37 Weeks Pregnant - Full Term

We really are on the home-stretch now...  Roy and I are ready to have our baby.  We have everything we need (we think) at home to make it a perfect home for our little boy.

We've started to 'pack our bags'.  This involves 3 bags - a birth-bag packed with goodies necessary for labour - an overnight bag (3 nights worth) for when we transfer to a maternity ward for the few days afterwards - and a baby bag, packed with clothes, nappies etc for our little man when he arrives.

On a side-note:  There are a couple of awesome blogs I have discovered since being pregnant.  One is Dear Baby a lovely lady who has just given birth to her second child, a gorgeous little boy.  I relate to her because her husband is a muscian, like my husband and she's got cool taste, 'vintagey' type things and the photos she puts up of her baby girl are soo cute.  The other is E Tells Tales a lady who has also just given birth to her first child.  She sews, just like me.  She has her own Etsy shop (currently on hold since her new-born has arrived, but do check it out another time), which I hope to be able to do one day (filling it is the main mission), and she has been blogging a lot about her pregnancy, a first-timer just like me.  Both of these ladies write so openly and honestly.  They tell it like it is and I really admire them.  As I read the birth stories and see the photos of their beautiful children, they give me a sense of strength - knowing that I am woman, and I am able.  These ladies have given great advice and make me laugh - I hope you enjoy reading their blogs!

Back to it:  Labour
Labour is definitely not the focus-point in this pregnancy.  It used to be.  Now, even though it's the inevitable painful peak of pregnancy, I'm trying my best to focus on the 'afterwards'.  It's the means to the end of my pregnancy, and the beginning of our life with our son.  Every contaction will bring me closer to meeting our son.  Every woman's body has been intricately designed to do this, and my body is no exception.  I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Now it really is just a waiting game...  I hope he's early, but whenever he does come, I'll be ready to shower him in cuddles and watch his Dad do the same.  Oh I can't wait to go gaga over my husband holding and loving our kids!  He's so cute to watch (not really a fan of using the word cute, but it works) when he goes through the little baby clothes.  He's so excited about meeting our baby.

How I'm feeling:  I'm getting steadily more uncomfortable every day.  It's so hard to move around, my belly is so heavy.  I'm most comfy when standing, sitting isn't so fun.  I can't lay back and put my feet up unless I'm laying on my side.  My feet hurt when I stand for too long, my ankles are swollen, my fingers are swollen - can't wait to be able to wear my wedding ring and engagement ring on my finger again (currently on my necklace).  Whenever I stand after I've been sitting for 5 or so minutes I get this intense urge to go pee.  I have to stand up s l o w l y each time or my lower stomach muscles pull and I'm crippled for a few seconds until they loosen up a bit.  Any slippers or shoes I have which are slightly too narrow are now WAY too narrow and make my feet ache.  My hips hurt sometimes and worst of all when I'm trying to sleep.  Heartburn comes and goes - I have learnt that the food I ate that gave me heartburn a couple of months ago now it doesn't give me heartburn and vice versa for food that didn't give me heartburn.  But other than all of the above, I am in relatively great spirits :)

I do enjoy being pregnant, but for me, these last two months will be the worst I've had to contend with.  No morning sickness in the early stages (yusssss), just 'uck' feeling in the last month or so for me which I've battled (and mostly won) by eating something small - small being the key word here or I feel worse.

There are at least 3 moments every day where all my husband and I can say (with a high pitched and super excited tone) is, "Wow, I can't wait to meet him!"