39 Weeks

39 weeks 2 days

The birth preparations are in full swing. This weekend my husband & I raked the fallen leaves in the front of our house (we have a huge flowering cherry tree, which is beautiful in spring, but requires a lot of clean-up in the fall). I have finished most of the things on my to-do list for the past 4 days (my last break before 3 more days of work).
I organized all my clothes drawers (another pile of things for GoodWill ready to go), vacuumed & dusted my bedroom, put away all of the kids' toys from the living room (we need more space for my birthing tub & birth assistants), put away the kids' summer shoes to clear the house entry way & re-organized my birth supply table.
The candles & the CD player are out & photo camera & video camera are ready to go. I have also cleaned out the refrigerator, ran a self-cleanining oven cycle, washed the cloth diapers (new ones need to be washed prior to first use) & polished all glass surfaces.
I washed windows & floors (on my hands & knees) which was a perfect exercise to prevent occiput posterior baby positioning. I picked up my rental electric breast pump & made Laboraid drink to be put in the freezer. I took Gerritt for his dental cleaning & made fresh hummingbird food. I made a list of my favorite foods to eat during labor (per request of my birth assistants) & To-Do list when labor starts & posted both on the refrigerator. I feel like this baby will not come unless the house is absolutely perfect!
Although all of the above activities were deeply satisfying, the most fun activity was shopping for the kids' presents. I have created them out of the 1$ items at Target & Old Navy to be given after the baby's birth as something sweet from their new brother. I have definitely put way more preparation effort into this birth than ever before (know better, do better, right?).
I had another appointment with Charlene this week & gained 3 more pounds. So much for being smaller than average earlier in the pregnancy. I've gained weight the most quickly during the last 2 weeks. I was right not to go back for those recommended repeat ultrasounds. My short cervix didn't stop me from making it past 39 weeks already. I have been wearing my Supple Cups faithfully for at least 4 hours every day for the past 2 weeks, & I am starting to see some improvement in the shape of my nipples. I have also been listening to the hypnobirthing CD at bedtime. Gerritt actually fell in love with the soothing voice of the hypnobirthing lady, so he has been requesting to listen to it with me.
I've finally received some good news about my Mom. It looks like our long & time-consuming paperwork journey will soon come to an end. The INS has scheduled the immigration interview for her on December 22nd, so she'll probably be here by Christmas! Along with the medical exam, this is the last step in the permanent immigration process. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present. Our new son should be about a month old by then. What a blessing for all of us for my Mom not to just come for a few short weeks & then have to tearfully say goodbye, but live next to us & her beloved grandchildren on a more permanent basis. I would have loved to have her here for the baby's birth, but since she is not going to make it, the next best thing will be the birth video we are planning to record. I can't believe I will meet my baby in just a few days!