36 weeks

I am 36 weeks plus 1 day. Wow!

I saw my midwife on Monday. All is well. I am 4 centimenters dilated, 80% effaced, and the baby is at a 0 station. Many women might see those stats and think: "Wow! Those are some great stats." They are. They are nothing unusual for me, however. I can sit there for a month and never go into labor. I am thankful, however, that I start at those numbers (or even higher) and I think that makes labor more manageable. I do intend to start my regimen of fresh bromelain-packed pineapple starting at 37 weeks (when I am considered term), which I believe helps me to efface the rest of the way prior to the start of labor.

I got my birthing pool this week. It's amazing. I have attached some photos. My midwife told me that the nurses at the hospital are pretty pumped about it. It's been years since a waterbirth in this particular hospital from what I have been told.

Physically, I am spent. We moved this past weekend into a bigger home and every muscle in my body is sore. I am finding bending over to be impossible, which makes picking up my house or playing with the kids pretty rough.

I also celebrated my 29th birthday on Saturday. A couple families from church helping us with moving, cleaning, and childcare, and we celebrated with pizza, cookie cake, and ice cream. Yum!