week 32 update

I've started going to the midwife every 2 weeks (!!!) and everything looks great - she could feel the baby is in a good position (if you're me, head is down, back is to the left, pointing to the right) which explains why I feel way more movement on the right side. Numbers-wise, I've gained 28 pounds total so far, and she did a blood test last visit and my glucose levels are good, and she said that I'm not anemic but am on the low side of normal for iron (which would partly explain why I've been so exhausted lately) so she suggested adding spirulina, chlorophyll (you can find these two things in the Odwalla or Naked Super Food drinks), more dark leafy greens, beans, and of course red meat...I'm thinking cheeseburgers and mashed sweet potatoes with kale for dinner sounds about right :) The best part about seeing a midwife is that we spent an hour talking about health, diet, exercise, labor preparation, and whatever else I could think of. I asked her about how many weeks past a woman's due date she's comfortable with before doing any sort of "induction" (evening primrose oil, stripping membranes, castor oil, etc) and she said that she'll go 42 weeks and then call her backup OB for his input. Mostly she just said that babies show up when they're ready and if someone got the dates wrong or it's just not time yet the best thing to do is be patient. In life in general, if the baby's like Kyle it'll be early and if it's like me, it'll be late. Maybe we'll compromise on somewhere in the middle ;)

My doula came over to our house last Sunday to chat with Kyle and I about what a typical birth progression looks like, what we can expect, and what her role will be - which is supporting the two of us, explaining what is normal, helping Kyle support me in the best way possible, and most importantly being there at our house early in the labor process before we go to the birth center. We also discussed worst case scenario options, which hopefully we won't have to worry about but if for any reason we have to transfer to a hospital with my midwife's backup OB/GYN, she'll be yet another advocate for whatever-is-good-for-the-baby-with-least-amount-of-interventions.  

Aaaand the bathroom remodel started this week, as if we didn't have a million other things going on. Coming home every day to see the progress is really cool - and makes me really REALLY grateful we've decided to get contractors and not try to DIY this sucker.