel a quiet peace and a strengthening love for the tiny being inside of me, my son.
During the ultrasound he flipped completely over, he opened his mouth as if to yawn, and he waved his tiny hand. It was really cool to see him moving around in there. I can’t feel him yet, but it makes me happy to know that he’s in there dancing around to the music of my heart. I simply can’t wait to meet him face-to-face.
