There has been a lot going on in the Scholen household since posting last. I hit 29 weeks last Friday and I can definitely say that physically my body has said, "Welcome to the third trimester!". I am beginning to have more aches and pains and getting winded more easily. I laughed when I told my water aerobics instructor that this is the first time that a class has gotten harder for me to do instead of easier as time went on! Many people tell me that I look small for being 29 weeks. I think because I am 5'10" and very long-waisted, my uterus has lots of room to expand. Hopefully, that will mean that I won't feel like my abdomen is in my chest by the time I am full-term : ).
Keller has become quite the little mover and seems to do somersaults in her little space. It is still so surreal for me to be able to feel and now see her movements just by looking at my abdomen. I LOVE feeling her move - except on those rare occasions when she kicks so hard it makes me jump! To me though, this is the BEST part about being preggo. I love it.
We are almost finished with our birthing class and also went to a class at the hospital where we will deliver, hopefully in the water. When I saw the room with the tub, everything became a little more real for me. I started imagining me being there and knowing that at some point in the future, I will be having this baby! Kinda scary, but exciting as well. : )
Along with thinking about the birth, I have been trying to figure out a packing list for the hospital. And we also need to write out our birth plan. I am so very glad that we hired a doula to help me through the birth and who can be our advocate at the hospital. It really puts my mind at ease about a lot of things. I kinda think of her in the same light as a wedding coordinator who has all of those things in her "magic bag" that you didn't realize you needed until there was a crisis of some sort. A bunch of my friends have used this doula and said that she absolutely was the most beneficial person in the room and helped to get them through their natural birth.
I have also been busy "feminizing" Keller's room. I added some bows on the curtains and bows to hang the letters of her name over her crib. I still wouldn't have gone with these colors exactly, but I am happy with the way it is turning out. I will try to post a few pictures of her room when it is really complete.
My family is taking a trip down to Orlando in April that has been planned since before I got pregnant. I will be 34 weeks at that point and so I am still unsure if we will go. I am a little nervous about leaving Atlanta where I know if something happens, I have my OB and doula right here. I'd love to hear from anyone who can offer advice - would you travel at 34 weeks? I may just see how I am feeling and talk with my midwife at that point to make a decision, but I'd love anyone's feedback!
The last news is about Sadie's birthparents. We had a little setback in that Kentucky doesn't have a law specific to adoption fraud and no one has been tried and convicted of adoption fraud under their theft by deception law. The prosecuting attorney doesn't think the judge will allow our case to be brought to trial because there is no legal contract when it comes to adoption. You don't enter into a contract to "buy" a baby, so the theft by deception law may not work to convict them. So, we are considering allowing them what is called a conditional plea. With a conditional plea, they would be let go getting only probation for pleading guilty and then also have the right to appeal that guilty plea. When the appeal is brought before the Court of Appeals, they will determine if Janie and Michael are indeed guilty under the theft by deception law. If they find them guilty, then it will set precedent for the state of KY to use their theft by deception law in other adoption fraud cases. If they find them not guilty, it will allow the state to write a new law specific to adoption fraud, if they choose. We aren't thrilled that they would only get probation for their crime, but we are happy that this case could set a precedent in their state for future scams. We are actually going to be in our Sunday paper here in Atlanta talking about all of this so that the adoption community can hopefully rally around getting this precedent set. I think that if we can see a precedent set in KY, we will feel like we have done our part and seen something good come out of our trial.
Thanks for following!
Tracey
