40 weeks, 2 days -- this is NOT happening, friends.

This is how 99% of my conversations with people other than John are going now:
-- Yes, I'm still pregnant.  No, I don't know when he's coming.  No, I'm not really worried that my due date has passed.  No, there aren't twins in there.  No, I'm not very comfortable nowadays.  No, he doesn't seem to care if being born would have gotten you a day off from work this week.  Yes, I promise to call when he's born.  Yes, I'll let you know if I need anything. I'm very sorry that you're on pins and needles and it's all you can think about.  UGH. --

I don't get why people think it's perfectly acceptable to harass pregnant women who are full term about when the baby is coming.  Modern science has yet to figure out a truly precise way to figure out when these little miracles are going to occur, so why on earth would you think that I have that kind of info? I'm not trying to hide his birth from you, and I'm sorry that my failure to "deliver the goods" leaves you on "pins and needles" so you can't sleep.  Ugh.

As you can tell, I'm frustrated.  Mostly because I've been in "prelabor" since Easter Sunday and having several hours of unfun contractions each night that don't lead to anything is maddening, but also because people have lost all of their self-control when it comes to this baby.  And I can't really vent to anyone except John because everyone means well and would be so offended if I told them to leave me alone and that if I don't answer the house phone, that doesn't mean you should call my cell and text me or John over and over until you get an answer from us.

Please, dear child, come soon.  Mommy's losing her sanity. 

Thanks to those who do call and text and email about things unrelated to the fact that I've got a watermelon wedged in my pelvis.  You are lifesavers and I promise to be equally nice to you whenever you get into this position ;)

38.5 weeks -- we're still a "we"

Despite lots of "practice" contractions and a variety of other early labor signs, I'm still pregnant.  I haven't grown much in the last week or so, which is normal, and I'm hoping I just stay this size.  I've learned to manage at this size... any larger of a watermelon belly and I may fall over.

I've been trying to figure out what will be the best way to get the news out of his birth once he does arrive.  While I know that there are people in my life who would be really annoyed to hear the news secondhand (or thirdhand, or whatever), I can't imagine being in a position to remember who requires a phone call and who would be okay with just a text or an email.  So I think people will hear as they hear. :)

I think I may be asked to be checked tomorrow at my appointment.  While some women moan and groan about these checks, I've only had one, it didn't really hurt or anything, and I'm just curious to see if I've made any progress over the last three weeks.  I know that it doesn't really mean anything either way, since I could go from no progress to newborn baby in the same evening, but I just like to know things ;) 

37.5 weeks -- full term!

So we're full term.  Apparently I was supposed to have this baby on St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's Day, yesterday... there are plenty of family and friends who are now constantly "just checking in" to see if I've had the baby yet.  I don't know why these particular loves in my life think that I would have a baby and not tell anyone, but oh well.  All I know is that this little one must come sooner rather than later, because I won't be able to stand the "check ins" for another month (which is how much time my midwives think I probably have... they figure a week after your due date is about right for a first timer.)

That being said, I am definitely trying to be more aware of the strength and length of my contractions nowadays.  For those unfamiliar with pregnancy, you do have contractions throughout the pregnancy, but you don't really feel them until much later in the pregnancy, and they progressively turn into actual contractions.  I've definitely noticed mine have become more frequent and stronger over the last couple of weeks, but there's no rhyme or reason to them yet, so we're okay.  There are other physical signs that show that we're slowly moving towards birth day, but I try not to dwell on it too much.  :)

My nesting is out of control.  Among other things, I took the stove top apart to clean it twice this week... including taking the knobs off of it to clean under them.  I mean, seriously, the stove isn't entirely clean if the under-the-knobs is dirty ;) I've even washed bathmats and stuff like that.  I know, I'm sure tons of people do this normally, but taking stoves apart and begging John to let me help with yardwork isn't normal for me. Trust me.

32 weeks

We went to our first appointment with our midwife yesterday at the birth center and were sooo happy that we made the switch.  Everything was much less rushed and she gave us so much great information that really meshes well with our birthing plans.  If you'd told me a year ago that I would have switched health care providers at this point in my first pregnancy, I would have laughed at you :) But I'm so glad we did it.

As for baby -- I was right about him being head down! Those hiccupy sensations in my bum are in fact hiccups :) Our midwife said that he's very likely to stay head down now since his head is too heavy and awkward for him to really fight gravity to become upright.  I mean, that sounds terrible and I would hate to be stuck like that, but I do appreciate him doing what's necessary to help avoid a c-section birth :) John was a little nervous about the stomach squishing that the midwife was doing to find the baby's positioning, but I thought it was awesome... I love knowing how he's positioned.  I'm also measuring right on target, so either the other doctors weren't measuring me very carefully or the baby's moved around some, but in any case that's good news that I'm not building up excess fluid or growing a monster baby. 

Shower preparations are under way :) I'm very excited to have the chance to see all of these family and friends in one place before the baby is born, since I probably won't have a chance to do so again for several months. 

About eight weeks left... my, how time does and doesn't fly at the same time ;)

30 weeks (almost)

So last week we went to the doctor, already pretty concerned that she wasn't going to let us do the Bradley method/natural childbirth stuff that we're planning.  But because I hate change and want to make things work, I went in with some questions that I figured would help us make the right decisions.

Before I was able to ask any questions, my doctor comes in and tells me that I'm anemic (I'm really not, I have thalassemia trait which makes it look like I'm anemic) and that I need iron supplements.  I was surprised that she was saying this, since she had already prescribed extra folate to make up for the fact that I have this trait and can't take iron supplements (risk of iron poisoning, etc.) When I told her that I couldn't take iron supplements, she glared at me and asked "well, do you want a blood transfusion instead? Because that's what we'll have to do if you're anemic." I was shocked for a second and then told her that obviously I'd rather take a pill than have some crazy transfusion, but by the time I said that I think she realized she had made a mistake so was then trying to prescribe the same folate for me that she had already done back in September.  Each of these slip ups made us even more nervous.

Then we went on our hospital tour.  That was the final nail in the coffin.  They don't allow pretty much any deviation from hospital policy, which consists of continuous monitoring, no food or drink during labor, must give birth on your back, etc.  Pretty much everything I don't want. Great.  In fact, the nurse started the tour describing the typical birth scenario there, which is a scheduled induction!! I wanted to scream.

So it looks like we're switching doctors and hopefully going to deliver at a birth center.  It's 45 minutes from my house, but at this point, I'd rather give birth in my pool outside than go to the hospital I'm currently registered at. Yikes.

Other than that, I am very uncomfortable now, especially when I'm trying to sleep.  Baby has run out of space (or so it seems) and is letting me know.  He moves a lot during mass, which I think is funny... maybe it's the choir? They are one of the better choirs I've heard here in town ;) Childbirth classes are going well, though this past week our teacher showed us a baby doll traveling through a pelvis, which made me super nervous for the baby.  I really, really don't want him to get stuck in there... I'm sooo glad I don't remember my own travels through that area!!

28 weeks -- what is he DOING in there??

The www.babycenter.com email that I get every week says that I have 84 days to go now.  That seems like a long time and a short time at the same time! Ah! We have all of the crib components up now, though my mom insists that I need to iron the crib sheets before I can put one on the mattress.  My response is to just not put one on the mattress until after I have my shower and hopefully get a mattress pad. Hmph. :) I registered for a glider... I was pretty disappointed that there weren't more to try out at Babiesrus, but oh well.

Speaking of registries, I'm a little concerned that I'm not registering for everything I actually need.  I know I won't get everything as a gift, but we do get a discount if it's on the registry and isn't purchased for us.  I heart discounts :) I guess I need to add more things to take advantage of that.

We started our childbirth classes this past Sunday.  It was pretty interesting, and now I have this exercises to do everyday to prepare for the birth.  I think it may be problematic, though, that I get a little queasy thinking about what exactly is going to be happening... especially when the lady is talking about pelvic bones and arches, stretching and tearing various pieces of skin and muscle, etc.  I mean, I understand that this happens, but a part of me wishes I could prepare without having to think about the biological aspects of it.  It makes my knees weak. 

As for baby, he's moving around all the time, but I'm pretty sure he's running out of space.  That would explain the weird "elbow pushing along the inside of your stomach" or "pool ball slowly rolling around your skin" sensation I get nowadays.  I've also started to get charlie horse leg cramps, usually around ten minutes before I'm supposed to wake up.  I throw off the blankets, yelping the whole time, and try to walk it off.  When John first suggested that I walk them off, I thought he was being rude, but then I realized that it does in fact work better than trying to massage that terrible cramp out of my leg. 

I suppose that's it for now :) I start going to the doctor every two weeks starting this coming Tuesday.  Super fun.