37 Weeks

so i've switched our weekly counting to sundays. the ultrasound we had at 20 weeks re-dated the pregnancy back by four days, moving our due date from sept. 19 to sept. 23. at the time, i didn't feel like changing when i posted the pictures and whatnot, and didn't see it as a big deal, since they can't predict the exact day cashew will decide to show up anyway. a couple weeks ago, i had to switch my counting to sundays, since being full term was such an important thing and in that case, four days would make a difference between having a hospital or home birth. now that we're getting so close, i'm changing the pictures to be posted on sundays!

also, normally i wouldn't post such a BLAH photo of myself. but i've been feeling pretty sad about the style of my hair for the last little while, and for the sake of documenting, i needed SOME photo. besides, my hair isn't the important part.. the belly is.

having such a limited wardrobe makes it difficult to come up with a new photo outfit these days! hmm... what haven't i worn yet...

as for pregnancy and labour.. last week i noticed more intense braxton hicks contractions. they like to really kick into gear around 7 pm. as mentioned, i need to pee probably 3 times more than the rest of the pregnancy. and i'm super paranoid about my water breaking! i feel like i should always be sitting or laying on a towel haha. soo silly. also, i'm about 1 lb shy of gaining a total of 25 lbs. go me!

this sunday, 38 weeks, we will pick up our birth pool. we have it reserved for the two weeks before and two weeks after the due date. we've got all the supplies we need for the birth, other than a heating pad and tylenol. i was feeling super stressed last week about not being prepared, but now i feel better. i find it kind of humorous to stress more about having THINGS prepared, but not stressed about going through the actual process of labour. maybe that's my blissful lack of awareness of what's to come.

at our midwife appointment on friday (we see her once a week now, until cashew's born), she gave me some "9-month tea". i get to drink like 5 cups a day, if i'd like! it's to aid my body in preparing for labour.. and is slightly more intense than just the regular old raspberry leave tea. we'll be hopefully going for a walk every day, and other than that, we won't be trying to force my body into labour until 40 weeks. at that point, we'll start trying some natural methods of induction (spicy food, pineapples, more walking, climbing stairs, etc.) and at 41 weeks, we will get "drastic".. as in acupuncture lol. of course i'm doing everything i can to avoid any sort of medical induction (which would take place at 42 weeks), and any of the natural methods won't work unless baby is truly ready. my goal right now is to stay patient and trust that cashew and my body know what they're doing and will work harmoniously to safely deliver our baby into our arms.