relax and adapt in recovery

I am now officially on reduced work time. I've spoken with the human resources director and my chair, and they both support me in reducing my teaching load. For now, however, I am continuing to teach all my courses, but cutting back on all other work (e.g. committee work). I go in to teach in the morning (fortunately all my classes meet in a row, from 8 a.m. till 11:40 a.m.) and then I go home to sleep and rest in the afternoon.

Leighton is pampering me and being very helpful. He's doing most or all of the cooking, runs all the errands, does all the laundry, and cleans the house on a regular basis. Last night, he poured me a warm bath with bath salts, lit candles in the bathroom, and had me soak in the tub for a while to help against the swollenness in my legs; he had read that this would help in How to Make a Pregnant Woman Happy, which he had just received in the mail. Later in the evening, I did feel better.

Our midwife, Rachel, came by on Sunday and we had a good meeting that lasted more than two hours. Our baby greeted her too, kicking vigorously and actively moving around when she was feeling for it and listening to its heartbeat. Leighton got to feel the baby's little head. Rachel also lent us a DVD, Birth As We Know It, which we saw last night. It was such a moving, inspirational, and empowering film to see. The film focuses on the benefits of water birth in particular, an option which Rachel will make available to us. The film explained water birth as an opportunity for the birthing woman to return to a natural element and there to let herself become all liquidy; surrendering to her body, letting it do what it knows how to do, deep down. The film also emphasized every birth as an opportunity to heal traumas from the past as we open up a loving, trusting space for ourselves and the baby.

Finally, the film recommended the expectant mother and father take the time to emotionally and spiritually prepare for the baby's birth through creative work, play, dance, and meditation. We both feel we haven't had the time to do this enough, but look forward to having this time during spring break (March 20-27), which we will spend on St. Martin in the Caribbean. Leighton has made all the practical arrangements for this spring break slash belated honeymoon, so I will let him describe our plans. It promises to be a wonderful vacation and time for us to really cherish the pregnancy and all that it holds.