Diapers, Ina May and the final countdown.

Springtime rapidly approaches, and sometime, anytime, in the next 4-5 weeks we will have a baby. 

Patrick took this past weekend off for us to have a last solid couple of days of time spent together. It was our version of a babymoon; we slept in, cooked, watched movies, took the dog for an adventure… it was pretty great!

On Friday our obstetrician told us the ultrasound had been great, and there are no problems. He is just a small baby; in the 30^th percentile.  She said the blood flow from the placenta was perfect, and matched how it was last ultrasound. 

I sorted out the cloth diaper conundrum on Friday as well. Mom and I visited a shop near the city and spoke with the owner who had lots of information and suggestions. I originally planned to use a newborn size pocket cloth diaper rental kit from her for the first 8 weeks, then switch to the regular one-size Babyland pocket diapers I was going to buy more of (I already have a few). She ended up convincing me to buy, instead of renting anything, a different type of pocket diaper (Charlie Banana) which is a higher quality that works better and can be resold later, and also is made so it can actually fit newborns.  I went with 6 of those and 12 organic cotton prefolds with 2 Bummis (aren't all the names just great?) newborn covers, which should last us fine for the first couple of months.

In other news, we decided to have a doula at our birth, and have met with her once already. We first met her when she sat in on of our prenatal classes along with another doula. She is not fully certified or trained yet, but is passionate and seemingly experienced, and most importantly, easy to talk to. We both felt from the start that if we used a doula, it would need to be someone we felt a positive connection with immediately. I am really pleased about it. We’ll probably meet with her a few more times before the birth. She gave us some great books, including Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, which is transforming Patrick’s and my whole understanding of childbirth. I spent the entire morning reading this in bed today. It’s a must-read for anyone.

Back to the baby laundry! I’m washing all our 0-3 and newborn size clothes and receiving blankets today. We finally have a washer. 

And keep moving, tiny one. Keep kicking me in the ribs all you want, I know I'll miss it some day. You don’t have as much room as you used to, but savour these last weeks in your little cocoon…