progress

The kid is 5 lbs, 1 oz and faced down!

I've had a big hard spot right under my ribs the approximate size of a head, so I was certain the kid hadn't turned yet, but what do I know? This is such an enormous relief, but it also means that now I really do need to figure out how to avoid induction, assuming the kid is as late as I think he'll be. After next week, I'll be getting checked once a week; what do I say to the doctor at 41 weeks when s/he's all, "Let me go get my calender." I'm going to have to deal with that delicate balance between having someone checking progress and not getting pushed into something. Wish me luck...

Also, the kid is almost exactly spot on in terms of size, not too big, not too small ... another enormous relief, though not as big a deal to me. I was so certain the kid would be huge, that I'd sort of dealt with the feelings of knowing I'd probably tear. There's still time for a growth spurt of course, and the ultrasound could be off by as much as a pound. and it's not like i got a reading on the size of the head, which is what really matters.

All that said, the kid is in the right position, and I'm thrilled.

I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower yesterday. It was a little crazy. It was my mother, myself, my cousin, and then a bunch of early childhood teachers. You can imagine. In the midst of "awww!" and "so cute!" my mom, my cousin and i looked a bit out of our elements. i ended up sitting next to my cousin, and we mostly talked about her show and the times review and upcoming plans, but my mom ended up surrounded. i think she made one comment to the general assembly, which was followed by silence. i nearly laughed outloud.

it was fine of course. im getting better at the sort of expected expecting talk. but the whole thing also made me grateful for what i _do_ have in princeton, which is nice to know.

hyperventilating

oh, and on the way home from the shower, my train stopped in new brunswick (about 10 minutes north of p'ton) and the doors wouldnt open. i started hyperventilating. this has happened maybe four or five times since i got pregnant, always on the train, always in bad situations (packed trains, standing up in the vestibule). usually people are nice about it. on sunday, not one person even asked if i was ok. keep in mind, im bent over in a fetal position, trying to make it so that im getting oxygen to my brain, breathing heavily. not one person said word one to me!

so after sitting for fifteen minutes, the conductor finally bothers himself to tell us what's going on. turns out, unruly passenger, and they've called the police. the doors wont open (and no new air will be let in) until the police get there. which took another 15 minutes. does it really take the police half an hour to show up at the train station, which is smack in the middle of new brunswick? apparently.

after sitting for a half hour, the police finally came and we went the extra 10 minutes it takes to get to p'ton, me hyperventilating all the way. in all, it was probably 40 minutes from when i started noticing that my face was getting hot and breathing was getting difficult, to when J picked me up from the station and i almost passed out. of course, i couldnt stand for very long, so getting from the train to J's car sent me into worsened breathing, by a long stretch. he had water waiting for me, and it took me about 20 minutes to recover.

but, i cant believe what savages people can be. also, i had four hours each day of commuting the last three days. one could be in a lot of places that one might actually like to be, travelling that amount of time.