Week 39

Today is my due date.  There were several evenings last week that I thought the baby may on its way but all action fizzled out by morning.  And as much as I can't wait to hold this baby I am happy for the wonderful and nourishing experiences that came my way during "the waiting".  

Krissy, an old childhood friend from San Diego flew out to visit.  Her visit has been incredible gift as we hung out in the same carefree spirit that we did as teenagers, laughing ourselves into tears.  

On one of the evenings my midwife came for a visit and they put together an impromptu gathering to celebrate this pregnancy and up coming birth.  Some call this alternative to a baby shower a "blessingway".  So we gathered the two other little women around us, Clara and Maryanna to join in the celebration.  Krissy and Maryanna prepared some rose water to set the mood and be used for pampering.  

They also made a floral wreath for me to wear, it was beautiful, and for as big as I am I felt beautiful wearing it.  We lit candles, shared a small tray of snacks and uplifting stories of motherhood and birth.  The little ones pooped out after just a few rounds of snacks and stories so they missed out on the pampering.  My midwife and Krissy offered a salt foot rub and brushed fragrant oil through my hair and I have to say as a busy mom it felt incredible to just sit and be on the receiving end.  I love that this was such a simple and spontaneous gathering, I felt more nourished and supported than I ever have before heading into any other birth.

Clara on the other hand declared that "that was the worst girl party ever, who ever heard of a little boy named Henry joining a girl party."  But what better way to celebrate motherhood than let a snugly boy fall asleep in your lap.

Krissy is a children's yoga instructor and was very generous in sharing her gift each morning with the little ones.  It was joy to observe (on a very comfy chair).  

Here is George, still recovering from last week's rash, practicing "namaste" while sitting in the baby bassinet.

He's actually been spending a lot of time in that bassinet, perhaps to remind me that he is as of now still "the baby".  Here he is flipping through the quick barn guide to birthing sheep.  

Luckily we didn't need the assistance of such a guide.  On our way out to church Sunday morning Paul went out in his suit to let out the animals.  He was breathless in his return to announce we welcomed another addition to our farm.  A baby lamb was born just that night and since the first 24 hours is so critical Paul quickly changed into farm clothes and stood watch over the little lamb.  We didn't make it to church so a few members questioned whether we were having our baby, but we answered that we were just being good shepherds watching over our one little lamb.

Here he is, the boys named him "Buckbeak" and decided this generation of lambs would all be named after Harry Potter characters.

We put a little sweater on him to keep him warm and you may notice the other ewe below, "Dulce" is looking a little red and ready.

There is something about getting together with another woman that always sparks some sort of craft or project, in this case we chose henna.  Neither of us have ever done it before but Krissy took to it like a pro painting my belly and feet.

This was an activity the girls could not resist.

They formed their own designs with a marker and we traced them with henna.  Below is Clara's design, it is a cute little duck swirling on water and should last a couple weeks.  Maryanna's is just as unique and was so pleased with it she took her boot and sock off in a restaurant to show it off to the lady at the table next to us.  

I can't say all the boys were pleased with this activity though.  James came in and asked me why I had to be so weird, he then continued with his concern about allowing girls aged 5 & 6  to participate, he thought they may get the wrong idea about defacing the body.        

Paul and I completed a few projects together as well.  We finally assembled this armoire we bought off craigs list several months ago.  The mirrors were replaced, new shelves finished and installed and then anchored to the wall.  This piece will allow for more storage as we will soon be sharing our room with another child.  I can't say that this project was fun to get done but the result is beautiful.  

The last project we did was a body cast of my belly......this was really fun and funny.  It took me awhile though to actually to accept the final result as beautiful.  For that reason I decided to keep it up above my mirrors as a reminder to celebrate my flesh and let go of any desire to be a walking skeleton.  

So now we are on to week 40, I'm not overly anxious but very uncomfortable, maybe too uncomfortable for any more projects so I look forward to either rocking a baby or a week of great netflix......

p.s. Paul just reminded me that had I not been expecting a baby this week we would at this very minute be on a plane to Maui to join in an executive retreat that his employer was hosting.