Term! Or Preterm! Or Something! (36w2d)

And here we are! We are now officially cleared for our third homebirth - very exciting, and very nerve-wracking! But we are sorta-kinda term now - hard to tell, since the old definition of "term" is 36 weeks, and the newer definition (out this year or last) is something around 37-38 weeks. Either way, we're on our way, and this baby will definitely be here in the next..... six or seven weeks at most. Most likely three or four. Yikes!!

Speaking of running out of time, I have a lot of blogging to do in these next few weeks! A lot of topics that I've had spinning in my head and which need to be written out before they are completely driven out of my head by birth stories. I need to get busy!

So for now (especially since I am totally distracted by "Good Eats" in the background), a super-quick update on how we're doing over here:

Baby:
This baby is super-SUPER active. Lots of kicks, lots of hiccups, lots of rolling about (going back and forth between ROA and LOA, though at last visit she was - *gulp* - LOP. (Bad, bad baby! Flip now!) Speaking of fetal positioning, I am starting - slowly - to learn how to determine baby's position. Not well, but I'm starting to get the slightest feel for it. I have even learned to find baby's head! (Everyone out there is saying a big "duh," but I'm a slow learner.)

Baby Names:
Changing! What else?  

Nausea:
Ever-present, but usually only problematic in late morning and late-afternoon/evening. I keep forgetting that the blasted stuff lasts up until the birth. However, at least this time I shouldn't have to deal with two years of postpartum residual nausea like we did with the first one (when the HG was uncontrolled). I'm hoping to see it dissipate over the first post-birth week like it did last time.

Meds:
Just one half of a Unisom each morning.

Other supplements I'm taking to prepare for birth:
Alfalfa - for vitamin K levels
Vitamin C - for immune system and for amniotic sac strengthening (I would LOVE a birth en caul)
Calcium/Magnesium - Because this stuff is so stinking good that I can't resist it - oh, I meant that it's good for the baby!
Floradix Iron - To reduce postpartum bleeding and to keep iron levels up
Red Raspberry Leaf - Classic herb for all things female, including labor prep
Evening Primrose Oil - Another classic labor prep supplement, good stuff

Childbirth Prep:
I have faithfully been listening to my Hypnobabies CDs every night since New Year's Day - I have no idea if they're helping (or are going to help), but it's somewhat reassuring to be doing something. Hopefully it can work subliminally, because I fall asleep within 3-5 minutes of starting every night. Other things I'm doing are exercising (walking) and the basic Bradley exercises (pelvic tilts, kegels, tailor sitting, butterflies).

Homeschooling:
We have come to another fork in the road, curricula-wise - I'll cover this in an upcoming blog post.

To-do List:
Coming along nicely! Will I finish? No, but I'll be close.

Decluttering:
I'm at a pause in the process, but it's coming along nicely! I have easily gotten rid of multiple hundreds of pounds of unwanted STUFF, thanks to the added nesting-ruthlessness. There is a lot more I'd like to get rid of (like about half of our stuff), but at this point it becomes a matter of which relative I want to insult most. Anyone who comes over to our house, please feel free just to start tossing stuff in the trash. I would appreciate it!

Well, that's about all I can think of at the moment! I'll try to get busy on those other blog posts so that I can finish up at least the basics before this babe makes an entrance.

Love to all!