37 Week update: Full Term baby!

Whew, finally made it to the 37 week mark. It feels so nice to be past the point of worrying about a complication arising and the baby needing to come early. At this point we are all cleared to have an out of hospital birth at the birth center like we have been planning. Of course we could always be transfered to the hospital if necessary but hopefully everything will go smoothly when labor kicks in. From here on out I will be seeing the midwives every week so that they can make sure everything is going smoothly.

disclaimer: I ran 10 miles before this picture was taken...

I have been feeling pretty good but my energy levels have definitely taken a nose dive in the past week or so. I workout every other day now so that I won't get too tired. Mostly I just ride the bike and walk, not very intense. I was getting so tired after workouts and then realized that it probably wouldn't be too awesome if I went into labor exhausted. I have been drinking red raspberry leaf tea which helps to prepare the body  for labor. That is probably the only thing (besides staying active) that I will do to encourage labor. I have a feeling everything is going to happen in its own time (haha, in 3 weeks I'll probably be singing a different tune). Im pretty sure that every first time mom thinks or at least wishes that her baby would come early. Its hard not to have thoughts like that when contractions start getting stronger, walking becomes more painful, mood swings become more frequent (and a little scary...). I have found that it is best to just try not to think about it at all and just focus on enjoying each day before he gets here.

Pregnancy is and has been so fun even though I am more exhausted then ever and pretty uncomfortable. Here are some things I am looking forward to being able to do after the baby is born!

• Sleeping on my back
• Spicy crunchy tuna rolls
• An alcoholic beverage with Jeff
• Tying my shoes without putting my foot on a chair
• Wearing jeans every day

I can think of a million little things that I need to do before the baby is born. Everything seems like a top priority and extremely urgent but I know that I probably won't get around to doing everything (making 50 meals to freeze). Here are the things I need to focus on getting done in the next few weeks/days:

• Find pediatrician
• Put car seat in car
• Pack birth center bag
• Borrow bassinet for the first few weeks