we are officially 36 weeks now. I can't believe it?!! But I am so excited! We go to every week appointments from now until delivery! It's getting so close! EEEEeeeP!!

so, i have the last two appts to update you on:

at our 34 week appt everything went very well. weight is good, no swellings, everything seems to be growing just fine. baby measured at 32 cm's for 34 weeks which is EXACTLY what megan measured at that stage (remember, she was 6.7 lbs at birth) we discovered baby was laying in the "LOP" position, or his back along my left side, head down but facing "sunny side up". Knowing about our ultrasound "IUGR" scare and after measuring baby's fundal height and then palpitating the belly for a good 5-7 minutes she said,  "don't worry, that is no small baby in there. you are just fine." it felt SO good to hear that!! baby had great hearttones (130-140 bpm) and she took considerable time listening, much different than the on-off again split second heartchecks I was getting from my past OB's...overall it was just a very very encouraging, wonderful appointment! it was low key and relaxed, i didnt feel rushed in any way. afterwards i felt hopeful, delighted, and reassured and in no way concerned, doubtful or scared as i had in some of my past OB appointments...although i did spend considerable time wondering why i hadn't had a midwife sooner!??? i dont think i will ever go back to OB care unless we somehow became high risk!

today, at our 36 week appt everything went very well! again, weight gain good for me, no swellings, no unusual concerns or symptoms to discuss. we did talk about baby's position some as i know this little guy has been facing the front and ideally we want him facing the back. i had been changing some of my postures and doing various excercises to encourage him to flip around, but also knowing my placenta is Anterior (attached at the front of my belly instead of towards the back) and that babies tend to like to face thier placenta's, i was a little disheartened if any of my work to get him to turn would actually be fruitful, or would he just flip back around to face his beloved placenta lol. i was also a bit concerned as it appears as though baby has dropped since last visit. i have had a few people tell me they think he's dropped, although i was still feeling pressure on my diaphram and haven't experienced an increase in potty breaks, i didn't think he had...but *if* he had already dropped then it would be much harder for me to get him to flip around to the OA position ideal for labor if his head was already engaged into the pelvis. After palpitating my belly this time we learned that baby IS lower than he was, but not quite engaged yet (so i still have time to get him to flip! YES!!!) but that most of all, he has grown 3cm's in 2 weeks time!!! so THIS is why my belly looks lower and, well, "HUGE"...baby did some major growing the last two weeks! he measured at 35 cm's for 36 weeks today! so this leaves me wondering...knowing he is now measuring BIGGER than megan did and Joe was 7.7 pounds at birth...may we have a 7 pounder on our hands this time??? his heart tones were good and strong again at 146 bpm. the girls were so excited this time. they crowded around my belly and watched intently as the Midwife pushed around and identified for us where the head was, where his little bum is, where his feet are, and then to our suprise, she speculates he may have his hands up near his head! she asked if i felt much around that area and i said yes, punches all the time, and sometimes like his head is turning from side to side against my pelvis (which isn't always pleasant lol) ...so she reiterated while pushing around a bit more, "yes, i think he has his hands up near his head"...thinking back to one of his 22 week ultrasound pictures he had his arm/s up near his head then too...

This is exciting to me (as we watched with megan) baby's sometimes carry on behaviors they have in the womb after they have been born. for weeks we'd watch first one, and then as megan gew, two little bumps insync rise and fall on my abdomen. we had no idea what it was, we guessed the usual: knees, feet, elbows..etc. when she was born we noticed that she would rub the side of her head or pull on her ear to fall asleep! she did this everytime she went to sleep and sure enough, we'd watch first the fist go up to her head, then the elbow rising insync with the motion...we had just figured out the "mysterious two bumps" and what she was doing all those times in-utero...we had watched her before her birth, and now after her birth, self-soothe! even now, at the age of 3, she STILL plays with her ears upon falling alseep! ...so Joey putting his hands up near his head is apparantly something that soothes him. i am glad to know this...it will remind me to leave his hands free when we swaddle him, so he will be free to move them by his head if he wants. God is just so awesome...it amazes me watching such a little unique life, from in utero, build personality!  so yes, overall a wonderful appointment! I was thrilled to see the girls get to be so involved and included in, and not just hushed away. The midwife also showed me some excercises I could do to help with the "aching hips" I've been having...that good ol' Relaxin hormone preparing my body for delivery by relaxing my pelvic joints, but perhaps the excercises will provide a bit of relief while we wait out these last few weeks to duedate. .. Otherwise we will see her for our next appointment, next week!

now, the last half of this page is showing what will probably be the last of belly pics before we deliver this little guy. We usually have studio belly pics taken at the end of our pregnancies, but being on the British Economy hasn't been too kind for us over here in that area. So my wonderful husband rigged a little "studio" at home for us and took these pictures with our digital camera a few nights ago!

 We are 8 months prego here, at 35w5d, less than 30 days to go! Most of the pics we took with the girls turned out blurry, so we're hoping to retake those at another time and try again...in the mean time, hope you like these. I am just so glad to have some to put in Joey's baby book, as both his sisters have pics of me pregnant with them in thier books too!  

Titled "Hope"

...this one is special to me, as these were Isaiah's baby shoes:

"Family"

"Big Sister-to-be (Again)"

"Guess how much I love you..."

(see how it looks as though he's dropped? He is so FAR out there!)

"SO Thankful..."

"Hippy Momma"

...Joe says all I need are flowers in my hair lol

"Less than 30 days!!!"

There are a few others at our Flickr site, and I will also add the ones inlcuding the girls when we get them done! Until next week...

Any predictions about when you think he will come? duedate is November 23rd. (hint to our past experiences: Julia came 6 days early and Megan came 3 days early...)