36 weeks 3 days

This picture was taken about a week ago. That baby has been growing! I don't feel huge (although I am moving slow) but when I see a profile I remember that I have a pretty good size belly going on. I have had several comments that I am small for 36 weeks but it is so subjective and of course 9 month bellies come in all shapes and sizes:0)

My check up today went just fine. The words "bed rest" never came up so I am in the clear. The baby is not as low as I had imagined but she is head down. The midwife said that it is really common for second time moms to complain of pelvic pains and discomfort and a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. She did check my cervix and sure enough the contractions have caused some forward progress. I am 1cm dilated and 50% effaced (thinning of the cervix). This does not indicate when I will go into labor but it is nice to know that all the pain I have is not for nothing. She assured me that if I do go into labor this week nothing would be done to stop it and baby should do fine. Still, it would be best if the little one stayed in for a few more weeks. My belly measured 35cm so growth is good and I gained 3lbs in the last 4weeks putting me at 19lbs total.

I talked to the midwife more about a water birth and signed a consent form. Unfortunately I learned that if I go into labor in the next few weeks I won't be able to have one. Since the midwife group is still new to water births, as is Emmanuel hospital, they have to have a proctor with them until they have done 5 water births. It sounds like everyone has done 1 or more but no one has reached 5 yet. And the proctor person is out of town! Bummer. She said I could still labor in the tub and even push for a while in the water but delivery will be on dry land.

I am feeling refreshed today after spending almost all of yesterday in bed. Craig ran a 8K event in the morning and when he got home took over with Katya. It was SO nice! I napped a lot and watched Desperate Housewives episodes that I rented from the library, in bed on my computer. After Katya went down for the night we watched 'Milk', an academy award winner this year which we also got from the library.

Craig did great in the 8K (little over 5 miles) "Shamrock" run. He finished in 35+ minutes which was about his goal and ranked in the top 30 out of about 400 in his age group. The event was partly sponsored by Widmer and he got free entrance to the run. Sweet.