Week 36 Pregnancy Update!

I'd better get on writing this post, considering that we're almost to week 37! Humph. Somehow this pattern seems vaguely familiar.

It's just amazing how the time flies at the end of pregnancy.

And as time is getting short, I find myself with very little time for blogging. Let's move!

Pregnancy and Pregnancy Health Update

Nausea levels: Anywhere from "comfortable" to "ick" - depending on how tired I am, the time of the day, and how much sugar I've cheated into my diet. Ahem. It's hard not to cheat - considering that my cheat time (over at the end of the year) is running down before my very eyes, even if sugar does still make me sick. Excuse me while I go and get a cookie, and then we all can listen to me complain about how crummy I feel afterwards.

Pregnancy Measurements: Both baby and I continue in all standard measurements to be absolutely 100% standard. Last night, my midwife said, "You are having a textbook pregnancy!" And that's the word I've used repeatedly to describe this pregnancy: textbook. Every measurement (FH, FHT, BP, etc.) has been exactly spot on.

Baby Names: We finally have baby names! (Did I already mention this?) Don't worry, they'll change. But at least we're somewhat prepared.

Home Visit: Two weeks ago our birth team (midwife, student midwife, doula) came over for our home visit - always so much fun.

Birth Supplies: All of our birth supplies are prepared, purchased, washed, etc., and ready to go. Now we just have to dig them out of all of the corners where I've stored them and put them in a centralized location. We'll do that within the next week or two.

Pregnancy in General: This last week has seen incredible changes in how I'm feeling. My energy is fading fast, mobility is growing increasingly difficult, and I sometimes wonder if my body is simply going to fall apart before the baby makes it out. I'm overdosing on relaxin hormone over here, for sure! My Braxton-Hicks contractions have also turned nasty, which has made me wonder if baby might arrive earlier rather than later (a sure sign that we'll go late).


What's-Going-On-Around-Here Update

Homeschool Field Trip Season is in full gear! Here are a few of our latest outings:

The historical Rosson House in Phoenix:

Doing period chores. Why don't they work so eagerly at home? 

Playing period games. 

Vertuccio Farms in Gilbert:

Local Alpaca Farm - Pictures coming soon!

Homeschool Lessons: We are soldiering ahead, though I am finding it increasingly difficult to do so or to find the motivation to do so. But my iron-clad rule continues: Math gets done OR ELSE. Another major focus right now is chores, which continues to be a major headache. However, I am forcing myself to stay faithful on this issue because I know how important it is. More on that later (if I have time for it, which I probably won't).

Before Baby To-Do List: A good number of my items have been transferred to the "forget about it" list. For items that I still want to get done (and have a reasonable hope of doing so), I'm doing my best to work on one "office" task (letter-writing, emails, etc.) and one cleaning/prepping task (cleaning out freezers, etc.) per day. Are they getting done? Well, yes. Slowly. Sometimes.

My goal is to complete major projects by the 38 week mark (something like 12 days away) and then focus on slowing down and maintaining while we wait for baby. Actually, I'm ready for that phase right now, but I have too many projects that I don't feel comfortable abandoning. We'll see!

Lepkuchen Day: We celebrated our annual lepkuchen-making Christmas open house this past Saturday, a full month earlier than normal! It was exhausting, but we still had a lot of fun baking our traditional cookies and getting to see friends and neighbors. We passed cookies and Christmas letters out to all of our neighbors, and that will be the extent of our Christmas baking (except perhaps for some sugar cookies for the family to decorate).

I'm sure there's more, but I think I'd better finish here! I will do my best to check in at least one more time before baby makes his debut. I also have other blog topics that I'd love to post, so we'll see how that goes. (It probably won't.)

In the meantime, have a lovely weekend, dear friends!