Almost 34 weeks pregnant

It's funny how very many people say, "I bet you're ready to be done with pregnancy!" at this point... because I don't feel that way really at all.  I mean, sure, I look forward to being 'comfortable' again, but I'm also still really enjoying being pregnant.  The other thing people always say is, "I bet you're feeling nervous about giving birth!" (or something similar), and I have NO way of relating to that statement.  This midwife/home birth journey has done amazing things for my sense of self and belief in my body... I feel like I even have my mind in a good spot if something were to happen and require a hospital transfer.  We've been doing Bradley classes as well.  While I feel like I am already in that sort of 'Bradley mind space', it's nice to get to know other couples seeking a natural birth, and it's fantastic for Nate to experience the vibe I've been feeling for the past 8 months (and learn how he can be an amazing birth coach).

So my belly is feeling very full and tight as of late, and I think that's mostly because baby has shifted to a more central position in my uterus... which is good, but it's definitely a different feeling.  The head still seems to be down, as it's been for the past couple of months, so hopefully baby just loves it like that and will avoid crazy flipping maneuvers.

We had an amazing Karnes/Burgess family shower, and then last weekend my friend Elise and sister-in-law Thea gave me a lovely friend shower.  It was so nice to have friends from different parts of my life in the same spot (but definitely missed those who couldn't make it).  I'd been really worried about having a shower without Nate there too (I hate having the attention on just me), but it was completely comfortable, which means I must have some very cool friends in my life.  Oh, and then Nate and I had a party that night and stayed up past 2 a.m. (that's a pretty big deal for this tired mama)!  Had to get one last 'party' in.  ;)

My mom took me shopping for some possible birthing outfits.  I know, I am a dork.  But I really wanted to be sure that I have a couple of options for something comfortable, cool, and somewhat cute...  Not for the photos (well, maybe a little) but just for my mind, so I don't need to focus on anything but the incredible laboring adventure.  I am also hoping we can keep our house in a state of psuedo-organization once we get closer to 40 weeks, as I don't want to have any mental blocks caused by un-finished business.  Luckily we have everything pretty much ready for our little one, so even if it happened early, we'd be able to handle all things baby (just maybe not the kitchen or the cleaning or the bookshelf reorganization, ha ha).

I had told myself that I wouldn't really give much weight to the whole "full term at 37" thing, because I want this baby baking as long as possible, but I can't help but think about the time left being in a time range now, rather than just thinking, "I have 6+ weeks left!"  A friend of mine was surprised by her little one arriving at 35 weeks (I think), and there's always that chance, no matter how unlikely statistically.  So I am trying to work ahead a great deal in my classes... JUST IN CASE.

Most guesses of baby's sex have been 'boy', due to people's gut feelings, my very 'boyish bump', etc.  I still don't really have any gut feeling myself, although I did dream that we had a baby girl complete with curly golden locks (too funny).  We shall see, and we shall be very happy with either!

We are headed up north to Lake City this weekend with my parents to visit our best family friends.  Very excited to being heading north during my favorite time of year.  I love fall so much.  Crisp air, sometimes-sunny skies, autumn colors everywhere.  I think we're going to go to the pumpkin patch up there too.