Great Expectations: Emily @ 36 Weeks

I am now in what I hope to be is my son's birth month! Emotions are running high'¦.I find myself crying over the smallest of things. I wasn't really very emotional in early pregnancy, so my husband finds it super funny that I am crying so much now. And I don't even tell him every time that I tear up-earlier today I cried because I got makeup on my shirt and had to change it. Yesterday, I was so upset when I saw an especially dusty windowsill in our living room that I shed some tears. One day when I was laid up in bed with really bad morning sickness, baby boy's constant movements made me even more nauseous. I cried for fifteen minutes straight because'¦. what kind of mother gets annoyed with her unborn child?!? I'm blessed to have a sweet and understanding husband who comforts me but also helps me to see the humor with my raging hormones!

We are having so much fun in our final month of preparation. We finally started our childbirth classes at the hospital. We attend once a week for five sessions. We are learning a lot about the stages of labor, pain relief options, and hospital protocols. We've also spent time practicing breathing and relaxation strategies, and different ways to use the birthing balls and other props. The one thing we don't care for are all of the childbirth videos. Everyone else seems super interested, but Joe and I can't help but immaturely look away at the especially graphic parts! We also attended a 'maternal navigation meeting' where we found out our medical costs through our insurance (The baby is now paid for!), and signed consent forms for an epidural, circumcision, and Hep B vaccination. It's nice to know that when we go in for labor, we won't have to worry about all of that paperwork. We also went over our birth plan, so now it's on file for when the big day arrives!

The nursery is now about 95% complete. We have one more wall that we need to find some artwork for, but everything is set up and organized! One of the last touches was the Stork Craft glider and ottoman that Joe just set up. It is the perfect size and oh-so-comfortable. I highly recommend it. We ordered it off of Amazon so it came right to our door, and Joe said it took about an hour for him to put together. I was sleeping the whole time, (I'm SO tired again!) so it was a nice surprise when I woke up.

At our last doctor appointment, I was starting to dilate and baby's head was super low. We go again in a couple of days, and I'm anxious for the next update. I'm still taking Zofran, Diclegis, and the iron supplements, which I think are contributing to increasing constipation. Why does one medication always seem to cause yet another problem to take care of? Milk of magnesia to the rescue. This stuff really works!

Other things I've checked off the to-do list:
 

• We purchased a lovely Britax B-Safe carseat so they will let us take baby home from the hospital.
• I spent time looking around for a diaper bag that looks more like a regular bag, and I'm loving the Babymel bag in the 'Grace' style that I decided to purchase!
• Found someone with a bassinet that we can borrow for a couple of months.
• Filling the diaper bag, and a couple of baskets so I can have diaper-changing stations on the other levels of our house.

This is officially what they call the home stretch! While the baby could decide to come literally any day now, our childbirth instructor told us the average time for a first time mother to go into labor is 41 weeks and 3 days. I'm still in total countdown mode for my original due date, so we'll just see what happens!

Published: July 13, 2016

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