Wow- 37 weeks. When did that happen? Oh right. Yesterday. Heavens, this is suddenly going by really fast. I'm simultaneously beyond ready... but not really ready at the same time. Anyone who has ever been 37 weeks pregnant knows what I'm talking about. It's really super uncomfortable to do just about anything at this point. Walking, sitting, standing- yeah it's all various degrees of discomfort. But after baby arrives I know I will be dealing with waking up every 2-3 hours, engorgement, juggling 5 kids, etc. If I had to choose which one I want to deal with, I'm not sure how that'd go. Good thing I don't get to choose!
Last week at my appointment my midwife commented on how high baby boy was- literally he was still floating above my pelvis, happily sleeping with his bum pushed up under my ribs. My poor ribs felt bruised since, oh about week 25, so yeah, I could have told her that!
This week? Well, actually, to be specific- Sunday after I got up from a nap. Yep, little guy decided to drop. And drop. Then drop some more. To the point where my midwife looked surprised today when she announced that baby was very low and "engaged" in the pelvis. Translation: I have to pee 437 times a day and the waddle I've sported for a good month or so has gotten even worse. I've also had a lot more cramping this past week. Add that to all the contractions I seem to have and I just feel glorious. All sorts of awesome.
The double batch of Beef Stew I wanted to make is simmering on the stove as I type, so all I have left to do is pack my hospital bag and the To-Do list will be complete. It's kind of a good feeling! The kids are still off track and we have a lot of fun things planned, so I certainly won't be sitting around twiddling my thumbs, but it's nice to not have any certain tasks on my mental check-list.
Another milestone that comes with 37 weeks is officially being cleared for a
Water Birth! The hospital I deliver at recently began letting women both labor and birth in the tub and the minute I heard this, I knew I wanted to do it. I had an epidural with Thomas and Hailey, but decided to go unmedicated with Colin and Leah. I don't consider myself a crunchy mom per se, but I do tend to lean towards natural and holistic medicines and such. I don't love pain nor do I consider myself to have a super high pain tolerance. I just know that every drug/ medicine you take has some form of side effect, so I wondered what it would be/ feel like to not have anything when birthing a baby. Hailey's birth was really very easy and after I found myself thinking, "I could have done that without an epidural!" So I actually planned a natural birth with Colin and well, it went
really well. (You can
read Colin's birth story here and just for fun,
Leah's birth story here.) My recoveries were always pretty easy and my babies were always very alert and fed well, but I was shocked to see
how much easier my recoveries were and
how much more alert the babies were after the births where I had no pain meds. So yeah, I'm sold. (BTW- I don't really do a certain type of natural childbirth method. I did read a fantastic book called
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and used a lot of the relaxation techniques there. I think natural birth is 90% mental though- I was SO determined to do it!)
With both of my natural labors I labored in the tub and it really helped me relax and focus. So wanting a water birth is a no-brainer. The only thing is, it takes about an hour to get the tub set up and filled, so I need to make sure to leave early on in labor to get there in time. (With Colin's birth, I stayed home a wee bit too long- he was born 4 minutes after I arrived in my hospital room! With Leah I decided to labor at the hospital... which was okay, but don't think I was able to relax as well, so my labor was longer.I'm aiming for something in the middle this time around.)
So here's the birthing tub the midwives use. Providing I get there in time and baby is not showing any signs of distress, I should be good to go. I'm excited! I feel like I've come a long way in the whole "being ready/ excited for this baby" in the past week. I love newborns and even though this pregnancy was beyond a surprise, I know he's meant to be in our family. It will be amazing to meet him and see what this determined little guy is like.
That's the update... I'm hoping I make it until late next week. Then all bets are off and I start climbing stairs, walking to the grocery store, etc. Although I've told Adrian a few times I'll go into labor during the BYU - Utah rivalry game on Saturday. He doesn't think that's very funny... ;)
