Bump update

The bump continues to grow...

We're just about 23 weeks along now and thought we'd share a little update.

We've found out that we're having a wee boy. This was great news, since we wanted either a boy or a girl... :)

We feared the name would become an issue. We had a lot of girls' names in mind that we both liked, but no boys' names. And then we found out he's got boy bits. We scrapped our list of girls' names and headed to the mall to buy a Baby Name book (we had already read every available baby name website on the 'net). We were on our way there in the car when we passed Quinns Road. Gareth said, "Quinn!" I said, "Quinn!" Now, we are planning to call him Quinn. Quinn the Eskimo. The mighty Quinn. Q.

We've had several visits with our superstar of a midwife, Sheena, and things seem to be coming along very nicely. Last time she put the doppler doohickey on my belly, we could hear his little heartbeat and we could hear him swishing around in there. He's probably doing the backstroke, unless he takes after me, in which case, the doggy paddle. We've seen ultrasound photos and he seems to have all the right bones and limbs. We're very pleased.

We're now planning to give birth at home. We've given a lot of thought to it, done some reading, talked with everyone we know, and this is definitely what we want to do. There are so many reasons to give birth at home. I'll be more comfortable in my own house than I would be in a hospital room. I'll be surrounded by familiar sights and smells. The only people who will be there will be those we invite - no teams of doctors (or their interns - ack!) will be dropping by to have a look at my vagina. I think the more comfortable and relaxed I am, the safer I feel, the more likely that labour will move along smoothly.

Pain control is of course an issue. I've heard that labour can be a bit... uncomfortable. During the several years we were trying to get pregnant, I always imagined I'd have an epidural during labour. It was just something I assumed would happen although I hadn't really given it any thought. Now I've given it a lot of thought, and I'd really like to have a natural birth. I have no idea if I'll be able to cope with the pain, but plan to find out. I've been doing a lot of positive visualisations - similar to what I did before running my first marathon actually ("It will hurt, but I will get through it. I'm built for this. I'm strong enough." etc.)

I think it's pretty commonly accepted that fear increases our experience of pain. So I figure if I'm in a safe and familiar place, I'm less likely to be afraid and less likely to experience pain to the same extent. Not that there won't be pain, I haven't fooled myself into thinking anything like that. It's just that I'll have more control over what is going on around me and maybe this will help me cope better.

We haven't discussed all the details yet, but I think we'll be renting a birthing pool so that I can labour in the water if I want to. I guess this is tremendously helpful for some women but not so much for others. Not sure which category I'll fall into. I can always just hop in the shower if I want, or roll around on our exercise ball, or shout at Gareth to get me to the damn hospital and shoot me up with some drugs...

A woman at my work gave birth to several of her 5 children at home, and is now about to assist her own daughter with a home birth. I can't wait to hear how it goes for them. The daughter was more than a week overdue last time I asked, so that baby should be arriving any day now...