The Start of Week 39...

Today marks the last official week before my due date.  I am still venturing out in public and I actually feel really great (thank you, Lord!).  Yesterday Bryant and I went to morning and evening church at Crossroads and I did feel the sympathetic stares and looks of "oh my goodness she must be ready to burst any day!" as I tried consciously not to waddle through the aisles.  It is so funny to make a mental log of the things people say and ask.  It is as if their internal mufflers shut down when they see an extremely pregnant woman.  Anything that comes out of their mouth is fair game.  Lucky me.

I also had several people ask if I am "ready" to have this baby.  Let's be realistic about this question.  Can you ever be "ready" for an event like labor not to mention bringing another baby home...the sleepless nights, diaper blow outs, burping, umbilical cord care...etc?  Actually, though, I think I am.  At least I am more ready than I was with Brooks when I had no idea what we truly had ahead of us.

A lot of people told me the first time around that labor is like a marathon, you know it will end, but it is hardest thing you can do.  Ummmmmmmm, I have run a marathon and it lasted right around four hours, it was gorgeous and I had a team of over 50 people from Aspen cheering me on to the finish who I had trained with all summer, not to mention my future fiance ran the entire race by my side (yes, he is incredible!).  My labor with Brooks was 12+ hours start to finish, much more painful than a marathon and I didn't know most of the people in the delivery room (nurses and staff) who were cheering me to the finish...although my team of Bryant, Amy Jo and my mom did a great job!  But, humor set aside, labor and delivery with the right attitude is a pretty amazing adventure.
 
Physically I am doing the regular, "get yourself ready for labor," things recommended in most doula/midwife circles.  I am going to get a massage and chiropractor adjustment this week (I might save this one for next week), we have another check up with the midwife on Wednesday and I am sitting on a fit ball several times a day.  I have been drinking raspberry leaf tea for a couple weeks now and occasionally I have a glass of pineapple juice or order a juicy burger in hopes that something might just start something.  But, the difference between this pregnancy and my last is there is zero desperation or expectation for what these "methods" might do.  I am doing it all in an effort to prepare my body for labor, not put myself into it.  There will be nothing drastic, like castor oil this time around.  I am much more conscious of God's divine timing than my discomfort level.

Aside from the usual tasks recommended to physically and mentally prepare us for labor, we have made a conscious effort to prepare ourselves spiritually not only for L&D but Caleb's introduction into our family.  Bryant and I have listened to "Supernatural Childbirth," an incredible book about living free from the curse and praying consciously for a God centered childbirth where no fear or pain can be present (yes, I said and mean no pain), praying specifically for the things you want to happen in the time frame they should happen (no three hours of pushing this time around please!).  If you ask my close friends, they will tell you I am a big fan of praying for specific things with supernatural expectation, and I have them all laid out for Caleb's delivery.  Bryant and I have big expectations, from the staff we want at the hospital, to the room we hope to get, to the pain level, to the timing.  It has been incredible to kneel by his side in agreement and ask the Lord to bless this experience.

We have also been praying for Caleb as a new member of our family.  For his health and development, his sleep patterns, his role as Brooks' little brother, specifically their relationship as brothers, and so many other things.  God is so good and He desires nothing more than for us to surrender these desires/requests to Him...

Thanks for wading through this post.  During this pregnancy I have really enjoyed going back and reading my thoughts on my pregnancy/delivery with Brooks, so I am trying to chronicle some of the little details this time around so we can share them with the boys when they get older...and so I can re read it all when I am (gulp) pregnant again!

Thank you, dear friends, for joining us in prayer and agreement that we will have a perfectly formed baby boy through supernatural childbirth in God's perfect timing...

Until I have something to report about my "progress"...

XOXO,

Becs & the boys