39 weeks in the blue dress

right now i have a biiiiiig belly. a couple of days ago we re-created our first ever maternity shoot (12 weeks). i can't stop looking at these photos side by side. not because i like myself or something but because i can't believe that i ever had a stomach that flat - i can't believe how big my belly is now, how much my body has changed to accommodate our little one.

now we wait. baby coulson's due date is tomorrow. the countdown is over, we have one full formed bub that is putting on a little more chunk everyday, snug and squished in its little space.

we're ready for you little one. come and let us see your beautiful face.

35, 36, 37, 38

lately i have been a little incognito (i don't even know if that is the right context for that word...), purely because i didn't feel like blogging. i felt like cuddling with timmy, walking on our little grass and beach tracks, getting acupuncture, spending time with family etc and so forth. it's been wonderful.

life is incredible with all its amazing changes. so many highs and lows like waves come and go. over here we've had days filled with joy and happiness at the impending arrival of our little one (only just over a week 'til our due date), days full of love, solemnity and sadness as we visited my pa who will likely pass our little one on the way to heaven as they exchange places. making the circle of life so real to us. i would like them to have time to meet so that my precious pa can hold our precious baby and send him or her down to meet us.

the photos below show the journey from 35 to 38 weeks.

wearing american apparel from the top: california fleece cap in red, sheer rib long dress in navy, stripe a line maxi dress in black marceau stripe, rib nylon spandex legging in purple, reversibly easy sweater in rogue boucle, cotton spandex jersey long sleeve turtle neck maxi dress in imperial purple and modal shawl cardigan in natural cotton boucle.

building a cot

ikea is a wonderful place.

we have a cot. it has it's own room. it was super easy to set up and it looks pretty flippin' good.

now to move all of our stuff out of the babies room. right now the babies room is our wardrobe eek. i think another trip to ikea is due - we need a wardrobe.

photos of the completed nursery will be here once the nursery is complete. ha. check back next pregnancy, maybe my nesting will last more than 20 minutes next time.

tim's nesting has however, brought us one nice weed and rock-free backyard, pictures and mirror hung on the walls, multiple dinners prepared, staircase fixed, old metal fixtures from the concrete slab in the backyard removed and trees trimmed away from power lines etc. he has been one busy bee and i am very grateful for him.

i have a goal to have my hospital bag packed and the nursery finished by the end of this week.

maternity pads - check.

any suggestions of items to add to the bag?

34 weeks and calmbirth

last week i was 34 weeks (this week i'm 35, but that is for another post).

week 34 brought us calmbirth.

we attended calmbirth classes in the southern highlands last weekend after much recommendation from my sister and a midwife at our hospital.

we drove through the beautiful hills up through robertson and bowral to arrive in mittagong. the classes were held in a new industrial estate on the top level of the calmbirth building. we met there along with twelve other pregnant couples, eager to learn. most of the women were not as far along in their pregnancy as i was. their little bellies barely noticeable under their tops.

there was a truckie, some who worked in marketing, public servants, a nurse, business owners, a farmer, a costume designer, a p.e teacher, a few others and us. we were all there for one thing - to learn how to birth our babies without fear.

the world is full of the belief that giving birth is scary, bloody, something to get done, excruciating, gross etc. we've all heard the stories, the horror stories - the stories that make these fears real. birth can be all of those things.

birth can also be beautiful, intense, happy, painless, ecstatic and enjoyable. that's what we learnt and that's the kind of birth we are preparing for, even expecting.

we know that there are some very real situations that can arise in birth that are emergencies that call for medical help. we know that if we have bumps in our road, we will be so very grateful for medicine and the saving it can do.

for now, we will breath our way through the next few weeks. using visualisation, meditation, touch and relaxation to encourage only positive feelings, hormones, perceptions and thoughts about this incredible journey we are on and the birth experience we want and know we can have.

wearing unisex gumboot, winter legging in burnt orange, polka dot chiffon oversized button-up in black and creme and 3d flower mesh jumper in black.