37 weeks

37 weeks pregnant (6/3/12)

Yeah!  37 weeks means this is a full term pregnancy.  I do realize what a blessing this is and I'm so glad Cora is getting her full time to grow and develop.

I've been nesting away and have had fun finishing up my baby to-do list.  Diapers are on the changing table, clothes are clean and in the closet, crib and cradle are ready, house is pretty clean.  Bring on baby!

Here is a check-in on my initial list:

To-Do List Before Baby

1) Jack's Room: Buy big boy furniture and move Jack from nursery to big boy bed in his room - Done! I still want to buy a new dresser and hang curtains, but that is a later project.

2) Nursery: Decorate nursery to welcome new baby - Done!  I love the finished project.  I also love that we finished it early because Jack and I go in there daily to rock and read in "Cora's room."

Cora's cradle in our room

3) Dining Room: Finish decorating - we need bar stools, at least one piece of furniture to sit on, and to hang pictures - Eh, we bought the stools and I'm happy with the room - I'm sure we'll do more here later.

4) Our bedroom: Find places for very large pile of stuff and turn this corner into a nursing/reading/relaxing nook with a glider + ottoman - Pile is gone and corner is empty; nursing/reading nook still seems like a great idea, but we couldn't buy everything at once.  Hopefully we'll get something for our room soon because I do like the idea of a place to nurse/read upstairs besides climbing up on a bed.

5) Porch: Clean off our porch and start using it - meaning buy some porch furniture - Yes!  The porch was stained and we bought furniture.  We will ultimately move the swing into the yard, but I love that we have a place to relax.  Too bad it's SO HOT in this city.
 

6) Backyard: Test our backyard for lead, remediate if need be, landscape, possibly put up a back fence, and make it a place that will be fun for Jack to play outside this summer. - Tested and yes we have lead.  Jacob did some serious excavating on our future play area and we dropped some serious change on dirt (seriously - did you know dirt is expensive?!)  Today's project was spreading out the new dirt in our side yard and porch beds and then next weekend we are getting sod delivered.  That just leaves purchasing a swing set and then Jack will have an awesome spot to play! 

Jack liked being Daddy's little helper and he was in HEAVEN with dirt we'd actually let him play with

What a messy activity!  After lunch he got an outside bath.

 (Oh yeah, we also are the "parents" of 6 chickens now!  Isn't the coop cute?)

7) Baby Supplies: We only NEED new cloth diapers, upgraded changing table, a toilet bowl sprayer, a double stroller, and some girl clothes. - Done!  All purchased, cleaned, and ready!

Week Thirty-Seven Stats:

How it feels to be pregnant at 37 weeks: My contractions are becoming stronger and longer but still irregular.  Labor's onset definitely doesn't seem far off at this point.  I am proud to say that Jack and I were out for several hours yesterday: on a walk, at the park, at the farmer's market, and at a library party and I realized how fortunate I am to feel as good as I do at this point!  My main complaint is my back and that's only at times.

Belly Comparisons

37 weeks with Cora

37 weeks with Jack

My healthy pregnancy intentions for last week (how I did): 

1) Midwife appointment on Wednesday where I'll get an exam to see if these contractions are actually doing anything (We're moving in the right direction.  70% effaced and 1-2 centimeters dilated!  I was 2 cm dilated with Jack at 37 weeks, so this puts me progressing at the same rate as last time (and he was born 8 days early) so I'll take it!

2) Checking off lots of final things on baby to do list (washing bedding and diapers, finishing Cora's room, etc.) (Yes - I really don't have that much more to do and there are lots of cute clean girl clothes hanging up!)

3) Keep walking daily even though I'm starting to feel more tired/winded overall (For the first time this week, I took two days off in a row because it is just SO HOT and with the more intense contractions, walking did NOT sound appealing.  We were back out yesterday though and I foresee continue to walk until the baby comes.)

4) Bradley exercises + relaxation practice (I did not do well on this one - why am I slacking off now?!)

My healthy pregnancy intentions for this week:

1) Midwife appointment on Wednesday

2) I really want to still be pregnant on Tuesday night so I can hold the first La Leche League of New Orleans meeting (7:00 at ZukaBaby).  I'm hoping for a good turn out and have everything ready to go, just need Cora to stay in until at least then!

3) Eat healthily, take walks, and go to prenatal yoga.

4) I'm still working this week and do have some final things to finish up (on work/personal to do lists) but I want to purposely take time to rest and relax since that is equally important!

5) Review Bradley book and get back up to 4 days of Bradley exercises.