Punchy,
Your mom went to a midwife appointment today and the midwife said that she thinks you weigh between 5 and 5.5 pounds and you still have weeks to go. She said she will allow you to get up to 10 pounds without issue, but at about a half a pound a week, we will see how things go. When I was born I weighed 13 pounds 12 oz, your mom was 10 pounds something. We have no delusions that you are or will be a little tiny baby.
I have not talked about our birthing plan in this blog but here it is in a nutshell. We are planning to have a natural birth in the hospital. There is a lot of information out there about the "best way" to give birth, how this is better than that and the like. When we were much earlier in the pregnancy we took a Hypno birthing class and in that class the instructor said something that I really appreciated. There were a lot of people in the room who were very anti hospital. She said each birth is your own and there is nothing wrong with what you are comfortable with and doing it your way.
I stand by that. I have had friends who had babies at home, and babies in the hospital and what I know is that the way that works best for the baby and the mother in their situation is what is best. We have considered many things home birth was one but at the end we decided that it was not right for us. That does not mean that it is not right for anyone, just that it is not right for us.
In as much as possible we are planning on going without medication. We have our reasons but we will leave it at that.
If everything goes well, I will help catch you, and clamp the cord and cut it after it has stopped pulsating. For the first hour after you are born, we are not calling anyone or texting or posting it on social media. That is us time and it is very important to me that we have time just you and your mom and I. We plan on having you room with us at the hospital. We are so excited for you to get here and want to make sure that we do what we can to have your birth happen the way that feels right to us. What is important to us is that you are as comfortable as we can make the first little bit for you.
Last night, your mom and I talked about her taking a Ukulele class after you are born, I joked, that I could still teach fencing with you in one of the 2 backpacks I have for you. It was a joke, but in truth, I can coach with a baby strapped to my chest. Just not fight with you strapped to my chest. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have you here. It is seriously something that makes me so happy and so proud. It is a good thing it takes 9 months for a baby to be born, to me, this 9 months has been a great time to adjust my mindset so I can decide what being a father means to me, what it is I want for you, and to really get my head around the fact that in 61 days (give or take) we get meet you and I cannot tell you how happy I am for that day. It gets me through the rough times, and I am happy in ways I cannot explain to meet you.
See you soon kid.
-Dad
