Feeling Ready

This past week or so has been super busy. We've had things to do pretty much every night and it's really busy for me at work right now since I'm trying to wrap up as much as I can before I go. Every night I'm exhausted and then I get all nervous that I'm going to end up going into labor when I'm so tired to begin with. Paul's been too busy too, tons of stuff to do around the house & lots of work to do for other people. Plus this past weekend was his friend's bachelor party. So this week's goal is to take it easy, catch up on our sleep, and review our childbirth book so we remember all of those labor exercises we learned about. And most important: spend some relaxing time together, because it's probably the last chance we'll get for that!


I already feel a million times more ready for her to come. I'm getting a lot done at work, and I set up a back up plan so people can take over anytime if I go out unexpectedly. At home our week is a lot less crammed with plans, we packed our hospital bag, we finished her room, and we finally got the car seat installed (by the sheriff's department, so we know for sure that it's in there safely!) So now all we have left to do is look forward to meeting our baby!


On that end, we had the best appointment this past Friday. We met with our favorite midwife, Jo. She's so enthusiastic and we always learn the most from her. She had reviewed our birth plan and said that everything looked great, everything we mentioned goes along with their philosophies. She reassured me that they have an extremely low rate of episiotomies or tears (1 in 70 births) and told me all of the ways they use to try to avoid one. That made me feel a million times better, it was one of the things I was most worried about. Then when it was time to examine me she took my hands and showed me how to feel for her neck, back, butt, thighs, and arms. It was so cool! We can't feel her head anymore because she's so low in my pelvis now, a good sign that Annie's getting ready to find her way out! Her heart rate was up to 160, up from 140 last time. She said that it's a really good sign that it's a varying rate--that means she's healthy and active. So now we're having fun feeling my belly and actually knowing what we're touching. Paul really loved our appointment, he said he got a bit teary-eyed when she was showing us how to feel around for her. We decided over lunch that we're both going to be an emotional mess when she's born!


The only slightly nerve-wracking part: Jo thinks she's up to about 7 pounds now, which would make for a slightly big baby if we go to our due date, since she's gaining about a pound a week now. I'm hoping she's off a little bit on that guess. We'll see what happens! In the meantime, Annie and I are going to lay off on the ice cream habit a bit. ;0) I can't believe we're in single digits now--only 9 days until her due date! It seems like so long ago that we found out we were pregnant and now it's almost here. So exciting!


Without further ado, our finished baby room!