a head cold and a head case... poor Jesse!

Hello friends:)
I am in good spirits today (so far...) because I get to sit home and relax, and I had a very nice midwife appointment this morning. I am measuring right on track (my belly is 36cm top to bottom!) and everything looks normal. The baby's heart rate today was 142 (very normal) and he appears to have dropped securely into launch position. The midwife said that they usually have people come in every week at this point, but I'm so fabulously normal that I can wait for two weeks if I want (though I can call anytime and talk to a midwife immediately if I have any big concerns). So... looks like I'll be in week 38 or in labor next time I see a midwife:)

In other news, mom came down to visit on Friday. I requested her help in cleaning up the dust disaster I made in the nursery (ok, so power sanding next to the bookcase may not have been my brightest move) and to inspire me to finish out some of my preparations. We have made huge progress, including the mounting of the watercolors my baby shower buddies made for me in Chicago, and location of a table that fits the bassinet securely at goodwill (see picture for results). Unfortunately, mom's plan to leave on Sunday was foiled by a nasty cold which has kept her pretty incapacitated since Saturday evening. Jess and I are certainly happy to host her for as long as she needs to stay, but I feel badly that she hasn't been well! She does seem better today, and will probably head back north tomorrow. It has been really nice to have a little extra help and support around as I near the end of this escapade. I'll miss her a lot when she goes! Jesse may miss her, too, but I think he'll be glad to be back down to one incapacitated female in his home:)

Subbing is getting tough to face, especially since this week I am spending 4 days filling in for a music teacher who goes between two schools, has NO books or supplies at one of the schools, and left no plans of any sort during her month-long absence. sigh. At least it's music. I had some fun planning for it this afternoon, but I'm not a big fan of doing work that I'm not getting paid for. It frustrates me that I don't have a real job lined up for next year yet, but it's pretty hard to envision myself in an interview in my jeans (the only pair of non-pj pants I have right now) with my giant belly saying, "I have priorities that have nothing to do with this job! My baby will make me exhausted and ineffective on a regular basis! Please don't hire me!" Better to have patience and hope for the best in a few months.

I think that's about it for now. As of this Saturday, James will be full term, and as far as I'm concerned he could come anytime now and I'd be thrilled. We're getting very anxious to meet our little man!

Lots of love,
The Bornselhofts

power naps and power tools: week 35

Hello all!
Wow. I'm a bad blogger. But really, not too much has changed since my last post. I had my Chicago baby shower a little over a week ago, and it was fantastic. My creative buddies played songs, made up interpretive dances, and painted watercolors for baby James and me! I got lots of neat stuff, including a hooded pirate towel (which says "Argh! Dry me booty!" on the tag), and a music curriculum for early childhood with all kinds of amazing ideas for sharing music with babies (also something I could use to teach classes to other young moms!)
Other than that, it's business as usual. Just waiting and watching as James pushes the limits of my patience and my epidermis! He keeps stretching his feet out along my side, and it can get pretty uncomfortable. It's getting harder to lug myself out of bed to go teach, but I've been getting a lot more music-sub days lately which helps me stay motivated. Jess seems to be holding up pretty well. As I write this he is finishing up the sanding of our beloved craigslist rocking chair. Both of us have worked pretty hard on refinishing it, so we're hoping it comes out well. (Regardless, I'm really proud of myself for learning to use a new power tool here in month eight!!!) Anyway, Jesse is doing a great job of continuing to go with the flow and navigating my mood swings. I bought him a book called "Pregnancy Sucks: For Men" which caught my eye at goodwill, and I think he's finding some comrodery there. Also, the book seems to have a lot of anticdotes about women who are significantly more horrific than I am, so I'm seeing him develop an appreciation for my finer points (like the part where I don't wake him up in the middle of the night to go to the store for product X and food item Y).

We are using some of our final baby-free days to explore our new hometown together. I decided not to work today so we could share a day off, and we went to "The Grumpy Troll Brew Pub" in Mt Horeb for some excellent cheesecurds and home-brewed rootbeer as well as to "Cave of the Mounds" on a stalactite-o-riffic tour of the underground treasures of Wisconsin. It was neat:)

So, I guess what is the most important new development for me since I last wrote, is that I actually feel ready. Sure, I could use a few more weeks to go to childbirth classes (last weekend in March, 1st in April), set up the nursery (currently covered in chair dust), work (so we don't run out of $$ in August!) and rest (sort of...).... but when it comes down to it, the last few days have left me feeling like if I went into labor immediately, we could handle it. Very cool stuff.
Love,
The empowered but exhausted Lady Bornselhoft and her ever-attentive family