preparing for a home birth

my due date is officially this sunday, april 11. i've been waiting for the baby to come any time now. i've been walking at least a mile almost every day and i just finished a really spicy lunch :)... come on baby, come out!! i'm not a miserable pregnant lady, but i get tired very easily, my hands and feet swell often, and it can be just plain uncomfortable at times. i'm doing well though. learning patience and starting to bond more with my baby. i've had a hard time figuring out how to bond with my baby, but last night was good. i spent time on my drive home just talking to him or her and thanking God. i let my baby know how happy i am to be it's mommy. the hardest part being so pregnant for me would just be the anticipation of when? since i could go in to labor any day (but then again--could be weeks) and many of my (Bradley--birth) class mates have--i wake up each morning (and in the middle of the night) wondering if the time has come. it hasn't yet...but...hopefully soon. like today. ;)

i haven't told many people, mainly to avoid the shocked look and discouraging comments, but matthias and i decided on having our baby at home with a midwife. i had been receiving care from a local ob/gyn practice, but as my pregnancy progressed i began talking with more people, doing more research, watching videos, reading books, and started to rethink my automatic choice of going with a doctor and having a hospital birth. two things that really impacted my decision were the movie "the business of being born" and the book Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. i read, watched, talked, prayed and decided that the best thing for matthias and i and our baby was a home birth...matthias didn't need any persuasion, his mom had 3 at home! a big reason is the desire for a natural labor and delivery, without any/many interventions.. i'm broadly covering our reasons, but if you'd like to ask me a question, please feel free to email me or leave it in the comments section below.

as you can imagine, preparing for a home birth is a bit different than preparing for a hospital birth. we had to obtain supplies to have at our home for when the baby decided to come. we mostly just had to go online and order a "home birth kit" which included underpads or "puddle pads", plastic sheets, some sterile sponges and various minor sterile items, cord clamps, gloves, and some other little things. we also had to have plastic to go under the tub my midwife brings in the event i choose to use that. flashlights, an unbreakable bowl, and towels were also on the list. we are good to go with supplies. our midwife will bring all of her doctor-y medical and emergency equipment when she comes. she'll also be bringing an assistant- another midwife who worked for many years in england. they are both sooo nice.

since i am having my baby at home i have been sort of stressing out a bit about having the apartment really clean...oh yeah, that's another thing. i am having our baby in our 1 bedroom, second story, small apartment. :) anyways, i have lots i'd like to clean, but not as much energy to do so. if i could have it my way, everything would be dusted, vacuumed, mopped, and Windexed at all times. i have a feeling that i'll be tidying up some when i start to feel contractions. :)

i'm not sure what else to write about at this time...i'd just like to say again that i'd loveeeeeeeeeeeee to have my baby today. or even just go into labor today? oh well :)

here are some recent pictures:

this was a few weekends ago with some youth group gals at Acquire the Fire. what a fun, but tiring weekend! 37 weeks pregnant there.

here's a lovely one from january of lindsay, abby, janell, and i... we're real beauties, huh?

this one's a little better :)