I'm 36.5 weeks along now. 37 weeks is considered "full term" and 40 weeks is the average length of gestation for most women. Because baby's Birth Day is coming up so quickly, our house has been busy getting things ready for her birth – and I'll admit, I've been nesting quite a bit.
The major difference between Stella's birth and the new baby's birth is that this labor and delivery will take place at our house, instead of the birth center. We will (again) have just a midwife and the midwife's assistant there for the birth, but this time we get to stay home – yay!
Because baby will be born at home, there are a few extra comforts that we get to enjoy: my very own super nice birth pool, I get to eat/drink whatever I want during labor and the most wonderful part for me: I don't have to get in a car during my powerful pressure waves AND I don't have to get in a car postpartum and make the drive back to the house. I get to sleep in my very own bed and I can walk around the house (or neighborhood) and labor/birth wherever I want!
This is our fantastically awesome birth pool. It's quite big - big enough for Stella to splash around in until the big moment comes :)
I'm sure you know all about my cloth diaper obsession. While visiting my in-laws last weekend, I brought along all of my diapers and prepped them for baby #2. It was then that I realized that I just might have a few more than I need...
In preparation for Stella's arrival, Nick and I had visited one of those paint-your-own ceramics places and together we painted a beautiful (and huge) bowl that we named "The Placenta Bowl". This is what Stella's placenta was delivered in to. Afterwards, we washed it and have it saved as a commemoration of her Birth Day. Along the lines of tradition, we just went to paint a bowl for baby girl. Stella decided she would rather paint her own teacup :)
I have baked and frozen a huge batch of lactation cookies. These cookies contain ingredients that help a new Mama's milk supply. They contain powerful milk-making ingredients like oats, brewer's yeast and flax. And it turns out they are delicious, too! Here is the basic recipe that I use to make the cookies. (I use coconut oil instead of butter and egg replacer instead of real eggs to make them vegan.)
I love how we all eat from March's placenta bowl on gathering at the hill!
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I said something at dinner and we had new company over. I said, "Hey March, can you put the salad in the placenta bowl?" and the new company (I can't remember who it is - maybe it was Nick?) almost puked. Hah!
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