Big Mama. 40 weeks!

We've made it to our guess date! It's so strange seeing the calendar convey that it's past her date (A friend even texted me the other day and said she bought MEAT that expired on our guess date! ha!) . We have so long awaited and anticipated the end of March that it's really surreal that it's happening! I am pretty sure our March baby will be an April baby. What a beautiful time to be born.

Let's hit the highlights, shall we?

Yup. Woah, Mama.

Still carrying Olive up pretty high. She hasn't dropped down yet, which actually was a huge blessing, because two weeks ago she decided to flip over onto my right side in a posterior position (which is definitely unfavorable for birthing. It often results in very, very long painful labors and a lot of heavy back labor). I felt the little bug do it and it had me worried for two weeks. Thanks to great midwifery advice, which involved lots of crawling around on my hands and knees, pelvic rocks, rebozo sifting, and swiveling on the birth ball, we found out today that Olive flipped back over and is in a great position for birthing! HOORAY!

Today at our appointment, our midwife and a student they had there led Colin in feeling all of Olive's little body parts. He got to fee her little rump, her limbs, and most exciting of all, her bobbly little head... it just killed me in the best possible way to see him really get into it and be amazed by her little figure. Our midwife, Lisa, joked that Colin was a midwife in the making (because of how hands-on and excited he is!). It really is the most awesome thing seeing Colin engage with this pregnancy, and I feel blessed. When I went to the bathroom during our appointment, I come back and saw him scrutinizing a chart on the wall that was all about the physiology of breast milk production and Lisa was explaining a few things to him. So cute.

Last week I started feeling funny, and while I chalked it up to allergies for a day or so, I woke up Wednesday morning the sickest I've ever been. Every joint and bone in my body felt like it was being ripped apart, and I had a fever of 101.5. Colin knew something was very wrong, so he took me to the doctor and they confirmed that I had Swine Flu. Swine Flu?! Who gets that?? Thankfully, Colin got vaccinated a couple of months ago, so he was able to be with me still. It was just scary realizing that Olive could come at any time... not to mention, the flu is super dangerous for pregnant women! God was gracious, as were so many people who prayed for us, and I have healed up quickly and well!

So now, we wait. We're patiently waiting, but boy would we be so thrilled if she decided to come tonight! I would be so excited to see these Braxton-Hicks contractions turn into the real thing. But my heart, especially, is well, and I feel blessed right now with quality rest and comfort. It's a very peaceful expectancy as we wait for Olive to pick the perfect time for her to be born.

Thanks for following our journey! We're coming to the end of this chapter, and hopefully the next post we write will have Olive's face in it!

Full Term!

I am such a slack blogger. I won't apologize again!

This past week we hit another awesome milestone-- 37 weeks (Baby is the size of a watermelon. a WATER-MELON. aah!)! We can now safely deliver at our out of hospital Birthing Center. We are becoming increasingly excited for our birthing time, not only for the end result (which will, obviously, be the best), but even for the process of laboring to have her. We both have a lot of peace and assurance as we face the marathon that's ahead.

We have also been really slack about taking belly photos, but I did snap this rather disturbing one the other day so I could show Colin while he was at work! Olive's movements weeks ago changed from kicks and jabs to what we call "lumping". Throughout the day, I'll get all sorts of sizes of lumps that stick out or run along my tummy. It's crazy. Check this out.

See that huge lump on the right side? That's about where her knees are, so I'm assuming that's what is sticking out here (For reference, the skinny dark line going down my stomach is usually right in the middle. That shows you how off kilter her lumps make my tummy!). Her body parts are a lot more distinguishable. Colin loves guessing what he's touching. We've picked out her shoulders, elbows, and leg bones at times! I love experiencing her in all of her baby-ness. She gets hiccups a few times a day now, too. So cute.

Right now I am so overwhelmed with the piles and piles of stuff that we have for her. It literally seems like we have another roommate moving in! It's going to be fun finding space for everything (What a blessed problem to have, right? :))

Although things are being crossed off of our Pre-Baby To-Do list, it seems like new things are added every single day. One of my favorite things, though, was Colin installing our car seat! We got a new car recently, so driving around in my new mom-mobile with a car seat in the back makes my heart sing a little bit.

Overall, there is still so little for me to complain about. I feel really blessed in and by this pregnancy. I know that a lot of women are (understandably!) miserable, especially at the end, but that has not been my experience. I love carrying her, and I feel so incredibly grateful for the experience and opportunity that will result in our little Olive being in our arms in a few weeks. There is so much to be thankful for. Pregnancy and expectancy has grown so much intimacy between Colin and I. It's been such a sweet time for us as a couple. I can't wait to see another facet of Colin develop as he puts on a new hat-- Daddy.

Thanks for reading! More to come, I hope. Grace and Peace!