37 weeks!!

Woo hoo! We made it to the big 37... Norah is officially to term, which is such a huge relief for me. Our goal of having her at home is such an exciting reality now - she is still cooking in there, but is "allowed" to be born here any day now. :) A great friend took some maternity pictures the other day, we had a lot of fun with it. I will put a post up of my favorites soon.

I now am weighing in at 184.0 pounds. 31 pound gain since the beginning. Also, I have had some newer sensations recently. The most memorable one happened a few days ago, Johnny and I went for a pretty long walk with the dog. It was awesome and made me feel so good! The next day, though, my belly was just so SORE!! Like tender to the touch almost right underneath my ribs (worst on left side). Bizarre. Maybe everything was just stretching out a little bit more?? It's gone now. Also, I feel the very noticeable jabbing-like sensation deep in my pelvis when I first wake up. Not a big deal, but it's definitely there in the mornings. If I try and walk, it's a total joke... But I've found that leaning WAYYYY forward with deeply bent knees as I first stand up and travel to the bathroom makes a ginormous difference. A little bit of moving around (and flowing through some Warriors) seems to magically fix whatever goes on in there.

No stretch marks on da belly. SHE IS GETTING MUCH MUCH BIGGER THOUGH. I feel a lot rounder.

Our super midwife, Sherry, broke her ankle/leg a while back as you know. She is healing good so far, but we are coming up on N's Birthday here SOON! ... Sherry recommended that we meet with Anna Catron, CNM who will attend our birth no matter how Sherry's situation goes that day. I got the privilege of meeting with her here at home today AND I LOVE HER. Totally awesome! I seriously have the best midwives EVER in the history of Midwifery. How have I been so blessed?! We are in such great hands, and I feel totally confident in the decisions we have made so far. Thank you Sherry for taking such great care of me and Norah, and for referring us to yet another remarkable, qualified, experienced midwife that we mesh with.

Anna confirmed my belief that Norah is most definitely head down... if for only THIS reason, maintaining my yoga asanas this far into the pregnancy has paid off. I totally believe that posture and exercise can make all the difference. I still refuse to sit in bucket seats!!

Here is more info on the great ladies we have been working with and their businesses:
Sherry Oldfield, CNM (Certified Nurse-Midwife), IBCLC (Lactation Consultant)
www.thoughtfulwoman.com
Anna Catron, CNM (Certified Nurse-Midwife)
www.annasorganicbirth.com
Melissa Prouty, HypnoBirthing Instructor, Certified Birth Doula, ERYT-200 (Yoga Instructor)
www.turiya-yoga.com


So here's the thing guys.
I cannot wait to meet our daughter! I feel so ready for this while birth thing to go down. I LOVE HYPNOBIRTHING, and Melissa is a fantastic instructor/human being. Our 5th course was yesterday, so we are finished with it!! Ah! Norah could be here anywhere between tonight and 3+ weeks from now, but I'm hoping she decides to show up in our 38th week.

I'm teaching Yoga tonight at 8 (and also teach group classes on Thursdays and Saturdays). It's going great. I can't imagine not teaching. It's such a joy.

As of now, I desperately need my afternoon nap.