Baby Update!

<-- hehe, the view in my camera when I took this picture of Éowyn's toys on the floor. I was like "what is that in the way?? Oh, it's ME!" =D

I'm officially 6 months along now: THIRD TRIMESTER. YIKES!! People ask all the time how I'm feeling, and I love being able to grin and say "great! I LOVE being pregnant!" No more morning sickness, no more consant nausea, and that mean no more dragging fatigue. I'm enjoying sorting baby clothes, going with Ryan (my labor coach-to-be =D) to our Bradley class, practicing squats while gardening, and getting our home ready for the wee one's arrival. Speaking of Éowyn, she is growing up a storm-- I can tell because some days I'll be so incredibly hungry, and my belly will feel "pulled." She is quite active when I sit down, too. Nights & mornings, Ryan loves to come lay down beside me and put his hand on my belly to feel her karate moves. Sometimes we just watch the seismic activity. Last night she had the hiccups, and it was so cute!

I was a guinea pig for a local midwives' certification course, which was SO COOL!! They used me to practice taking blood pressure, analyzing urine (fun!), listening for fetal heart tones, etc. It was like a free extra check-up, with one awesome bonus: using only their hands and a fetoscope (fetal stethoscope) they were able to find Éowyn by pressing gently on my belly, determine where she was facing, and hold her still (through my belly, mind you!) to get a heartrate before she rolled away. It was so cool!! I was so impressed with how they related to her as a person, talking to her during the exam, reminding each other that midwives try to get to know both mom AND baby through pre-natal visits, and expecting her to interact back with us. And she did! She did not appreciate being held still, and started kicking like a little madwoman until she was released. :) I especially liked how they were able to figure out which end was her head and which was her bum-- basically if the entire body moves when the end in question is wiggled, it's her bum. If it moves independantly, it's her head. The exam was totally painless-- they were so gentle and sweet... makes me want to become a midwife even more!

I've used the knowledge gleaned from that experience to play with Éowyn myself sometimes. It's harder to find her on my own belly, because my muscles tighten when I'm standing, and laying down I don't have the best view, but I usually can tell where she is now, and sometimes can wiggle her gently, and talk to her. It's so amazing to get to know this tiny soul living a mere skin's breadth away from us.

I'm also getting more familiar with my own pregnancy as I do that-- I can tell that she's bigger, as she takes up more and more room accross me and gets easier to find. :) Being pregnant is such a privelege, and despite all the downs it has... had... I am enjoying every aspect of it that I can. :)

PS- not sure how good Ryan's going to be at helping me relax during labor; the other day as we were practicing contractions & relaxation during class, he whispered in my ear "You're a leaf on the wind..." and I totally cracked up. I tried to hold it in, but there was no stopping it. So much for realistic rehearsal. Our instructor was like "umm, try to take this seriously, as much as you can..." lol. I told Ryan he must NOT use that phrase during labor if he values his life, our marriage, or our daughter's safety. :)