33 Weeks... and counting.

...and we don't have TOO much further to count. It's pretty cool to be able to flip through my calendar and only have to turn one page before seeing the date marked "Barca's Due Date."

Everything is falling into place pretty nicely, I think. Annie is still feeling really good (and looking great) and getting by without any major problems. The biggest issue seems to be how she feels really hungry some days and then not hungry at all other days. I'm kind of bummed, honestly, that she hasn't been having any weird cravings. I was actually looking forward to trying a peanut butter and pickles sandwich. Oh well...

Barca's room is coming along. We found the ideal places for all the furniture in there this weekend, only having to move one big piece, and we unpacked and set up the glider (and gliding ottoman) we bought. All we're waiting on, really, is the crib (which should arrive in a couple of weeks) and for us to decide what we'd like to decorate the walls with. We still need a few other items and some more clothes, of course, but Ann's grandma helped us immensely in that regard -- basically cleaning out the children's section of the Macy's in Santa Barbara and giving us more than we could have asked for for Christmas. We're also all set in the stroller and car seat department, finding the ones we wanted in some cool colors.

Today we just finished up our Natural Childbirth class, which turned out to be quite interesting and helpful. We learned a lot more about the whole process (from nesting to labor to post-partum) than just how to do Lamaze breathing and time contractions. I even filled a proverbial "Toolbox" (our instructor's word for it) of information and wisdom (the proverbial "tools") I hope to be able to use to keep Ann comfortable and calm from now until Barca arrives. I also have no doubt she'll be able to make it through without needing any medication in the hospital -- or having to see any needles. That would make everybody happier.

One more thing we learned in the class: Our instructor said, in trying to illustrate how babies are used to noisy environments, the blood rushing through a woman's vena cava vein registers in the baby's ears at 80 decibels, while a vacuum cleaner clocks in at 60 decibels. We were struck with the question, though, that if the baby is supposed to be able to hear his or her parents' voices coming from the outside of the womb, which can't even come close to 80 decibels, how is it that a person's blood flow is that loud, but inaudible to the outside world? Or, for that matter, does it mean that if one were to shrink a vacuum cleaner and stick it inside themself (without reducing the intensity of the sound, of course), would we NOT be able to hear it from the outside? Something to ponder... but I digress...

Lastly, Ann and I have come up with a fun way to create Barca's birth announcement, which you can all look forward to seeing in about seven weeks.

Until the next time.

-Nick