This was our last chance to take a vacation before things got hectic with the holidays and I became too cranky to travel. We took the two girls to Washington DC and Fredericksburg VA (My childhood hometown). The girls' favorite part was the hotel. My favorite part was the lovely lunch at the quaint outdoor cafe in Olde Towne Fredericksburg. I am pretty sure my husband's favorite was everything since it was mostly his idea to see DC. But at least I felt cute and pregnant at 18 weeks! The only bummer was that we got totally off schedule and were unable to stop in and see our new nephew, Gabriel, in Pittsburgh.

I've been feeling little Tilly or Tommy Tobin flutter around for about a week and half now. People were not kidding when they told me that I may start to show "early" with Baby #4 (our Nanny calls this our baby "LF4" which is shorthand for Loin Fruit Number Four -haha) My belly really took on a life of it's own these past few weeks. At least I don't feel like everyone is whispering "Gee, she's put on some weight, eh?" behind my back anymore since it is clear that the belly is full of baby and not cake and milkshakes.

Speaking of gaining weight,I've only actually gained 6 pounds so far which is a dramatic difference from my previous pregnancies. In the past, I gained pretty steadily all along. This time, I lost a few pounds in the beginning, and only in the past few weeks have I increased from there. I feel really great! Even though I have no risks factors, I have been trying to follow the diabetic guidelines for eating to keep my blood sugar (and my energy) levels even throughout the day.

This has been a really tough week.

We went for our second sonogram to make sure that all of the body parts were present and accounted for...usually called the 20 week sonogram (although it was much closer to 21 weeks for us with our crazy scheduling!) We had really been reluctant to have any medically invasive testing done--we had opted out of nearly every test there is because we really believe in treating our pregnancy as a normal event until there is cause to believe otherwise. Our 13 weeks sonogram was done initially to take a look at the cervix to check for any incompetency and to make make sure that placenta accreta was not an issue. As excited as we were to see our baby again, it really seemed like unnecessary testing since we had already ascertained that our baby had a head, hands, feet and a heart...we really don't need to know more than that since the results would not affect our plans for continuing the pregnancy. But, because it was a more traditional maternity care facility, we felt obligated to follow the rules and be good little patients. We should have followed our gut instincts, transferred our care to the home birth midwife, and continued to treat our pregnancy as normal. Instead, we went through with the sonogram.

A visit with our midwife at thirty weeks. One of the great advantages (as I see it) of midwives is the incredible level of personal care. Here, my daughter helps to find our new baby's heartbeat.

Part 1

Part 2

All the Trappings... I was marveling at the mini-pharmacy that my bedside table has transformed itself into. A few months ago, I had a cute little beaded lamp, a Margaret Atwood novel, perhaps a cute pair of lacy under somethings hastily tossed aside late one night, and maybe a hair clip or nail file.

Now, at 32 weeks pregnant I have a hot water bottle for my lower back (which disturbingly enough came with personal douche and enema attachments which have gone into storage, hopefully never to be seen again...yikes), a Buckwheat Neck Roll Pillow, Tums, Olive Oil for massages (which i thankfully receive almost nightly at this point!), Lobelia for my recent chest congestion, Burt's Bees Lavender face mist for when I feel hormonal hot flashes, eye moistening drops to combat the dry winter air, a Dora the Explore rubber band (why? I don't know), a Big Glass of Water, hand lotion, Gentle Birth Choices, Immaculate Deception,and Active Birth.

Other recent additions to the boudoir include new flannel sheets and a giant Body Pillow

Kudos to my husband for still finding me ravishing despite all of this "reality"...he is a real role model for all expecting dads out there. Be sure to check out the beautiful pregnancy photos he took of me at 26 weeks.

Our Plans for Water Birth Here at Home

So here is our birthing pool! The La Bassine from Made in Water (available through the US retailer Your Water Birth...they do same day shipping! Wow!) It took about a half an hour for us to fill it up using the old fashioned bucket method. We covered it with plastic (after I slipped in to 'test it out' of course) and it was still very warm the NEXT MORNING! And our room was nice and toasty all night, too. Being able to float around, or simply be surrounded by warmth, while in labor has always been the ideal birthing method for me. I am one of those people that takes a hot bath in almost every circumstance: when I have a cold, flu, allergies, sore muscles, a headache...when I've had too much stress, too much sadness, too much noise, too much work...so it just seems very intuitive for me to want that same ability to relax and let go while birthing.

What dreams do you have about your ideal birth?

It seems surreal to be this pregnant. I will sometimes catch a glimpse of myself as I pass a reflective surface (mirrors, shop windows, spoons...) and I have to do a double take because I realize that the incredibly pregnant person is ME. And the whole "it's a live human being growing in there" scenario still seems sooooo unlikely and bizarre. Yes, this is my fourth baby, you think I'd have caught on by now. And yes, in case you are new to knowing me, that is a tribal sun tattoo around my navel. It's been there for about 10 years.

Other than not really being able to comfortably wear pants anymore, the final month of pregnancy has started out pretty well.

I met some groovy sister-homebirthers at my screening of What Babies Want. I hope that I get to see more of them in the future.

My husband and I set up the birthing pool, which required a thorough cleaning, dusting and rearrangement of furniture in our bedroom (nesting? perhaps!).

My good friend, nanny to my girls, and future homebirthing momma, Kelley, threw the most lovely baby shower for me and all of my fabulous, strong, beautiful women-folk showed up to drink tea, nibble on tiny little sandwiches and eat the most scrumptious cheesecake in the universe.

I finally broke down and bought actual maternity bikini panties. Honestly, I really believed that there could be very little difference between those and regular bikini's a size roomier than my normal size. It has taken me four babies to learn this: THE MATERNITY PANTIES ARE MORE COMFORTABLE. Heed my wisdom, preggo momma's and future preggo's...buy the stuff that is made for your changing body. How long I have suffered in pinching, slipping, sagging undergarment hell??? Too long.

And today (February 13th) is my wedding anniversary! So, all and all, the 36th week has been treating me well thus far, despite the occasional heartburn and the ungainly waddling.

Coming up soon: Visit with the Midwives, Week 37

With the lunar eclipse last night, and the full moon tonight, I was feeling quite certain that the stars had, quite literally, aligned to make sure that I birthed little Mathilda under the sign of Aquarius. This would have resulted in all of my children, as well as my husband, being Air signs...and I would still be the lone Water sign (Scorpio) in the house, thereby defending my title as the "different one" in our family. And besides, Brenton (first born) is an Aquarius, and he was such a gentle and sweet baby. But, fate has dealt another hand to me, a different zodiac sign to Mathilda, and at least a few more days or weeks of pregnancy. And I know that 37 weeks is really a bit too early. But eclipses and full moons just seem so "right" for birthing, don't they? And even our tiny little female kitten, Marjorie Stewart Baxter, went into heat this week which would seem to confirm my suspicion that babies and birthing are par for the course this week. (We feel really bad for her, she seems soooo distressed--we would have gotten her spayed earlier, as responsible pet owners should, but we were still under the impression that she was fairly young since she is so miniature compared to our alpha male cat, Old Kentucky Shark).

We had our midwife out to the house this week as well, and everything looks fantastic. Miss Tillie's head is down and very low (oh, how I waddle!) She has been presenting fairly posterior, but is now almost ROA, we are hoping that the massaging motions of contractions will help her turn a tad bit more for birthing. I had mostly posterior childbirth with Gabriella (second born) and it was not fun, or speedy...but she did come out eventually. I have been trying many of the exercises recommended for rotating babies into more favorable positions, which also help my back feel better. So it's a win-win.

Another issue i wanted to bring up is pregnancy weight gain. (click read more link below to continue reading)