I keep thinking how strange it is that by this time in my pregnancy with Cecily, she was born and we were already at home. I think this wee one needs a little more time though so while I am very ‘done’ with being pregnant, I really hope that he/she stays put until the due date.
A few 35 week details:

Me:

• I think I am officially huge. My belly anyways. I am kind of loving that you can’t tell that I am pregnant from behind which means the shock on people’s faces when I turn is quite humorous. And the reactions are interesting when I say that I am not due until the end of December.
• As large as I am, I have only gained half of what I gained in previous pregnancies (which may be why my belly looks so much bigger). I am pretty sure this is because we don’t eat grains like we used to. But, clothes that were my end of pregnancy clothes I can’t wear because the shirts don’t cover my belly and the pants just hurt hurt hurt my hips and stomach.
• I don’t waddle, I hobble.
• I am more emotional than I have ever been in my ENTIRE life.
• I have reached the waking in the middle of the night with no going back to sleep stage.
• Mostly I am so excited to meet this little one and to snuggle, and breast feed, and change little diapers, and to share our sweet baby with his/her big sisters. Oh and I am already dreaming of feeling normal again:).

The Baby:

• is measuring to our dates for whatever that is worth.
• loves to move. You can truly see the movement from across the room. And little fists, elbows, or feet consistently make odd lumps in various spots on my belly.
• Moves night and day with no notice of a sleeping mama.
• Has an name if there is a little girl in there.
• Does not have a name if there is a little boy in there. We have a couple that we are talking about but still aren’t sure.
• Has one very, very excited big sister who can hardly wait for the day that the baby  is born.

The Plan:

• I feel very eager and yet very unprepared. Hopefully this week some of the details will be taken care of. Here is what I do know:
• We live an hour from the hospital and as there are no midwives, a homebirth isn’t an option, unfortunately.
• Unless there is a snow storm and my labor goes quickly, in which case our neighbor who is a doctor may just end up assisting with the birth;), I will be giving birth at the hospital.
• The lovely Lola will be present as a doula and support for Dan and I. I am trusting her to do any roaring that should be needed.
• Good friends of ours are spending Christmas with us so that they can also help out with the girls either at our house or a B&B close to the hospital. (this is a big part of why we are hoping the baby will stick close to schedule.)
• I need to figure out an open and tactful way to convince a B&B owner that allowing me to labor there won’t be so bad. (There aren’t hotels available)
• The plan is drug free and intervention free…basically I just want to be left alone unless something isn’t going right. So ideally, no monitoring, no checking, no telling me when or when not to push, I’m not asking for much right? My doctor is actually all for that but will likely not be there for the birth.
• Basically, I am dreaming of laboring at home or somewhere comfortable yet close to the hospital. Just kind of doing my thing with support from Dan and Lola (I actually really want the girls to be around too) and then right at the end go to the hospital. However, my experiences haven’t exactly gone the way that I planned before so while I am pretty set, I am also trying to be flexible.