Officially full term, no matter what website I look at, hehe.

Full term! That's amazing to me. During early-mid pregnancy, there is always a worry in the back of your mind that something could go wrong. I am really not a worrier so it wasn't that bad for me but it was definitely there. I have a sense of calm about the baby and the impending birth. People have been asking me if I'm nervous. I'm actually not. I have done a lot of reading and preparation for the birth and I am in great hands with my midwife and the hospital if I have to go for some reason. I trust my body and I know I'm emotionally strong enough to handle birth. Preparing mentally is hard to explain to someone how to do, especially to a first time Mom. I just feel ready. I know it will not be a walk in the park but approach is very important and I think that embracing the experience instead of running away from it will help me to have an empowering experience. I really think that being at home will help this as well, although I know if I do end up at Women and Children's for some reason, my midwives and Matt will be there to advocate for me so I can concentrate on my state of mind to stay in the moment to have the experience that we deserve.

Anyways, if you're interested, click here for some information on 37 weeks fetal development. We have a midwife appointment on Tuesday morning. We have one every week now until the baby is born. I only have three days of work left, which I am super excited about. I am so ready to be off. I am going to miss my job a lot, I really love my job. My body however, is definitely ready to take it easy especially in terms of the commute which adds a two hours to my work day. One more early shift (5:00 am wake up), yay! Last night I slept horribly but generally I've been able to sleep pretty well. Of course, I'm up a few times a night to use the washroom but I am able to fall back asleep right away. I am really lucky. Throughout this entire pregnancy, I have felt pretty good. A few occasional and minor symptoms but nothing that's really noteworthy or that bothersome. Maybe, just maybe this means I will have an easy birth and baby? lol, One can always hope right? :)

As soon as I'm off, I'm going to develop a to do list that I can work my way through. We still need a few things, a baby swing, the car seat that fits with our stroller (most important!) and some way to organize the closet, maybe a small shelf and definitely some baby hangers. Where can I get cheap baby hangers? I can't imagine I'd have to actually buy them full price from a department store, would I?  We don't even need that many, most of the baby clothes are not even needing to be hung, they are okay in the dresser. There are a few really cute items that should be hung though. I guess I could buy them from a department store since we don't actually need that many.

We have another decision to make. The midwife suggested we have a third person (other than Matt and myself) present at the home birth. I'm not really comfortable asking any of the people we know in Vancouver. Birth is a really intimate experience and there's not many people I'd feel comfortable having around to be honest. There was a posting for a person who has completed her doula training that I saw at the midwifery clinic we go to and she just needs to attend three births to be certified. Because of this, she is offering her services free to three people. I'm not even sure this is still up, or that I would actually want that. Inviting a new person who I don't know if we would connect with into our home doesn't really sound that appealing. The other person I'd want is my Mom to be here with us which is obviously tricky because she lives in Winnipeg. It's just a lot to think about. We'll need to decide probably by this week sometime. Probably by Thursday so my Mom could book a flight for mid Sept if one comes up on flight sales. That's assuming of course that the baby actually wants to wait until then, she may not. Then what? Ahh!

Over and out.
MamaErin