It's been a while

I've been so bad at keeping up with this, but now that I'm at the end of the pregnancy, I thought I should update a bit.

I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow and baby is doing well! And we're having a GIRL!!! She measured in the 61st percentile at our 35 week appointment/ultrasound. She's head down and has been kicking and thumping and moving around like crazy. I can just sit and stare at my belly movements for so long...it's so mesmerizing to watch her move!

We hired a doula named Becky and finished childbirth classes last night. I am going to try my hardest to do a natural birth and I'm very excited about it! I've read lots of books, watched The Business of Being Born (imo, a must-see for any expecting couple, especially in the United States!), asked Becky a million questions, and just feel GOOD about it. I know things could change very quickly during labor/birth so of course my prayer is just for a healthy baby, but I really hope it will be natural.

I am working in the office until the 15th and then will work from home for the last two-ish weeks of the pregnancy. After she arrives, I'll be home for 12 weeks so I won't be back to work until around June. James is taking off a month from work and I'm SOOOOO happy and relieved that we will have time together as a family. Just saying that makes me teary-eyed!

I've been craving extremely spicy food lately, but unfortunately it is not going to work out. I had acid reflux before becoming pregnant and now that the baby is so big and pressing on everything, the reflux has gotten 100x worse. I've woken up more than once with acid in my throat/nose, so no more spicy or acidic food for a while. :(

I still can't stand the smell of cooked broccoli or even the thought of seafood, but did have a bite of James' mahi mahi at dinner on Saturday and it was great. I think the big aversion is shrimp/crab legs since I got SO sick after eating both just around five weeks pregnant.

We had a baby shower in Virginia, hosted by my dear friends Nichole and Cat, with favors made by another great friend named Tate. There were about 30 people there which was wonderful and a little overwhelming. It didn't help that I was SO SICK with a really bad cold, but I managed to get through it and have a great time. The shower in Pennsylvania was the following weekend and it was much smaller but just as wonderful. My sister-in-law, best childhood friend, and mom did such an amazing job with all of the food and decorations!

The nursery is all set up with only a few finishing touches to be completed. The biggest one is a big tree vinyl decal to apply to one wall by the crib...I think that will take a while to put up! I ordered the baby's name spelled out in 6" wooden letters, and those will go on the shelf above our rocker/recliner.

I've pre-registered at the hospital, have my FMLA approved, and started the short term disability process...things are coming together! My biggest task now is to find a pediatrician since apparently the hospital won't let us leave without one! Two friends have recommended theirs, so I hope to talk to them when I work from home.

We found a daycare provider which is a huge relief. It's an in-home daycare and the provider used to be a Montessori school teacher with a bachelor's degree in Psychology (Child development). We instantly clicked! Her home is clean and bright and spacious and I'm so excited that she had space to take our daughter when we return to work. Baby will only have to go to daycare on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday since James is home on Mondays and I work from home on Fridays!

The countdown is now at 22 days...