Everybody that saw us this week gave us wide-eyed looks and asked why the baby isn’t here yet. Sorry, folks, we aren’t in control of that. Elisa promises not to pop in front of you if you promise not to stare. BTW, updated pictures of the maternal gut are online. (I hope that’s not irreverent to her sacred gift of life).
We tried to stay active. We had my new manager Pal’s family over for raclette. On Friday we went out with Alvin and Dani. Elisa went on a lot of walks this week. Everyone who called while I was out got all suspicious.
Today marks our 4th Annual Cereal Party. This year’s theme was mixology. We didn’t invite a lot of people over because we didn’t know if labor would interfere.
Tara and Sophie are scheduled to arrive here in Zürich this Saturday. But there’s bad news. The stress levels around the Church household are running too high right now. Mom’s got the shingles! 😡 Poor thing was told by the doctor right before she left that she should stay away from pregnant women and infants. What the jimmy? We are still hoping that by Saturday Tara won’t be contagious anymore. Otherwise we don’t know exactly what the backup plan will be.
Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones talking—but it is true anyway—I am just so happy to be with someone that I think the world of. Chad gave an amazingly good lesson today in church, in GERMAN! He is doing so fantastic. I have so much fun seeing him and knowing he is mine and I am his. I am super proud of who I married and feel so lucky and blessed to get to share everything with him. Plus he’s dang sexy.
Chad and I have had a lot of great time together these last few days. We have been trying to take as much advantage as possible of the simplicity of our life together as a couple before the laws of Mathematics crumble. Whoever knew one plus one does not always equal two? We went and saw a couple of over-priced movies, went on walks, played games, went to the pool, stayed up too late, slept in, worked on projects together and are trying to keep enjoying these last few days we have together as just Chad and Elisa.
I have never been happier. I cannot wait until one plus one equals three. Saturday night I had some preliminary contractions. It hurt. I couldn’t sleep. I got to call my mom at 3 am to have her confirm what was happening. Lucky me, she is in a different time zone. It was scary to think that within a few hours we might have our daughter here. I was glad that it was just a trial run to help us prepare emotionally. And I know that contractions usually start in the middle of the night, but I didn’t really imagine I would still be that tired when they started. 🙂 Chad and I are both so excited that things are gearing up and we are that much closer to having our little girl.
Chad and I did a birth preparation course this weekend. We had different expectations for it than what we got. I thought the course would involve a lot of deep breathing. I was really not looking forward to spending all day Saturday and Sunday in the course. This was the only English class we were able to arrange since everyone takes the summer holidays off. Luckily we made it to the course even though we only have a week and a half until our due date. I am officially the furthest along to take one of these courses from our instructor. We ended up being the star students since we have had to do a lot of reading and researching on our own just in case Eden came early.
Even though we were familiar with most of the information there were some really great benefits that came from attending the course. I am still amazed at how incredibly blessed I am to be so comfortable this close to our baby’s arrival. I really couldn’t relate too well with the other women’s discomfort.
Chad and I had the impression that getting what we need as far as pain relief and such during delivery would be a real battle. But it seems that as long as we keep clear communication open with the midwife it will be a much more pleasant and accommodating experience than we were anticipating. The delivery is personal compared to what I imagined. I think the midwifery experience will spoil us here, and make stateside births in the future harder. For example, they don’t expect the mother to spend all day in a cot just because that would make it more convenient for the doctor.
One of the best things I got out of the experience is that I am way less afraid of the whole labor and delivery process. Maybe I am crazy– but I can do it. It is nice to feel more confident that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen Chad and I will be able to work through the whole experience together and we are getting something pretty amazing and special out of it. I am very excited and now can’t wait to just get to it and have our little baby girl.
