To celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday, and the fact that we are B"H now in Week 40, I had a glass of champagne at dinner last night. And it was good. Unfortunately, kosher Champagne pales in comparison to some of the non-kosher kinds I used to drink while a working gal in the Big Apple, but the texture and sweetness really satisfied that craving. I figured I need to get in a glass before the breast feeding P"G begins and I really won't be able to have any alcohol.
So, I've T"G made it to week 40. Sometimes, I really can't believe the end (or should I say the beginning) is almost near! There were moments last week when I thought this was it, with cramps and contractions, but since Thursday night I've felt practically nothing. Last night, we had a great dinner at River on Rabbi Akiva street in town. I ordered the spiciest thing on the menu and tried to eat as much of it as possible until the flames really just got to me. I downed at least 2 bottles of water plus the champage. I was rewarded with literally 1 contraction. And then, we got home, and I enjoyed my buzz and watched some TV with Pidgeon and then passed out. That was the end of the contractions.
We decided to spend Shabbos with Pidgeon's parents because I just didn't want to cook anymore. And, since Pidgeon's Father decided to spend Shabbat Parshat Chayei Sarah in Chevron, it was a very different vibe in the house. I enjoy spending Shabbos when both parents are around, but it was nice to walk around the house in my PJ pants and not have to worry about wearing a skirt in front of my father-in-law.
I woke up on Friday flush with energy and thrilled that I didn't have to cook for Shabbos, that freed me up to do other important things. While Pidgeon was moving the suitcases into his parents storage room, I made up the bed in the baby's (P"G) room. Since the decor is black and white, I used black silk sheets and a lush brown comforter on top. The bed looks so inviting now and I just can't wait until the rest of the furniture is in the apartment! That will have to be delayed until P"G after the baby comes.
Once the room was complete, I tackled the refrigerator. Normally, I clean the fridge for Pesach. But, since this year we flew to the States to spend the holiday with my folks, I did minimal cleaning and literally just locked the doors and left town. The filthiness of the interior of the fridge was really getting to me, but I just kept putting it off. And then, Friday, I couldn't take it anymore. The ratatouille stains on the wall, the chocolate bits that were stuck to the sides, and the swath of cardboard from the bottom of a milk carton that somehow got stuck on some nastiness on the top shelf was just too much. I spent 3 hours cleaning out the fridge, washing down shelves and doors, and tossing anything that was past its expiration date or just didn't look good anymore.
I was exhausted by the time I was done but boy does it look great inside! So much so, that I no longer want to put anything in it because it's so clean. The vegetable bin is my particular pride and joy. There were grapes in there that were so old that they had become raisins (I wish I was kidding). Well, I'm still very proud of my handiwork, although Pidgeon did beg me to put a fruit and vegetable order in because we literally have 3 eggs and some cheese in the house. That's pretty much it, so I acquiesced to do it today but I'm not placing an order on more stuff that will last past the week.
Anyway, after cleaning the fridge, we realized that we had 2 hours left to Shabbos so we got things moving. We rushed through showers and getting dressed, packed up but decided to leave all our hospital bags here (we figured if we needed to get them we would just drive back to pick it up) and went to Pidgeon's parents. We parked as the siren sounded and I was able to light and put on some make up with just enough time. I decided to go to shul on Shabbos since I don't know the next time I'll be able to do that. I'm glad I did, it felt nice to daven Kabbalat Shabbat with everyone. Dinner was also very, very pleasant and I was starving from all the physical excersion so I ate very well.
However, about a few minutes after dinner when we were able to relax, I realized that that baby didn't move that much on Friday. I decided to try to wake the baby up. Nothing doing. I did all the tests they say to do, and about an hour of trying, I didn't feel the baby. Well, that landed us back at Shaarei Zedek on the monitor.
It was an awful, awful experience that I will only share if someone e-mails me offline. I don't want to write any more here since I plan on logging an official complaint with the hospital. All I know is that I'm now absolutely petrified of going into labor on a Friday night. I also learned a big big lesson. From now on, if I have any problems at all or any concerns at all, the first thing I do is call Dr. Yanai. I didn't want to call her on Shabbos to make her be Mechalel Shabbat if it turned out to be nothing, but at the end of the day she is my Dr. and I shouldn't be doing anything at this point without consulting with her.
Lesson learned unfortunately the hard way.
By the time we got back to Pidgeon's parents house on Friday night, I was a complete and total wreck. B"H, all was fine with the baby, but what happened there just took a huge toll. I didn't sleep well at night, and Pidgeon later told me that when I did sleep I was moaning in pain. Not good.
Anyway, since I was pretty much awake, I got up in time to wake Pidgeon for shul. His cousin was naming their baby girl at a minyan in Rechavia, so I decided to go to shul. I haven't been to shul on Shabbos day in a while, and we took the walk slowly and still got there at the beginning of Shacharit. I was exhausted but the davening made me feel a bit better. After shul, we went to Pidgeon's Aunt and Uncle's house and had a quick kiddush and a fun discussion over baby names.
We walked slowly back to Pidgeon's parents and, after another quick Kiddush, we both fell asleep and basically slept well past lunch time. Originally, we had plans to go out to a movie on Saturday night, but I was so emotionally wrecked from Friday night's experience that we decided to just stay in. I made Pidgeon some whole wheat pancakes to take to work on Sunday and then we watched TV and relaxed.
The phone rang at exactly 12:17 p.m. Israel time and it was my folks. When I picked up the phone to say hello, there was silence on the other end. And then, my Mom said, "you're still round?!!!" She had had a dream on Friday night that I had given birth to a "fat" baby with loads of dark hair. I told her we're going to have to wait a bit longer to see if that dream comes true, but there is a probability that the baby is gonna be chubby since the baby already weighs in a almost 8 pounds! As far as dark hair is concerned, I have no idea. Pidgeon has dark, dark hair but I was a blonde baby. So, it's up in the air.
I just can't wait to see what our baby P"G looks like already! I've been imagining for so long and wondering that I'm getting so excited just thinking about it. I think the Pidgeon is too, and I know he can't wait to P"G hold his child in his arms.
Well, Thanksgiving is practically upon us, and I am really hoping I don't need to break those turkey legs out of the freezer for dinner. That being said, I do plan on ordering some sweet potatoes and will make us a nice sweet potato and/or pumpkin pie is the baby decides to stay in Hotel Uterus for the holiday. Only time will tell!
I'm off to call a reflexologist for an appointment. I've been doing anything I can to help jump start these contractions. But, spicy food for dinner last night, loads of fresh pineapple for dessert on Friday night, lots of walking and resting haven't helped. I'm hoping this reflexologist will be able to do something to get things moving!
Yom Tov from Baka!
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