Normality

Everything is "normal," according to our wonderful midwife. This includes all the usual monthly prenatal checks (bloodpressure, Bif's heartbeat, etc.) and the measurements made during the ultrasound (so, there must be legs). We decided to decline the triple screen test, figuring we will love and raise this child whether s/he is challenged or not.

At work, Mom has had fun letting (and watching) the rumor spread. Many of the students have either figured it out or heard by now. And some of them have approached her to share their experiences/stories and to probe for more details. Actually the biggest challenge at work so far has been finding time to eat. Mom's teaching schedule seems to fall over lunch hours (3 days per week) and until 5:30 (four days per week, if we count the Departmental meeting time slot). By the time we get home, hunger replaces all other evening priorities.

Fall Travels - Surrey

Although not nearly as far a trip as the summer travel adventures, Bif got off the Island last weekend for a very important occassion: Opa's 70th birthday party. Prior to the wonderful dinner prepared by Grandma and Auntie L., Opa drove Mom, Dad, and Bif for shopping at the nearest Thyme Maternity store. $500 later, Mom is suitably more comfortable, given that Friday she outgrew her one-size-too-large pants. Dad's best buy for Mom so far: a body pillow!

Reality TV

The sitting with the ultrasound photographer has landed "a textbook image," according to the chatty, over-enthusiastic technician. We scanned it and therefore the resolution isn't the greatest, but here's Bif in his/her glory at 18 weeks exactly. Bif seemed to be bouncing around in there. And, incidentally, the ticker above says (for 18 weeks) that Bif is starting to hiccup. Well, towards the end of the appointment, Mom got to see that in action on the ultrasound. Very exciting, and all the more real now! We'll find out more details next week when Mom has her next midwife appointment.

Team Teaching

The cat's out of the bag, with respect to Mom's students. At lecture on Monday (which is a highly inappropriate time slot for a hungry Mom - 11:30 to 1:30), the Chair poked his head in the class and "caught" Mom eating an apple during a short break in the class. When four front-row female students asked if eating was a no-no on the job, Mom responded with a "not when you're pregnant." One of them approached Mom after class and confessed that they had been wondering but none had the guts to ask so they decided they'd just wait another month, over which it would become more clear. Their clue: abdominal bump. Their anticlue: Mom is on the teaching roster for next semester.

In other milestones, Dad was able to feel Bif move on Monday. Movement (though still quite faint) seems to occur most often about 30 mins after Mom eats a decent-sized meal. From the patterns thus far, we're betting this child will happily carry on the pasta-loving tradition in the family. With soy sauce, of course.

An Apple a Day

It's official. Bye bye GP, hello midwife. She, whom we will call Pebble for privacy reasons, has a nursing background, has been a practicing midwife for 31 years, and is a listener. Like most midwives, she works with a buddy midwife (for whom we also received a glowing referral) to ensure accessibility in the event of needing to be two places at the same time.

Midwife-led primary care is emotionally focused (which Mom was quick to clarify the meaning of with respect to pain relief options during labour/delivery). For first time mothers they'll come to the home at the onset of labour and hang out until it's time for us all to go to the hospital. Most impressive, however, is the post-partum schedule of care. (Pebble was quite impressed with Mom's admission of being more worried about the breastfeeding part than the birth itself). They make house visits every two days for the first week, then once a week up to 4 weeks, then once again at 6 weeks. Mom's next appt with Pebble is at 19 weeks.

My Bad

Mom and Dad's biggest mistake in the pregnancy so far has been to wait until Week 16 to phone a midwife. Why? Because upon stating this temporal fact to the midwife, she said "oh, I'm sorry but we're all booked for February due dates by now. Most women phone as soon as they know they're pregnant." Mom was quite upset to hear this because we had decided around Week 9 that a midwife was the way to go, yet our doctor suggested we needn't bother with contacting a midwife until close to half way through. What the doctor perhaps failed to consider was that this town, which gives birth to 1200 babies per year, has only 5 midwives.

Anyhow, we're happy to report that the problem has been resolved, thanks (and a BIG THANK-YOU) to a connection/referral. Bif's cousins twice removed (Tom and Wendy) used the services of a midwife to deliver Bif's second cousins (Lucia and Nels) in Edmonton 16-20 years ago. Now they and the midwife, who still practices, all live in Nanaimo. (Well, okay, Nels attends university in Halifax). Mom met with the midwife yesterday and was fantastically impressed. More about her in the next post....

He or She?

This is an exciting week for Bif.

• He received his first piece of mail - a postcard from Grandma Jane's England travels.
• She tried a fetal yoga class for the first time - and funny enough half of Mom's prenatal yoga class wore the same pants due to the lack of maternity selection in town (Mom discovered that Zellers has a maternity section, i.e. 8 articles of clothing, but finally some comfy pants!)
• He is now strong enough to cause some abdominal flutters for Mom.
• She will meet the person (midwife) who will help Mom and Dad bring her into the world. Hopefully. Details to follow.
• He will get to sense a weekend visit from Grandpa L and Step Granny.

All a dress rehearsal for next week's sitting with the ultrasound photographer. No, Mom and Dad do not want to know the sex ahead of time. It is tempting though...

Working Mom - Update

Mom went to speak with Human Resources today and found out some bonus info. Lets see if she can explain (suggestion: get a calendar out to follow along).

Normally her annual cycle of work responsibilities begin with 8 months of teaching from Sept to Apr, followed by 2 months professional development in May/June, followed by two months of paid vacation July/August. So to maximize time with baby, family should expand in April. This would allow Mat Leave to end the next April, followed by 4 extra [paid] months with baby of what would be PD and vacation. Bif's February intention threw that plan out the window though. Turns out it's for the better. Here's why:

Mom works til the bitter end and goes on reduced-pay Mat Leave from Feb 07 to Feb 08. While on Leave, she accrues the vacation she otherwise would have had July/Aug 07, and "rolls them over" to March/April 08. This then gives her 1 yr with baby plus 2 more months [paid] vacation, plus May/June 08 PD, plus July/Aug 08 vacation. Total tally: 1.5 years with baby, all of it paid at no less a rate than 85% of salary. BRILLIANT! (Good for you if you followed this explanation....)

Week 16 Appointment

Things seem to be progressing well, and are feeling (and looking) more real each day. The morning sickness is over, there is clearly an abdominal "bump," and Mom and Dad heard a clear heartbeat today at the doctor's office. Could be our last visit to the GP if we can successfully set up a connection to the midwife we're thinking of. BC is one of three provinces in Canada that will cover prenatal care with the choice of either a GP/OB or midwife. The postpartum benefits of a midwife, plus not having to sit in a germ-infested waiting room for bi-weekly doctors appointments in winter, have swayed our interest towards the midwife option.

Summer Travels - Kennett Square, PA

Beer Family Portrait - Kendal Community, Sept 1st '06

Sitting in Chairs: Great-Grandma (Maga) and eyes-closed Mom with eyes-closed Bif

Standing/Kneeling (L to R): Maga's sister Hilda, Maga's brother Martin, Maga's brother John, and John's wife Fran.