Mt. Brightside: Our Birth 'Hopes' for Autumn

Week 38- (behind again, but what's new??)

38 weeks and going strong!

Autumn has yet to make her arrival and I must say, I have definitely called it that she would be here this long. And again, not complaining one bit. She's continuing to add that all important layer of baby fat and her brain is still developing like wildfire. She's about the size of a small watermelon, according to sources, and will continue to be around this size up until birth. Still hard to conceive there is a little one that size inside my belly. It really is unreal.

We finally got around to decorating our Christmas tree, one of those small feats that I really didn't think would happen before Autumn arrived. I know she'll never remember it but I am satisfied in knowing now that we were at least decorated for the holidays before we brought her home! We made it a family affair, drank hot chocolate and listened to just about every old Christmas song that you can think of. I absolutely adore all of the rat-pack Christmas Carols and can't get enough of them. It reminds me so much of my Grandma Libby and spending Christmas time at her house. I so treasure those memories.

Speaking of family though, look who decided to finally join us back stateside??

I think Andy and Chris have been inseparable since he came back, for the most part at least. It's awesome having him back and Jack now has a real dad again! Yay!

I've been feeling great for the most part, still able to get out on long walks (although I am pretty sure I might have run my last mile this week~the contractions that I have been getting after have just been too uncomfortable and it feels good to taper off once again). I really can't complain though being able to run almost into my 39th week. Who knows, if she decides that she's sticking around for much longer I may find myself out there beating the pavement in hopes of getting her here sooner than later.

This week marked the LAST week of work for the next 3 months at least (give or take) and it was busier than I had anticipated. I spent more hours than I imagined tying up loose ends and finishing up several projects that came up last minute. But officially, I am physically (though not virtually) out of the office and happy to begin knocking off the million things I have on my to do list. Not only are we eternally grateful for Chris's grandparents continuing to finish the floors (the thresholds have become quite the project) but this week my mom decided to come assist in helping to finish up her nursery, at least for the most part! Thanks ma!

And look what finally arrived that Chris's grandparents so wonderfully put together for us! I'll be doing an update on her nursery progress very soon!

On to the important questions of the week, how will I know that I'm in labor? Besides Chris and I attending Bradley Birthing Method classes every Sunday/Tuesday for 2 months, and reading countless articles/blogs on the signs, the true signs should look something like this:

regular contractions: the Braxton Hicks (or false contractions) I have been having are sometimes no joke, but the real ones will be much more consistent and show a specific pattern. Right now so long as I change activities, eat or drink something, the contractions disappear. When they're the real deal, NOTHING will make them go away-a sure sign that it is time.
the DROP: according to everything that I have been told/read, I will feel a sense of relief when she gets her little feet out of my ribcage and I can breathe easier. Right now, I continuously have shortness of breath and the one thing that actually makes me breath easier believe it or not is to get out on a walk, get my circulation going, and with gravity, she settles out my ribcage. Both Chris and I are of average height so it will be interesting to see how long she is!
continuous pressure: this has definitely increased over the past 2-3 weeks at least but this week it is at an all time high as i can't not be near a bathroom for more than 30 minutes, her head is right there! Which is good, in fact it's great because it means she can't hopefully make any more somersaults before birth but it makes for very intense nerve endings that feel like an electric shock down there, it puts me in a dead stop multiple times throughout the day!
feeling....well...different: some women swear that you will just know. You'll wake up one evening or one morning and just have an epiphany. I feel pretty in tune with my body but to know whether today is the day may or may not occur, I guess I can only wait and see! It's a crazy feeling being on constant alert for changes that's for sure!

I haven't gone into much detail on our plan for natural childbirth simply because I really don't like calling it our 'birth plan'. If you know me, although I like to forecast my goals and dreams for the future, I live a lot of my life flying by the seat of my pants. Chris is the planner in the relationship although I know motherhood will definitely change that for me! Routine will be a part of my daily life with Autumn and I completely ok with that. It will be a nice balance!

Chris and I did develop what we refer to as our birth hopes, inspired by another mom blogger who felt the exact same way. No matter what preparations you do in your pregnancy, no matter how fit or healthy that you are even, you never know what the actually labor/delivery is going to be like. EVER. So we outlined what was important to us, some in a rank./file type of order from what is most important to us to what is least. We made ourselves aware of what is hospital policy but also made sure that we knew what choices we had that were on the table for us (i.e. I will have to have an IV upon being admitted but have the option of getting a heparin lock so that I can still move around freely during the first stage of labor- I don't want to be bedridden when I could be walking halls/stairs trying to get her to move down!)

Ultimately the top priority for Chris and I is to have a healthy baby. Period. But if possible, I would like to avoid a C-section. I have an extremely high tolerance for pain and therefore want to go as natural as possible with no-epidural and, if possible, avoid Pitocen pending that she decides to make her entrance on her own before December 28th (at this point in time, that is as long as they will allow me to go beyond her due date.) Even as I re-read our 'Birth Hopes' that we turned in in our Bradley Class that are a bit more detailed than what I just went into, I become more and more comfortable with having the options and control in the beginning, but knowing in the back of my mind that birthdays and healthy babies are what matters the most in the hospital I am perfectly OK with that as well. There are no failures in delivering a human being, no matter how he/she decides to make their and entrance into the world.

I'll leave you with a few pics of the first experience with giving the dogs a bath in the bathtub (it was just too chilly outside and much easier, albeit, way more messier, than bathing them outside but at least we got some of the stink off of them!)