Couvade syndrome, or pulling on the rope a little

OK, your first question is probably "What the heck is Couvade syndrome?" Well, good ole' reliable Wikipedia defines it as follows:

"a psychosomatic condition in which an individual close to an expectant mother, commonly her partner, experiences some of the same symptoms and behavior as the mother near the time of labor. These can include pains, aches, depression, food cravings and restrictions, insomnia, and exhaustion."

So am I experiencing any such "symptoms"? Well, not completely, but I have had this back ache that has been driving me crazy (and my back pain has been worse than Bryna's, believe it or not). And overall anxiety about the to-do list, the nursery, childbirth classes, health, cleaning, rightful increased share of housework, finances, friends, family, work, and health insurance has certainly increased the amount of stress that I'm experiencing as an expectant father. As Almost-A-Dad states in his "8 Reasons Why Pregnancy Makes Fathers Tired," stress works in a a tricky way. First, it makes your mind run like a Kenyan marathoner so it's not always easy to wind down at the end of the day. Second, stress causes a release of cortisol in your body that not only helps pack on a few pounds by messing with your blood sugars, over time it will make you feel depressed and anxious. But it's only a warm-up for the stress and anxiety of having a new baby, so I'll just convince myself that this is anthropologically/biologically-driven preparation for being a new father.

Your second question is "What does pulling on rope have anything to do with this?" Well, leave it to art to bring a new perspective to any issue in life. The quaint randomness of the blogosphere recently directed me toward the Huichol Indian tribe of Mexico and their ritual for ensuring that men share in the pains of childbirth. Apparently, the woman in labor would lay down in a hut, and her husband would sit in the rafters above her with a rope tied around his testicles ... and, when the woman had a contraction, she'd pull on the rope (all men reading this just cringed ... and all the women just snickered). Here's a work of art from the collection of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco that depicts this interesting custom:
Next time a man asks what labor pain feels like, I'd just tell him about this ... end of conversation.

OK, so I don't feel any better now -- esp. since I've now added a new anxiety to my long list (take another look at the image above in case you don't know what I'm talking about). But at least I could vent a bit about pre-natal father anxiety and stress -- of course, always only a small fraction of the stress and physical discomfort of the actual mother-to-be (I do realize that I cannot even try to compare).

33 days to go until the projected due date! [blood pressure increasing]

33 Weeks

Eek gads, the heft of a pineapple! Oy vey. Look at how small that quarter looks in comparison. That's how small the Short Stranger was at around 9 weeks, in late March. So so long ago...

So this week, first, I have to do a little cyber happy dance in honor of my finished comp exam taken on Tuesday. I had to go to the bathroom 3 times during that 3-hour exam, but I made it! And although I still have an oral follow up portion to go, I feel d*mn good about my finished work. Enough so to finally relax a bit and really take in what comes next. Unfortunately for me though, my body has decided to do what it does everytime I have a big school project and succumb to an illness--this time, thankfully, a cold. I shouldn't complain--at least it consistently has the decency to wait until I'm done with my work. This does, however, make the increasingly persistent last-trimester pregnancy symptoms all the more annoying. Acid-refux and scratchy throat all at once? Wonderful.

In other fun news, the dad-to-be and I got to tour the labor and delivery rooms last night during our birthing class. Being the art dorks that we are, we of course focused mainly on the interior decorating. Soothing decor? Check. Ambient lighting? Check. No nasty hospital white? Check and double check. And...happy little babies in the nursery! (The cutest part of the tour, of course).

On the Short Stranger front, which basically consists of fattening up and strengthening those lungs and muscles at this point in the game, babycenter.com has this to say:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

By the way, babycenter.com claims that I might "find myself waddling" at this point in the pregnancy. Hmpf. For the record, *I* don't think I waddle yet, but then again, how would I know?

school supplies

On my first day of classes last week at Wash U. I found myself bringing an unusual array of added school supplies that only a woman pregnant or once pregnant could truly appreciate. In addition to the security blanket known as my laptop computer, as well as the pens, notebooks, and such that I drag about with me in my bag, I brought the following:
-An extra pair of shoes in case my feet swelled
-Craisins, to dull the hunger pangs
-Crystallized ginger, a natural remedy for acid refux and heartburn--because that baby in there just loves to crowd out my esophagus
- Tums, in case the ginger didn't work
-And a blanket and pillow: the required "supplies" for the birthing class I attended after I TA'd

And what did I actually use? The craisins and the shoes. Surprisingly, no blanket or pillow (they had us sit on a bean bag, which is the subject of an entry on its own...you try getting out of one of those at 7 months pregnant!) Sadly, I don't think anyone even noticed the new (uncomfortable) sandals I had worn in the morning, so I gave up on them by noon. But yay for not needing the tums!

The next goal is to pack some sort of semblance of a hospital bag, to throw in the car. Just...in...case...

31 Weeks

Hmm, me thinks we've reached a new level in this pregnancy when babycenter.com uses multiple fruit to visualize the baby. It's like I'm juggling four oranges constantly...in my belly. We're now in the single digits on our baby day countdown, with less than 10 weeks to go. Not so long ago, I can remember how excited we were to get to week 10, towards the end of that anxiety-filled first trimester. And now...was I ever that small?

This week we began our birthing class, otherwise known as prep for the "Short Stranger Welcome Home Party." It was only somewhat useful, since this week was mostly introductory. I did learn one important thing: the Short Stranger is SUPER EXCITED about his arrival! I don't think I've ever felt him move so much in one two-hour sitting. I almost starting giggling during our practice breathing because he wouldn't stop wiggling underneath my shirt. All I have to say is, slow down cowboy! You still have a lot of time left.

All of this commotion is the topic of this week's babycenter.com post:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.