Waiting for Baby to Come

We are getting closer on our countdown, a crazy unknown place to be. I'm 38 weeks today, and baby could come anytime between now and 43 weeks (hopefully this little one doesn't stay in until I'm 43 weeks... I really want an October baby ;) 

I've been doing weekly visits with the midwives the last few weeks. Yesterday, we toured the rooms of the birthing center again to help us think about which room we would pick (if we have a choice - the way birthing seems to be going there lately is that everyone comes at once and there ends up being a full house... and I know 2 other mamas who are due right before me - we might be making a mad-dash for our favorite rooms ;) My midwife did an amazing and beautiful job explaining the process of birthing to us yesterday and what to expect with the birthing center. (It made me want to cry.) Her words made me super excited to experience a natural birth rather than anxious about the pain and unknown. With a combination of the midwives, the birthing class I took, my yoga instructor, and the reading I have done, I feel ready for this birth. I like the place I am in concerning the pain that I might feel and the contractions. I have a great respect for the process of birthing and the power women's bodies are given in order to bring our precious little ones into this world. 

The unknown is the part that sticks out in my mind most right now. I keep thinking: today could be it. The other night, I was exhausted from running errands all afternoon. It was 7:30, and I was already in my pajamas and explaining to Seth that we needed to go to bed. If I had gone into labor then, it would have been a bit more taxing. I'm trying to keep myself from being that tired, because I do not want labor to hit when I'm already exhausted!! 

I'm not sure if I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions or not... I think I am from the way people describe. At my Fall Mamas group the other night, one 2nd time mama explained that they felt like your belly was getting a hug and your uterus was really hard. I have been feeling that, although I just wondered if it was the little one rearranging. 

Seth and I spent the weekend getting some stuff ready for the baby. We built the crib. Right now it's on his side of the bed because I already have such a difficult time getting out of bed. We'll move it to my side after the baby comes to make it easy for night nursing. I'll post photos eventually, but we have it set up in a co-sleeping way. We are using a convertible crib and have the front side off the bed. We'll push the cribe between the bed and the wall so that the mattress is right up next to ours. We also installed the car seat in the car. It was able to fit in the middle of the backseat which means that we can fit more people in our car than we originally thought. (Originally, we thought the only place we could fit the car seat was behind the passenger seat, which meant the passenger seat was pushed so far forward that no one would be able to sit there.) We can totally fit two more people in the car with us now. 

The other big task for last weekend was the gliding rocker. I had a really hard time picking a glider rocking chair. I wanted it to be extremely comfortable (my friend Melissa's glider put all the ones I was trying to shame!) and it needed to have dark wood to match the furniture in our bedroom. I wanted it to be tall enough in the back so I could lean my head back. I also wanted one that was sturdy and would last. Online reviews are very helpful, but they also make it difficult to buy things sometimes. I read the bad reviews and think about how much money is being spent on the rocker... And there's no way I want to spend that much money on a rocker that's going to fall apart in 3 months! I finally found one - although I didn't get to actually try it. I was told that all of the ones made by this company (Best Furniture) use the same sort of glide and cushions (it's from the same company as Melissa's), so if that's the case, it's an AMAZING rocker! I also found a place in Sellwood that would have it in 3-4 weeks vs. most furniture companies that said it was impossible to have it before 6-8 weeks. (And they sold it to me cheaper than the rest of the furniture companies were going to!) The place is called Sellwood Furniture and their link is here if anyone is interested in using them - we recommend them for sure!

And finally - I've been stock piling food. I went to the grocery store today, thinking I was doing a normal shop. Somehow I ended up with a shopping bill that was about twice what I usually have... I did have quite a few homeopathics/herbs to get for laboring/after the birth (which add up), but I also realized I was stocking up on things... Like spaghetti noodles. For the nights when we want something quick and easy. And now that I have a pantry, I might as well fill it, I guess. I've been watching squirrels gathering their winter stores, and I think I'm doing the same thing... which puts me at the ending. I'm off to make lentil soup to freeze for lunches when Seth's at work after the baby comes (he's not a big fan, so I figured it would be a perfect time for me to enjoy it!) and meatloaf and bean burritos with homemade refried beans - all of which are going in the freezer (good thing Ethan and Jac have offered to share a bit of their space in their deep freeze in the basement - especially considering our shelfless freezer in our kitchen fridge makes it really difficult to pack much into it).