Week 37... and counting

Hi Everyone,

Hope you have all had a great New Years and a wonderful 2014 so far!

The Muir Baby is still in incubation mode, for those that have made enquiries or have kindly passed on gifts for the spoilt brat.

Thank you all so much for your loving thoughts, kind wishes and generous gifts.  It is all very much appreciated, and we hope to give you the good news soon.

My parents have come down early to help prepare for the birth.  Andrew has kindly been putting up with living with the in-laws the last couple of weeks with grace and patience - thanks darling!

The parents have been spoiling us too, with home cooked dinners, making sure I don't fall on anything sharp while Andrew is busy at work, or walk anywhere unassisted.  I am very very grateful for them and their support during these last few weeks of pregnancy.  Thanks Mama and Baba.

Here's us at the Wellington Botanic Gardens during one of those rare almost mythical Wellington sunny days:

For those of you who would like to see the belly up close and personal, here's a treat for you:

 My dad and I collaborated on this artwork.  We call it "Muir Baby Strikes a Pose".  It is literally pretty much how she is positioned in there.  

At last measurement, my belly is 35cm from top of cervix to pubic bone.  She is approximately 2.8 kgs.

 In this photo, you could see this right side is where she kicks and boots me on a daily basis.  Sometimes the little tyke manages to get her hands there too, and that is a really weird feeling indeed!

This afternoon, while she's booting me in my stomach after a particularly big home cooked lunch, my mum asked her to stop.  What does she do?  She kicks even harder, to the point where my belly meets my boob!

Yup, I'm growing a little kick boxer... sucks to be me...

This photo shows the current two problem areas - the head and the feet.  The head likes to bear down, which given the timeline is a good idea, except it hurts in a stinging sensation right down the lady parts.

For the mothers out there, I've been told there's the beginning of the thinning of the cervix.  So our bags are all packed, the bassinet is made, and grand parents are waiting eagerly... just... no... baby... yet.

So Andrew is counting on the baby arriving on my birthday, which doesn't exactly thrill me (thinking ahead of the years of joint birthday parties where I will have to have kiddie themed cakes instead of alcohol laden tiramisu or something adult-ish and unable to get completely sloshed), but he thinks its a stroke of genius as he'll only have to remember 1 date!

I'll leave you with my current birthing fantasy:

My friend Di told me of the birth of her first child, and after hearing it, I loudly declared that I wanted one of those, so here goes:

Di arrived at the hospital and since her kind hubby bought her a stack of women's mags, she propped herself up against the bed and started to read before she felt she had to use the ladies.  Telling the midwife before she goes on her merry way, the midwife stopped her and told her to get on the bed as she's going to pop...

... 15 minutes later she delivers a healthy baby boy who doesn't make a peep. Concerned, she asked why her baby wasn't crying.  

The midwife: "He's still asleep".  

Well bugger me!