I'm Cured! (and other fun stuff)

My PUPPs rash went away! I don't know if it was my treatment regimen, a fluke, or perhaps some changing hormones, but it is GONE. (Ugly stretch marks remain).

Now I can be happy being pregnant forever. Well, at least a couple more weeks.

Other awesome pregnancy related things that happened today:

1) My coworker didn't make fun of how I walk (screw him - I'm STILL wearing my heels!)
2) I had a really good yoga class (make-up session, so different instructor and women), and the instructor was very impressed at my ability to do the poses being so far along. I forget how big and unwieldy I must look to others! I also got really friendly responses to our birth plans from the women in the class.
3) T.J. and I got a good laugh at the expense of his poor parents, who couldn't get a hold of us and thought we'd had the baby. Poor things.

39.5 week prenatal appointments are tomorrow!

It's official - I've "dropped"

Last night at yoga class we used dowels for our exercises. They are basically just long skinny sticks. Laura had us hold them at each end over our heads with our legs spread apart (so we looked like X's), then bring them down to our hips with our elbows locked. Well, everyone else's dowels went down to their hips, but mine got stuck at my belly button! Even the girl that was due today made it over her belly.

At first I thought that I just had freakishly short arms, but then Laura looked around and said that you could tell who had dropped by where their dowels were - and I was the only one like that. So, I was the freak, but kind of in a good way! Baby's on it's way down and out I guess.

I've also been getting some "twinges" the last few days. TMI, but it feels like the baby is scratching at my cervix. Not very pleasant. Charlotte and Laura says this is what it feels like when your cervix starts to thin out - called effacement. Don't get excited though, it doesn't mean anything in terms of labor! I just like to know that my body is doing all the right things.

Labor and Delivery Class

T.J. and I attended a labor/delivery class at my yoga studio on Friday night. Laura (our doula) taught the class, and it was pretty good. A lot of it was repeat for me, as we discuss lots of birth things at the end of my yoga classes, but it was great for T.J. to get to hear it all, since he's the one that needs to remember it!

We learned different coping techniques, such as using sound, breath, water, and different positions to relieve the pain of labor. Best of all was that T.J. got to practice some of the techniques on me. Yey for massages!

There was a really smooth transition between yoga-type things that we could incorporate and talking about how things might go and practicing. It made the night go very fast. T.J. especially enjoyed the meditation (i.e. nap) time at the end!

After we left, he declared himself ready for the baby, and he's even more excited to have Laura with us at the birth.

So now we just wait!

Hippy dippy

I went to yoga tonight, and it was my favorite session yet. Tonight we practiced sounds at the end (for labor). We were all making these melodic "aaaaaaahhhhh" sounds for like 5 minutes - like a choir. It really did sound like a choir. Or a chant.

Anyway, I don't know if it was the vibration of the sounds, or the group-ness of it, or because you run low on oxygen (it focuses on lengthening exhales), but I got this really really neat feeling of largess and well being. Like I was the focus of the world. And it felt like I was just... big. But in a good way. Like puffed up to 2-3 times my size. It was like, if I was dough, I had risen and was now 3 times bigger.

I know, totally strange. But it was amazing. I felt fantastic afterwards. My mind was totally racing afterwards, which is bit strange because usually I'm all mellow. This time I was so excited and refreshed. I can't wait to try it in labor.

I'm officially a hippy freak.

I think I'm in love

With a yoga instructor. Today I was browsing online at yoga classes in Atlanta (I love being done with taxes) and saw that a particular studio was hosting a free intro class tonight! So I went and had a lovely time. As soon as the women leading opened her mouth, I thought, WOW - this lady should be a doula. Her voice is so soothing!

After the class, I told her that, and she got all excited and said "I AM a doula!" So I told her about our planned home birth, and we talked about that for about 10 min. I love her. I want her at my birth. I hope she isn't booked!

So I'll be starting prenatal yoga next week, and I'm SUPER excited! Cross your fingers that she can be our doula!

PS. More on what a doula is later. I have LOTS to tell you all now that busy season is over!