38 weeks

I cannot believe I'm already this far! It really has gone by so fast. I'm feeling relatively okay despite the fact that I have a fully developed baby human inside me who I swear is grasping all of my ligaments in her little hands and pulling on them just for fun. I am also to that stage where I convince myself on almost a daily basis that "today is the day". I feel pretty calm about the whole thing, but I keep thinking that the braxton hicks will turn into the real thing, and I go over a mental checklist in my head of what I would need to do if it were really baby time. I am also prepared to wait in case she is overdue.

We had a name picked out around week 14 and said that we would stay open in case we found another one we loved. We didn't really think about it much until a couple of weeks ago when I think it really hit me that this is really going to happen, and I wanted to re-evaluate the name situation. I knew the decisiveness and ease with which we chose the name was too good to be true. I am the kind of person who takes forever to choose something off a menu at a restaurant, so why did I expect that naming my child would be any different?? The original name is still on our list, but something about it just doesn't feel right. There are a few others we are considering, and I think we will just wait until she's born to decide. I think I've been over-analyzing the names way too much and we need to just go with what feels right.

Today is my last day of school, and this week will be my last for work for awhile. Looking back over the pregnancy we both realized how busy we were and how little time we got to spend together, and it will be nice to be able to hang out again and relax. I'm glad I decided to go to school, but it was a bit overwhelming at times. Thinking about going back to school a couple of months after the baby is born is a little stressful as well, but I will just think about it as it gets closer. I'm really glad that the school was flexible with my schedule and that I get a nice postpartum break.

At this point I know that she could come at any time. I feel as ready as I can be, and I want to try and relax and enjoy the time I have to myself before she gets here. Everything is set up in the house for her. I had my baby shower a couple of weeks ago and received a ton of cute things. I've washed and put away all of her clothes and her room is all set up!

As far as the birth goes....I feel like I will probably use the Hypnobirthing techniques as I need them, use some Bradley techniques I learned from a book, and take Ina May's wonderful advice from her book. I feel pretty well prepared, and I also know that I will probably end up intuitively winging a lot of it. I don't expect it to be painless, but I am going to try and stay as relaxed and tuned into my body as I can be and hopefully that will help manage the pain. I say....bring it on! I know I can do it.