Two steps forward, one step back {39 weeks + 4}

This week has been the longest week ever and it's only Thursday! I kind of feel like I've physically been moving away from my due date while time keeps marching on. A lot of the swelling and lack of mobility I was feeling last week has gone away. I feel the same as I felt three weeks ago, except for being a larger size. I can even keep up when I'm walking with a non-3rd-trimester-ly pregnant person. Bah. It also feels like baby McNeill will 'yo-yo' up and down, one day she'll be descending really low in my pelvis and my back will ache, won't be able to walk or clean etc, and the next day that will all disappear and she'll be back up towards my ribs.
Around this time last week, I was feeling the definite possibility that we would have a baby by the weekend. Now, I'm pretty dang sure she'll be as late as she wants to be!
(This is actually a good thing, since my sister is going to Texas to visit her in-laws and won't be back until Tuesday night of next week)

I had my midwife appt on Monday and everything looked great. Baby's heartbeat sounded good, my belly is measuring right on schedule. I thought it was pretty funny, Diane said I should take a picture of my belly bump so I could look back and remember this time. Already ahead of you, Diane! :-D
I also asked her about a birthing tub to take home with me so I could labor in water for part of my birthing time. I don't want to have a water birth or anything, but reading others' experiences and having seen my sister's labor, I can see being in water can majorly relieve pressure waves (contractions) as well as lower back pain (which I am fully expecting when my birthing time starts). Diane gave me the name and phone number of one of her clients who still had the tub who very conveniently lives in Provo, and they were awesome enough to drop it off at our house last night! (We were worried how we were going to transport it since it is HUGE and our little cars are not, so much) So now we've got the tub. As to how we'll fill it, we're pretty clueless, but we have the tub!!

On Tuesday my sister treated me to a pedicure as a late birthday present. We went to the Chateau Salon in Lehi where I took her for pedicures two days before her due date. We had a lovely time and I'm so grateful for pretty toes for spring, especially when there is NO WAY I am reaching down that far right now. Seriously, remember how the only thing I put on my feet are flip flops? Yeah. Painting toes is out of the question.

Yesterday I had to reconcile myself to the fact that I really need to stop expecting the baby to come at any second and resume exercising! I learned pretty early on in my pregnancy that exercise is really, really good for the baby, even if it's just walking for 20 to 30 minutes. It provides a bigger and more healthy placenta and helps the baby develop the way it needs to. I wasn't too great at exercising regularly while I had my 8-5 job (seriously, who makes time to exercise when they have to be out of the house by 7:30??? Ummm don't answer that question) but once I quit my job mid-February, I finally had time to do the pregnancy workouts by Tracy Anderson I had purchased months previous. I'll admit, I didn't do the workouts nearly as often as I probably should have but I am so grateful I did have something vigorous I could do when I had the energy. Thanks to my cousin Lynnae for suggesting the videos!
Anyway, after last Tuesday, I kind of mentally put the workouts on the shelf, so to speak, because I didn't expect I'd be able to do them until the baby came. I also didn't go on any walks or move much because of this mentality. I had been in a lot of discomfort last Tuesday and wanted to take it as easy as possible. Well, yesterday I was feeling pretty low. I hadn't worked out in a couple of weeks, I had energy and the ability to go about my life normally but didn't really want to accept it since I wanted and expected my baby to come! Fortunately I was able to define where my negative feelings were coming from and did exercise and take a long walk yesterday. I felt SO much better after that. I just have to accept that I need to have a normal routine for a few more weeks a little bit longer until the baby really does come. Patience!!

 HUGE birthing tub

 Freshly pedicured toes. Swollen toes as well.

I had to post this...it's a baby mop for baby McNeill. If you have seen the Invention Convention episode from Raising Hope (Bro-gurt) you'll understand why this is AN AMAZING GIFT!!! I did not even know these existed! It made me soooooo happy...thank you so much Lindsey!!!