#15 37 Weeks

First let me say that I found the site that I've been looking for since blog #6, that lists hygiene products and their safety!! It's called Skin Deep.

Super Diddle is oh so very active!! This last weekend Rob and I went to Spokane for a W. Family Reunion. I got to see all but 1 of the "10 Greats", unfortunately, a lot of the cousins (Dad's generation) weren't there. It was so good to see those that I grew up with and it was especially nice to see them while I'm so pregnant. Rob did well with all of the introductions, I tried to tie family stories into the intros like, "This is Aunt Sue, she's a nurse in NY and has a GDaughter with my name." "This is Uncle Carl, he had the 15 hand horse that tried to dislodge me under an apple tree." At one point, one of Aunt MaryLou's grandsons needed a band aid, so I asked Aunt Toni if she new where the first aid kit was, she asked what I needed, I said, "My water broke and I need a band aid." Her eye's opened up wide and said, "You'll need more than a band aid!" Rob seemed to have fun, at one point he wandered away from me and started refereeing the kids football game, he probably knows the names of my generation of cousins better than I do now!

While we were over at Dad's, the two most important things happened, Dad and Justin, both got to feel the baby move. Sarah got to feel it too, unfortunately Carin, Brendan, and Renee got left out of the action! It was very important to me that Dad and Justin get to feel the baby move. I don't know that Dad has ever had the opportunity to feel a baby move inside of the womb and I know that Justin hadn't. Super Diddle did a gentle roll under Dad's hand and gave a combo roll/kick under Justin's! It made me very happy to give them that experience. It may be that it means more to me than to them, I don't know and that's o.k., it's just something that I wanted to share with them.

Aside from the extreme swelling, everything went very well. The flights were uneventful. My friend Renee, picked us up and dropped us off at the airport, she even loaned us her car over the weekend, not that we used it much, but we had it should we have needed it! Brendan is now driving, so he drove us back from the family reunion. It was at dusk and a little nerve wracking as he's a new driver, but knows that Dad is a fearless driver. I think maybe he's picked up on that a little too much, too soon. Rob and I helped with the deer spotting (5 in all), but going over the pass between home and the reunion, with all the curves in the road, I was more than a little nervous about the blind corners. We made it home safe and the next day when we drove in the daylight, to go letterboxing, Brendan handed me the keys. I do want to follow up with Dad on the experience to ensure that he's aware that Dusk Driving, especially with corners, may be a topic that needs to be discussed again! In regards to letterboxing, I have to say, Sarah is very enthusiastic about it, Brendan seems to be also, though I think the hunting of the box is what appeals most to him, Justin seems to like the idea, but is willing to forgo the stamps and just enjoy the hunt and camaraderie. I think the "boys" will also enjoy the planting of letterboxes too!

My house is cleaner every time I turn around, however, every time I or someone else cleans something, a previously cleaned area looks a not as good as it did before the new spot got cleaned! This week, it is very important to me that Rob and I get certain things done. For one, I need his help with a few things that have been waiting for him for a few weeks, also, this Friday is the day that my midwives come for a home visit to get the layout of the house! I'll wait for them to come over to help decide if I should put the birth pool up upstairs or down. I'm thinking the dining room, but can see the basement room being a good spot!

I'm having a lot of what I call "flexes". I don't like the word contractions, the word itself is tight and painful, I was thinking that I liked the word "rush" or "rushes", but I've been thinking of them more as "flexes". They don't hurt, they last only a little while, and the worst part is that they usually happen when I get up to do something or while I'm doing something like laundry or dishes, not exactly when I want to stop and allow it to finish. Rob and I are going to hypno birthing classes, I'm getting something out of it, but I not sure that I'm getting as much out of it as possible, as I haven't listened to the cd's yet and have not incorporated any practice into my daily routine. Either way, I know that it will provide one more tool in my tool belt of birth! As I like to say, this baby will come out!


Well, I've got a few things to do before I go for my pre-natal massage from my wonderful doula!!