Snippets from our week

A White House Christmas
President Bush asked me about my baby the other night. No, I had a discussion with him and the first lady about our baby. OK, I'll admit it was a very brief discussion, lasting the few seconds it took to have our photo taken with them at the White House Christmas party.

"When's it comin'?" the president said, after we shook hands.

It took me a second to figure out what he was talking about, but then I said, "Three weeks!"

"A Christmas baby!" he said, and we all faced the camera.

Then, Mrs. Bush, who I assume is better at math, said, "Or, a New Year's baby."

Snap, flash -- "Merry Christmas!" they said -- and it was over. A fun little story to tell the baby someday.

Doula, or Aqua Doula, to the rescue!
Liz visited us the other night. In case you forgot, she's our birth assistant and a doula. She's going to help us have the baby.

"Happy Hanukkah!" she said, handing me a big, folded up sheet of plastic. Ah, the personal liner for our birthing tub, AKA "Aqua Doula." (Every time I hear that word I think of a superhero named AQUADOULA!)

The previous day had been Liz's birthday and she had henna on her hands and feet -- a birthday gift. We sat on the floor in the baby's room -- which is basically just a catch-all for all the baby gear -- and she made sure we had all of our supplies. She stuffed all the receiving blankets and two tiny baby hats into the cover over the heating pad so it would be ready to go. She wrapped one of our bowls in a plastic bag (for the placenta -- yup, that's right, folks). And, she witnessed a brief argument between Matthew and me about washcloths.

Then, she felt my belly, listened to the baby's heartbeat with her cool fetascope and "sifted" the baby using the red wrap from my wedding day as her rebozo, after leaving hers in her car. It makes us happy whenever she visits, spreading her positive vibes all over our house.

No more cankles
We're skipping a bunch of parties this weekend, holiday and other kinds. We got invited to four parties in two days. We are going to one. Mostly, because I need to rest. It's hard because I love the holidays and love parties! But, with less than three weeks until my due date, it's time to take it easy.

My blood pressure was a bit elevated at my last prenatal appointment earlier this week. But then, after I rested on my side for five minutes, the next reading was normal. A bit concerning, but not a big deal as many women experience this late in pregnancy. (Good news: I'm negative for Group B strep, which means no IV! Yay!)

Later, after a long day at the office, I stopped in at Macy's to buy some pantyhose (thigh highs so they didn't have to fit the belly) and decided to check out the shoe department. I pulled off my sock to try on a pair of killer pumps (which I have absolutely no business wearing, but a girl can dream) and noticed that my ankle looked, well, broken. All swollen and puffy and ugly. And, yes, the other one was bad, too. Ugh.

I immediately thought: high blood pressure plus swelling equals not good. Rather than worrying about it all night, I called a midwife. She ran through a list of other symptoms, none of which I had, which was good. She advised that I eat a high protein dinner, drink lots of fluids, and rest, rest, rest. I did as I was told and very much enjoyed lying on the couch that night watching the season finale of The Hills, which I had Tivoed.

I decided to work from home the next day. In the morning, my ankles were pretty much back to normal, just a little puffy.

Later that morning, another midwife called me. She had heard what was going on with me the night before and wanted to check in. She suggested I get my blood pressure checked that day, so Matthew and I went to a CVS pharmacy that has one of those machines that you can stick your arm in. My first reading was high. After resting and reading US magazine for five minutes, it had lowered. I wasn't sure what the numbers meant so I called a midwife. She said that since I respond so well to rest, her advice was to lie down and rest for at least one hour every morning and every afternoon. I can't exactly do that at my office, so I'm now totally working from home. I don't want high blood pressure, but I have to say I'm so happy to not have to trek into the office every day. I followed the orders yesterday as best I could -- I rested four times at 30 minutes a stretch because I'm antsy and an hour is hard to do -- and by the end of the day my ankles were completely back to normal. No puffiness at all! No more cankles.

It's supposed to snow today, so we're looking forward to a cozy weekend, mostly at home, getting some much-needed rest. ~ Nicole