As we are getting to that point where no news=BABY????, I will let you all know that the plan is to have someone (possibly Peter, possibly someone else) give a brief update on Caring Bridge to let people know that we are going to the hospital, but then don’t expect too much news after that 🙂 We will certainly try to keep people posted, but we might be a little preoccupied! In the meantime, if I don’t post for a day or so, please don’t worry! It probably just means I’m napping a lot 🙂

We are also going to leave visits to the hospital after baby comes a little bit flexible and see how we are feeling. If everything goes smoothly, we should only be there a couple days anyway. And we are hoping to have what they call a “sip and see” at some point in the first month or so (basically it’s a cute name for a kind of open house where people can come see the baby and we don’t have to worry about trying to entertain people individually). We’ll see if that grand plan actually works out, though!

The only other baby-related news is that we’ve met with our doulas twice now, and had really lovely meetings with them. While the plan is still to be flexible as to what interventions may or may not be needed (e.g., epidural), talking with them also helped me realize that a natural birth might still be a possibility, especially as my energy levels have been rising more and more, and since baby might still be up to three weeks away (July 5th is 42 weeks, the longest anyone would let me go). I’m also preparing mentally more and more for this little one and feeling much better about her arrival. Thank you to all the mamas who have shared their own experiences in the guestbook. It really does make me feel better!

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I thought I should answer some of the questions that are popping up in the Guestbook, since there isn’t a really good way to respond there (BTW, I LOVE reading the comments in the Guestbook! They really make my day!).

Questions about the book cover photo: The picture that is being used on the cover of the book is really nothing special, in its raw form. If I had to pick which of my pictures would have been picked for something like this, it never would have been that pic! It was a picture of an ice formation taken in a lake when we went ice fishing a few years ago. Here’s the original. See? Nothing special. But apparently, it worked for their art team!

Update on Peter: He is doing a LOT better, but his neck still occasionally bothers him. Depending on the day, he might be 75%-90%. This is WAY up from the, oh, 15% he probably was the day we took him to the doctor.

Update on scar massage: I have some Vitamin E I put on the scar before I massage it, along with some lotion. Also, in a truly amazing coincidence, it turns out that one of my long-time friends (and readers of this “blog”) actually wrote a stinking BOOK on scar massage! What are the odds of that? Jonathan (who is traveling the world with his wife/my friend Carrie) sent me a copy of his ebook and I’ve been reading that to help me out with the massage. So far, it’s going a LOT better than I thought! Obviously, I haven’t seen any changes since it’s only been 2 days, but the fact that I can tolerate the touching and have actually been doing the massage is HUGE for me. (And if you are looking for some really interesting reading, check out Carrie & Jonathan’s adventures at http://www.carrieandjonathan.com/ They have great pictures of a ton of places, plus nice reviews/information for others who might be interested in traveling too!).

Update on my brother: He is doing well, overall. His surgery on his shoulder went well, and the doctors decided he did not need surgery on his wrists. Luckily, he is still able to use his left hand to some extent, so he is able to (slowly) type with one hand. He’s back at work full-time now. Mom and Dad are back in Reno (Dad for the first time in well over a month), and are driving back out here at the end of the week for baby’s upcoming appearance!

Anything else you are wondering about?