Side Shot & The Stuff Quest Continues

It's a big day in baby stuff exchange. This morning, I had a woman drop by to sell me a stack of her used cloth diapers (the previously mentioned Kissaluvs for the under 15 pounder (size 0) and some diaper covers). Lil' Shute's behind should be pretty well covered from birth to 3 months now.

Just a note on the used cloth diaper market: Now, cloth diapers, while supposedly cheaper in the long run, are an upfront investment. Still, it's a bit wacky but folks seem to think they can get 80% retail for used cloth diapers. Maybe they can but not from me. Inevitably, these folks are also located in the far DC suburbs and are selling 6 or 7 diapers (usually the all in one kind, not the classic fabric ones which cost practically nothing without the cover). Maybe I value my time very highly but it's not worth it to get in touch with them, arrange schedules, figure out when I can use a car, and drive out to who knows where through northern Virginia traffic (ick), to save $2 a diaper for a brand/style that may not have been my first choice if I bought retail √¢¬Ä¬ì√¢¬Ä¬ì repeatedly since, unless you want to do laundry 3x a day, you need more than 6 diapers. And yet, so many ads say: "I paid $15/12/10 a piece and will sell for $12/10/8." Mind boggling.

Later, two women will be dropping by to pick up stuff I've been given but won't use. I've got a spare infant bathtub and a bassinet to give away.

I've also lined up receipt of a used diaper pail and a borrowed bouncy chair. Yay for neighborhood news groups!

And the promised side shot - 33 weeks.

Now Pamela objected to the straight down baby shot from a couple weeks ago. But, really, that's how I experience this pregnancy.

The occasional full body mirror glimpse always surprises me -- "Good grief, how big is this kid? How much bigger could she/he get? Where will I put her?" I can't really get side photos unless I request help.

I'll have to try to document a little better. I may have 7 to 9 weeks of baby growth to accommodate yet - oh my. It's impossible to predict. Both my sister's kids made their debut around the 37-38 week mark. My mother's three (including me) were late with my brother not turning up until almost week 42. Only Lil' Shute knows.

Now the diatribe: That whole 40 weeks thing is just an average and it's based on an assumption that every woman has a 28 day menstrual cycle and ovulates on day 14. Since a "normal" cycle is between 21 and 35 days with ovulation commonly happening two weeks from the end (not the beginning) of it, all the math seems pretty questionable. Which is why it's disturbing that the trend in obstetrics (probably driven by insurance) is to arbitrarily insist that women be artificially induced at 41 weeks or even earlier regardless of the condition of the baby or mother. Such inductions increase the chance or further medical interventions dramatically and completely disregard the natural variations in women and in fetal development. Many more links here.