35 Weeks

36 days. 5 weeks, 1 day. That is how much time I have until my baby boy's due date. Craziness I tell ya. Can't believe he is almost here. I know I say that every time, but seriously. Time is flying. The month of October felt like it came and went, literally. I feel like yesterday was October 1st. Here I am at the end and thinking about how November is my last month of pregnancy. Tomorrow will mark my 35 weeks of pregnancy and I can't wait to get to 37 weeks to know that he can healthily come into the world whenever he pleases!!

Anyway, now that I got my shock out of the way, I will tell you about baby Cai.
First and foremost, this child is like a hiccup machine. I mean, it could be his full time job. Well, right now it is. But, ever since he switched to the birth position upside down, it is like hiccups every 2 hours or so. They are so cute and precious, and I can just picture him in there. Just knowing that about 10 weeks ago (when we had our 3d sonogram) he was smiling and making facial expressions (like the pic below)... I can only imagine what he does now. Oh this child melts me already.


We had our 2nd appointment the other day with our new midwives. Although our appointment was at 4:30 and we didn't get in until 6, it was totally worth it. These women are so sweet and down to earth. Ideal situation for someone taking care of you. They act like friends, really. These women are literally bombarded with new patients every day. They are so popular in Atlanta (because people are starting to take control of their births, thank goodness) so they are overwhelmed. But, that's a good thing! Anyway, everything is good with the baby. No high blood pressure, nothing. Just uneventful... and thankful for that!

The past week or so I have finally been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. It's crazy to know that my body is getting ready for labor. One day, they lasted all day long. Not fun. The worst was yesterday when I was taking Gibson on a walk, and on my way back I got one of those ligament pains REALLY bad on my side. I could barely walk. I finally made it up the stairs and plopped on the couch while Will looked at me all confused. He tried pushing on the baby to move it and lifting my legs to get the baby out of a weird position. It actually helped, but wow, I hope I don't get many more of those!

Will and I also went to this mandatory 2 hour water birth class at the hospital. I guess, because it's a hospital, they require it so you know everything about it. The lady teaching it has been a L&D nurse for 18 years and is super knowledgeable about natural birth and is passionate about it. It was nice to hear that all of the nurses we will have are going to love being there... they won't look at me like "is she crazy??". They are used to it and enjoy it. Anyway, the class was actually super informative and I'm glad we learned everything there is to know. Apparently water birth has been around for a LONG time... it was first recorded in medical journals in 1800 and it was around even before then. They described how it's actually a very natural thing to want to do. They call it the midwife's epidural because it takes to much stress and pain off of your body. When I get to the hospital, the nurses will only monitor me for the first 30 minutes, and then after that I am free to walk around or do whatever I want. It's awesome. They suggest not getting into the water until you're 5cm or more because it relaxes your body so much it can slow down labor. So, I'm going to try to tough it out at home as long as possible and go in when I feel like I'm in tough labor. The nurses won't monitor me unless they see signs to need to. They'll let me do my thing. Also, once the baby is born, it will probably be tough for me to catch the baby being in the water so they said that the dad gets to catch the baby. It made me want to cry just thinking about it. Then, while I'm getting out of the tub and doing all the after birth stuff, they said that they let the dads take the baby to the heat warmer and clean them off and wrap them up. How precious. Will is super excited about that!! What a great bonding time. I just LOVE our midwives, nurses, and hospital. Will and I say over and over again how BLESSED we are to have found them. We really feel like they are doing things God's way (even if they're not Christians). I still believe that this is how God intends childbirth to be. I am so at rest that the first decisions I get to make regarding the overall health of my baby are good ones. I won't be affecting him with medications and stressing him out with induction. Childbirth is already stressful enough on that poor baby... I am just so at peace knowing that he can come how he wants to come with no one making him do otherwise (unless he's in danger of course).

As for me, I am feeling great still. I think I don't realize how big my belly is most of the time. My belly is the least of my discomforts... it actually doesn't feel that big (I know it LOOKS humongous). I really don't have back pain. I also have been sleeping just fine, which has been awesome. Ever since he turned upside down I can lay more comfortably on my side without squishing him. He is also big enough now that he doesn't do as many huge movements... they're just him sticking his butt out or a foot or something. So that makes it a little easier. I don't think that he has ever sit very high on me, so I can usually breathe fine thankfully. He is to the point where his feet are constantly right at my ribs, so there's the occasional shock when I get a huge kick to my bones. But, I am even thankful for those, because I know he's healthy :) I am even learning to embrace the swelling if I have to. Pregnancy is such an amazing thing, and I am just going to let it take its course. I truly feel like a balloon sometimes, but who cares! I was actually really proud of myself because at my last doc appointment I only gained 3 pounds in 3 weeks, which is exactly what I should have done. YAY.

Today we are going to finish up his nursery, hopefully. We just have to grab more paint. I can't wait to post pictures... it is looking so cute in there. We are also going to run to the store and get all of the hospital bag things that we need. With natural childbirth, there's a lot of extra things that they recommend getting. My midwife even told me to pack a bunch of food just in case I want to eat during labor. How cool (and unheard of) is that? No IV for me!! Woo hoo. I already have the baby's bag packed, which was easy. But the bag for me is kinda a huge list. So... it will be fun to work on that. Gotta be prepared just in case he chooses to make his arrival in a couple weeks!

Will and I are still REALLY enjoying our new church. Last week we taught kids church, which was so awesome. We love being involved in kids ministry knowing that our child will be there soon. We really value it. It's getting harder for me to get involved considering that I can't stand up for very long without my feet throbbing. Next weekend will be mine and Will's first time leading worship at Bethel. We are so excited. Even though I'll only be 4 weeks from birth, I still couldn't wait to be a part of it. Will asked them if I could sit on a stool just in case, and they laughed and said that I could bring a bed if I want. I love our church! So easy going. Last week, they said that they want church to feel like a living room where we invite the most important person in to spend time with us and relax with Him. I love that visual. I think God likes that too :)

Will and I celebrate our 2 year anniversary on November 9th. We went to the Georgia aquarium last week to celebrate part of it because we knew that I wouldn't be comfortable walking around much longer. It is the biggest aquarium in the world. It was soooo awesome seeing God's creations like that up close. I can't believe how fortunate our generation is to be able to see things like that. We got to pet sharks, sting rays, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, etc. It was fun. I didn't take many pictures because I felt huge that day. But oh well. This one is cool and doesn't even partly describe what we saw. These are whale sharks and they were HUGE!!


Anyway, enough for now. I've been typing forever.
Now to go spend time in this chilly fall weather. Georgia is so dang beautiful!!!! Ever since we moved here it's seriously been perfect weather. I love it.

Enjoy your weekends, lovelies :)