So I think Declan is officially weaned... It's about almost a month since the last time he nursed. When we were checking out the pre-Renaissance artwork displayed in the former Venetian Royal Palace, Declan showed great interest in all the pictures of the breastfeeding baby Jesus. He said "Num-num" (his word for nursing) and repeatedly pointed at Mary's boobs, eventually lifting up his own shirt to point out his nipples. Usually, with such reminders, he'd be wailing pretty soon for me to nurse him, but at this point, he seems merely to have lots of fond memories of such an activity, with no absolute need for it anymore. He did look hopefully at me last night, after we returned from Sukkot dinner, but when I pointed out books he could read, he shifted his attention without much fuss.
And thank God for that...I had meant to nurse Declan for at least two years, not shy of 21 months. I wonder if I could have gone for a bit longer if I weren't pregnant. As it is though, my body's so sore and messed up right now from pregnancy hormones that it's a really nice break. Israeli doctors are ridiculously thorough about prenatal tests... The organ ultrasound I took on Sunday was at least half an hour longer than the one given me in Pittsburgh, and they check for not only the vital organs like heart and kidneys, but also details like the corpus callosum. Everything seems to be in order, and my daughter is currently about 700g in weight, or the 50th percentile compared with most fetuses her age. (Frankly, I find it a bit ridiculous to have such information.) I was hoping that I wouldn't need to go through the glucose test that I did when pregnant with Declan, but the nurse I talked with was pretty adamant. She seemed to think that the only reason for my hesitation is because I don't like the taste of the glucose solution I'd have to drink, given how she constantly reassured me by describing how "great" it tastes. Sigh. Whatever. My main focus right now is to find a birthing place and birthing assistants that I'm comfortable with. I'm a bit torn about two potential places right now. One of them, I'm bussing to this Thursday (hopefully the bus system is working, unlike today with the beginning of Sukkot...there's been a lot of religious-holiday-induced non-working days lately); the other is located in Netanya, a city about 56km south of Haifa. I've heard really good things about it, and love its philosophy, but I wonder if the distance would allow for everything to work out.
A bright memory here (so that I don't feel so down about missing the Great Race in Pittsburgh this year) is the Sukkot dinner last night wherein Kirsten made chili and baked potatoes with all the fixings, Or made salad, Rachel brought cherry pie, and I made garlic bread. Mark and Rachel came up from Tel Aviv, and it was a really good time with friends. I'm glad to have moments like this in a foreign country that I've moved to only a little over a month ago. It's a really a big blessing.
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