Life Upside Down

Whew! Going back to work has proven a bit more challenging than I imagined, and entries to the blog have likely suffered most of all. A lot has been going on around here though, so here's a quick effort to catch everyone up:
Classes are going well; I have some great students! And while it requires more preparation and immensely more grading time on my part, I am truly enjoying Pre-AP Geometry this year. I'm hoping after another week or so to have the grading to a manageable level and not spend my evenings with a stack of papers.
In other news, last week sometime (I don't recall which evening now), Paul got to feel Zane move for himself for the first time! Up to then, he could sometimes see movement (when Zane's movements were enough to be seen externally), but would miss out on feeling it. One night when Zane had been particularly active, I commented to Paul that he seemed to have settled into a nap just before Paul got home from work. Paul rubbed my belly, telling Zane it wasn't fair for him to sleep just as he got home and suddenly Zane moved several times for Paul to feel. It was so exciting! I get to feel Zane wiggle all the time and wish I could share more of it with Paul. Unfortunately, I think that was also the same night that I endured the incredibly painful leg cramps I'd been hearing about (in the middle of the night, no less) for the first time! Lucky me, I survived them and haven't suffered any since...here's hoping I've felt the last of those.

A couple of weeks ago we attended a Prepared Childbirth class, and last week completed a shorter course on breastfeeding. We won't claim to have all the answers yet, but we have more of them now than before. A lot of people felt the need to tell me how they didn't need classes, but I'm glad we went - both having a baby and breastfeeding are not as easy as some people would have you believe and I'm sure the information we got will be helpful.

As for this week, Paul is now working a day schedule (after more than a year on a noon-9 pm shift) and so we've very much enjoyed seeing one another in the evenings. He's even cooked dinner most of the week (he's becoming a master on the grill) and we're excited to think that after Zane's arrival we can parent together in the evenings instead of having a tag-team system.
Last, though certainly not least, today's OB appointment showed that baby Zane is now in the head-down position! If only he'll stay there for the duration, we'll all be a lot less worried about delivery. Really they don't worry about his position until after 32 weeks, but since he'd been breech and/or transverse for the last month, it'll just be easier on us all if he doesn't switch north and south again!