I had my second ultrasound yesterday to check the size of the baby and to be sure that everything is looking ok. All looks well-maybe a little too well. This little girl is in the 98th percentile for weight and size. They are guesstimating between 9lb. and 11lb if I go full term. All I can say to myself is take it one step at a time and see if you can do it. See if you can get this very large girl who is going to come out talking and smoking and lifting weights out naturally. She’s gonna be like “Hi Mom, I’ve been waiting to meet you. It was quite cramped in your belly, now give me a steak. Medium rare.”
Here is the conversation that was had between myself, the ultrasound tech and my ma.
UT: What are you going to name this child?
Me: Matilda. My mom doesn’t like it but we don’t care.
Mom: I’m calling her Mattie.
Me: That is not her name.
UT: You should listen to your mother. This little girl is going to grow up and ask you why you named her Matilda.
Mom: That’s right, I told her that.
UT: You should listen to your mom. What is the child’s middle name?
Me: Parker
UT: Mmmm. I knew you all were a little different. Aren’t you.
Mom: They’re a couple of hippies.
UT: Maybe she will call herself Melanie, or Matte.
Mom: I’m calling her Mattie.
Me: Mattie is not her name. Her name is Matilda and we love the name and she will too.
And then the conversation turned to lecturing me about how many sweets I eat and how I made this baby this big and it’s not because I weighed 9 lb. 3 oz. and my husband weighed 10 lb. Nope, it’s because I ate too much. And also how crazy I am for trying to go natural and how it’s not going to be possible with a baby this size.
I take it all in stride. We shall see.
Anyone else deal with frowns and funny looks when they told the name they had picked? I know some people don’t tell until the baby is here, but I figured that it would give everyone time to get used to it. Looks like it is going to be an uphill battle. Once she is here she will be nothing but Matilda to everyone.
February 4, 2010
Last night was our last Lamaze class. It was more like a combo class: four classes of telling us what might go wrong in the birthing process, one class on how to breast feed, and last night was the class on how your baby will die if you do not follow ALL of their recommendations. Steve had a homework assignment this week to crawl around on the floor looking for hazards. He said he did it. But I do not recall him doing it, because had he, I would have been fully aware because of all of the little dust bunnies and dog hair on our floor that would have sent Steve into an allergy attack from hell. My mom is to the rescue as soon as we get all of the other crap in our house in order, she is going to come over and clean in her super sparkly, super anal, clean like I have never been able to clean before way.
That reminds me to tell you that our house is under construction. Good timing, I know. We had my uncle build a walk in/built in closet in our bedroom since Matilda’s room was my walk in closet before, and now he has completely gutted the upstairs bathroom and is going to make it nice and shiny and wonderful for Matilda.
Back to Lamaze, otherwise known as “how you can keep your baby from dying class”. There was a lot of potentially hazardous things to cover in the three hour class. I had a whole list in my head when I got home, but now can’t seem to remember any of them. All I know is that I have to completely change everything in the house. Otherwise Matilda is going to set the house on fire, fall in the toilet, fall down the steps, barge through large pieces of glass, hit her head on hard things, smother herself in soft things, die if she gets a fever, die if she gets a diaper rash. We need to worry about which side of the car the car seat (which I researched diligently and am now worried is not good enough) will go on. It should go on driver side because we have a tendency as humans to dodge away from oncoming objects/cars, but my husband is probably too tall to have a car seat behind the driver’s seat, so she will have to be unsafe on the passenger side. Not to mention my own patience and how I am going to lose it, which I don’t doubt. Must set baby down and call someone immediately if I feel like I am going to lose it. I think the biggest issue, and I am serious about this is where are we going to keep the dog water bowl. Babies can drown in just an inch of water, so how are my dogs going to be hydrated. Maybe I will get the a large gerbil feeder. But, then Matilda might poke her eye out on it.
Anyway, you get the picture. I could go on and on.
So, yeah, this was our last Lamaze class. The end of a six week period that I thought at the beginning of would be a milestone in this 40 week gestational cycle.
The end of an era.
Yesterday was the day of the ‘end of eras’. As some of you may know, I have been riding with a woman named PJ over in East St. Louis for the past year, filming for a documentary that we are making about our rescue work. I committed to making this film about a year ago. Very shortly into filming, I found out I was pregnant. The first three months consisted of me woozy and needing to vomit every morning due to all of the pot holes on the run down streets of East St. Louis. Second trimester was great. I was able to still help rescue, film and generally could keep up with PJ. Third trimester has been a little trying. I had to have an assistant come with to help in all of the precarious situations we are put in. It is very hard to deny a puppy who needs to be rescued. But, a lady in her third trimester really has no business doing some of the things I was doing. And now, 5 weeks before I am due, I have finally passed the cameras onto someone else. I am going to miss it. I am going to miss riding with PJ, knowing about each of the 40+ dogs we feed everyday, advocating to rescue the ones who need it. I am going to miss the adventure and thrill of rescuing random dogs that we have never seen before, but know we have to pull immediately because they will not make it another day on the streets. Every morning, on my way to meet PJ, I would say to Matilda, “You ready to go rescue some dogs!” I think it will be fun to tell her of all of my adventures while I was carrying her. She has been quite the trooper.
Showers have begun. Every weekend is full of baby related stuff, whether it is getting the house ready or going to a party someone is throwing for her. In the rush of it all I am trying to keep a clear brain about it. Trying to keep focus on what an amazing and sweet experience this journey is going to be. I want to document every step of the way. The end of eras and the beginning of new ones. I want to create, to document with creation and show Matilda through my art the emotional journey that this has been for me. The piece below is the Ultrasound Art (a.k.a. Fetus Art) I spoke about in an earlier post. It was a gift to Steve for Christmas. Making these types of things along the way is what keeps me sane. It gives me something to focus on rather than the unexpected paranoia that has come with this journey. I am so excited. I can’t wait to meet her.
To new journeys in life, creating new experiences and allowing the present and past to transform itself into what we want it to be. I am looking forward to it all.
February 3, 2010
