Zwischenzeit

Our doula Meghan Heather Ford just sent me a poignant article The Last Days of Pregnancy: a place of in-between by Jana Studelska CPM/LM published in Mothering Magazine on 4/10/2012 (https://www.mothering.com/articles/the-last-days-of-pregnancy-a-place-of-in-between/). It brought me to a weeping state. It is such a tender time, preparing for the epic process of birth. Now at 40 weeks and counting, all the nesting and baby preparations are complete. It’s trusting the process, that “my baby knows when and my body knows how.” It’s a time of slow walks, shared moments of presence with Lake and Michael. Nothing is taken for granted. Nothing will ever be the same. It is a deeply spiritual time, palpable with opportunity. It is the in-between time, or interim: zwischenzeit, in German. In a culture that has little patience for waiting in general , and is specifically quick to schedule inductions and surgical extractions, it’s a form of rare gem, a radical and transformative act, to create space around this intimate time, to sink in to the zwischen and allow it time to unfold. I’m blessed to have a supportive team at UWMC Northwest, lead by Dr. Ali Lewis MD who respects the natural process. Mama, Little Sister cozy in utero, and loving family all poised on the cusp of the upcoming labor, birth, new-mothering/parenting/big-brothering/grandparenting/au pairing. Our family is growing!

To mark the occasion of the due date ( by serendipity, yet a lovely act of hygge) We had a lovely adventure with Chamonix Penelopy Browne of The Happy Film Company at Discovery Park yesterday at 40 weeks yesterday morning. It was a beautiful morning, some sun flirted with us from 7:30-8am on our drive over, warming the air above the bluff so one arrived, although the sun tucked under a dark bank of grey clouds, we were not freezing and were able to run and play with some abandon. Lake had me running and romping with him like I hadn’t done since late summer!