Acharya Family Weblog

Charlotte just wrote that she is worried about not being ready for the baby to arrive. But, maybe I don’t know any better, but I’m ready :-). Maybe next week?

I found out Marie (the one who threw us the baby shower) was pregnant the same day I found out I was pregnant. It’s been great to have someone who understands what you are going through. It was very nice to look at Marie and think, that is what I will soon look like. And so I was a bit shaken up when she had her baby on Sunday.

Now the baby is a beautiful boy, don’t get me wrong. You can go to her website if you want to see pictures of baby Colin (it’s in French, but Google translator does a good enough job to allow you to understand what’s going on). But, it made me realize quickly that, hmmm, to look like Marie in a month would mean that I go into labor and give birth to my child! I had better prepare. Especially since Colin was born before his due date. So are we prepared? Hmmm, not quite yet.

The baby’s room is shaping up nicely. Still need to bring the camera down to take pictures… Also, the Tioga Street house could be lived in if we need to. The moving in is well underway. The hospital bag is in the process of being packed, but is definitely not complete yet. The technique classes for the birth group start Saturday! The birth plan has been sketched out, but not written up. The cupboard is definitely not stocked with food! Everyone says you should have a will before your child is born, maybe we’ll get to that. We have stroller, car seat, bassinet, cloth diapers (although we could use a few more diaper covers). We just got a diaper pail yesterday. So we are getting there, but we are definitely not ready yet. I think by this time next week we will be prepared. I just sent off my mail survey for my thesis research yesterday, so my school work is slowing down. We’ll probably slide into parenthood just fine, but Colin’s birth has got me a little bit worried. I want to be as prepared as Marie was, or as I perceive her to have been. It’ll be a bit wierd to have her be a mom and me still be pregnant. I can’t wait until I can post a picture with both of our children on it. And then unfortunately for us, they’ll be off, back to Belgium.

Here are a couple of pictures of my belly. I don’t think I look that big, but some others think otherwise. I think it is just the shock of seeing the belly minus coats and sweaters as temperatures have been between 50 and 75 F lately. Some people didn’t even realize I was pregnant until the last couple of weeks. This is comon in Hasbrouck, with the warmer weather equaling less clothes and more time spent outside chatting with neighbors. Last spring I had my own shock as I realized my neighbor was pregnant without my knowing it.

I am also glad to report that, although we are leaving Hasbrouck, we aren’t leaving the environment of neighbors dropping by to say hi. We have been running into friends and neighbors at our new house too. The central location means we see many friends who are walking by, on their way to campus or downtown.
I’ve even had someone drop things off at the house, since it is much more convenient for them than coming up to campus. This is my favorite aspect of Ithaca- happening upon people you know.

Well, I’ve made it to 30 weeks! This is very exciting. A minimum of two months until we see the little one, a maximum of three months. I am okay with waiting more towards the three months, I think Govind wants to see his little girl as soon as he can.

So, now I go to the midwives every two weeks. I just went on Thursday and found out that I passed the 3 hour glucose challenge. Yeah! No special diet for me, no worrying that the baby will be too big. The midwife seemed to think the baby was very healthy too. I don’t know how she can tell, but it makes me feel good. I have been feeling really good lately. I think the 70 degree weather helps the spirits too. It has been beautiful here. Very hard to concentrate on any work. You’ve got to soak up the sunny weather before the rains start!

The expectant parent group at Hasbrouck visited the hospital maternity ward on Tuesday night. It was a good trip. The ward was very quiet and almost empty that night. It seems very friendly and the nurses seem helpful. We got to see the tub which many people labor in and some deliver in. Overall, I was very impressed. They are set up to have the baby in the room with you at all times. They have a nursery/neo-natal unit which is available if you need to get some rest, but there are no bassinets of babies behind a glass window like you see on t.v. When you think about it, they don’t get enough deliveries to justify that anyways. Most days they have 1-3 people deliver and they can accomidate 6 people in the recovery rooms without doubling up.

Today I also visited the midwife and did the glucose test. Most things were fine, I am not anemic and my blood pressure is good. She didn’t even mention my weight so I guess I gained a normal amount. But, I did fail the glucose test. So, in a couple of weeks I’ve got to take the three hour glucose test. I hope I pass that one! I’m not too worried since I know plenty of people who fail the first one. Still, it’s a pain to have to retest and it’ll be even more of a pain if I have to adjust my diet. Luckily we are going on the Maple Syruping vacation in Vermont before the second test!

So, our friend Jackie loaned us her entire third season DVD collection of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s the dark, brooding series that only a true trekker can love. But, now, that’s actually all I think about! Not about the baby, the thesis, the house, just about contextualizing the various problems that Commander (he later gets promoted to Captain) Sisko and his crew must deal with on a daily basis. Of course the looming threat this season was the coming conflict with the Dominion, especially the fierce Jem’Hadar who are much stronger than the Alpha Qaudrant species. Luckily the Maquis threat has diminished somewhat.

As promised, here is a new picture. It’s a couple of weeks old, but I don’t feel like I look any different than this. Things are going well, the little one has been kicking a lot lately. I hear they get most active around 28 weeks, then they start feeling crowded.

Thanks Angela for sending all of the goodies left over from your pregnancy and when Kaia was smaller. We are just starting to get clothes handed down to us and we’ve already got quite a collection of stuffed animals. Plus, our daughter is going to have some beautiful blankets and quilts either hand made for her or for Govind and I when we were babies. It’s great to be able to start her life off things that are filled with such rich stories connected to them.

So I said I’d post stuff on the blog soon, huh?? Well, I guess I understand why you “reminded” me to post to the blog yesterday…

Okay, however Govind got me here, I am here writing away. Things are going well. Work has slowed down a bit and I am able to make progress on my thesis research. This is good because I have already started to slow down, physically at least. I’ve been sleeping a lot and I walk VERY slowly now. I still walk the mile to or from work every day, but it has gotten challenging lately, especially to work where the hill is a bit steeper. My belly is getting bigger and bigger, I’ll post a new picture soon. The baby is sitting low and I am beginning to feel the weight of her. And, she’s not the only one who is gaining weight, even my face is starting to change. However, I’ve got three more months to go, so I bet I won’t look very large compared to right before she is born.

Though Charlotte is certainly getting bigger and bigger and our baby is kicking up a storm, it’s been a pretty quiet (i.e., unusual) week here amongst the Acharya clan. We’re waiting for the house to close and waiting for the baby.

We’re planning to visit Vermont for a weekend over Spring Break (late March) to visit a well known artist (the late Cecil Bell) who is Charlotte’s grand uncle. Here is a link to a gallery that sells his pieces. And, here is a link to a more characteristic painting of his, too bad it doesn’t display on the screen correctly. Charlotte will have more about him later, I’m sure.

Last night Govind and I went to the Ithaca Birth Group. This is a very good way to learn about birth and the first few weeks after the baby arrives. We also got to meet other couples due around the same time I am so hopefully we can form mothers groups.

One thing we learned was that after the birth it is nice to have people bring you food or help you clean the house. You are so busy with the transition to parenthood and just plain feeding the little one that it is hard to take care of yourself. So for all those out there who haven’t had kids yet and don’t realize it, if you are living close by, the best baby gift for any new parent might be a home cooked meal which is dropped off at the house (don’t expect to stay). It may be worth more to them than a new outfit or toy. So that means Govind and I have a lot of cooking to do, we know a lot of people due between now and July!

Well, we had another midwife appointment today– pretty straightforward and relaxed as usual. The next one will be the drag for Charlotte because she’s doing the glucose test so she has to drink this fruit punch concoction before the blood test– ick.

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for cloth diapers?

As part of the expectant parents night Govind made this beautiful rice bag for me. During labor your partner is supposed to heat it up in the microwave and place it where it hurts. I hear this is especially useful for back labor, as Govind is demonstrating. Luckily, Govind learned to sew better than he did act.

It is exciting to have my stomach grow. Finally others can tell I am pregnant. Especially when I wear certain clothes. Other days I guess people think I have just been gaining weight.

Anyways, that mixed with the baby kicking have made month 5 very exciting.

As promised, here is a little bit about our Doula.

My name is Sharon Berger and I am a birth and postpartum doula and a childbirth educator. My doula training is with DONA International and I have been practicing for about 2 years. Birth doulas accompany laboring women and their partners, offering emotional, physical and informational support in the form of encouragement, reassurance, suggestions for position changes, help with comfort measures, information about the birth process and the options that are available during labor. A doula’s lack of clinical responsibilities and her ability to remain with the mom from the very beginning of labor until well after the birth distinguishes her from the other professionals at the birth, such as nurses and doctors. A doula’s sole responsibility is to care for the mother and her partner and to help them to achieve the kind of birth that they wish for.

In addition to my work as a doula and childbirth educator, I am also mother to 2 wonderful sons. Their births, which were doula-supported, inspired me to support other women as they move through the transformative time of childbirth. I recognize this time not only as the birth of a child, but the birth of a mother, father and a new family.

We will ask her if she’d like to do a post on this blog.

Here is a link to the midwives that are attending to Charlotte. The Ithaca Birth Group, which is a resource that develops a concept of childbirth as a natural part of life, is one of many awesome resources here in town.

The main resource for Doulas in the region is at http://www.ithacadoulas.com.

There are many pregnancy yoga groups here in town– Charlotte is going to one on The Commons, but The Yoga Corner over at Community Corners is great as well. Here at Hasbrouck, I am also hosting a monthly Expectant Parents group.

Today at noon, we’re having our final Doula interview– the final pick will be announced early next week. Govind has GCA training all next week then heads to an AIUSA Board of Directors meeting over the weekend. Charlotte has yoga this morning and then has a busy work week, with a conference presentation on Tuesday. That conference presentation is a challenging one for Charlotte, as it is the first public presentation of her thesis work.

As part of trying to make our daughter’s birth as nice as possible, we’re in the process of hiring a Doula, that will participate in our birth process. I’ve done some preliminary interviews and will be finalizing the choice in the coming days. She is not a medical professional. Rather, her role is to be the advocate for the parents, especially the mom (i.e., Charlotte) when the parents are supposed to be concentrating on the birth. That coupled with our great midwives (no doctors involved), we will have a safe and wholesome birth. If the Doula agrees, we’ll post her information and what she has to say, on a future posting.