Full Term

As of Tuesday, this little baby is considered full term which means that if she were to be born now, she would thrive well on her own. At this point she is expected to gain about half an ounce per day. While she is showing no signs of being ready to come out, she is getting ready for the big day.  During this stage the baby is simulating breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, sucking on her thumb, blinking, and pivoting from side to side. 

Here's a baby fun fact: the baby's head will, at birth, be the same size circumference as her hips, abdomen, and shoulders. And guess what's making an impression (literally) these days on those shoulders and hips: fat — causing little dimples in those cute elbows and knees, shoulders and hip, and creases and folds in the neck and wrists. Which is something that overly zealous grandparents can get excited about!

I am on maternity leave now which has been really helpful in getting all my baby to do items checked off my list.  Her room is finally ready, we're just waiting to get the finished baby quilt from Camille to hang on the wall.  It's really going to tie everything together nicely. I have been sleeping a ton which is a good sign that either my body is getting ready for labor or that I was really sleep deprived before.  Even with all this sleeping we are trying to stay as active as possible by walking, going to yoga, and lifting weights once a week.  Tom has been really great about walking with me every evening around our neighborhood.  I think even when the baby is born we'll keep up this tradition because we enjoy the time together.

Thursday we completed our last natural child birthing class.  We learned a lot and the tools and techniques will hopefully help us during labor to keep her birth as natural and low-key as possible.  It's been an interesting experience reconciling some of our wishes and desires for birth with our doctor and hospital's protocol.  Initially when we spoke with her about her ability and willingness to allow for a natural childbirth, she seemed very supportive and flexible to our desires.  However, now that birth is near she seems to be singing a different tune.  I would say she is okay with 80-90% of our birth plan, but the things she isn't okay with, she really isn't willing to compromise on.  This is where "Mama Dula" (my mom) will come in handy.  While Tom and I are busy focusing on labor, my mom can help make sure that our birth preferences are being followed and sweet talking the nurses - something my mom is really good at! We have been doing a lot of research on alternative methods, GBS, antibiotics, vaccines, etc. because we've found that they won't pressure you as much if you sound like you know what you're talking about. 

So other than finishing up a few odds and ends, we're ready! It's just up to Baby J now.

In other news, we got a few preview photos back from our maternity photo shoot.  Our good friend Heather came up from SLO earlier this month to take the photos for us (it's so nice to have a good friend who is also a photographer.  Check out her work at http://www.heathermillenaar.com/).  We had a really fun time doing the shoot and they turned out really great. I can't wait to see them all!