This morning was good. Woke up nice and early for my walk, showered (it's even sweat-inducingly warm by 630am when i was finishing up my walk!), meditated, read my scriptures and ate some peanuts and raisins, and spent some time writing in my journal. My midwife arrived. We are now at weekly appointments.
The baby's heartrate was 140. Normal. Awesome. My blood pressure was 118/72. Good. My fundal height measured 1 week more than last week. Good.
All is well. :) Baby moves regularly. We're gearnig up for the birth! How?
Well, i've completed my goal of preparing 14 days worth of snacks (that's 2 snacks each day, by the way). My goal of having 14 main courses prepared prior to the baby's arrival is short by only 4 meals. Pretty great, right? And i DO have a plan for those meals... at least 3 of them. :) So, i'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.
The rest of my "Before Baby Arrives Goal List" is sorely lacking in accomplishment. But most of the items on it are not integral or even terribly important to baby's arrival. Just things i WANTED to accomplish. The main one that sorta had to do with baby (and the biggest that were/are directly related) is already done. That goal had to do with excess clothing in the house. It did feel good to get the items i'd put aside a long time ago washed, sorted, and OUT (though i did retain a few items in SMALL sizes... few is REALLY the operative word there).
The only thing i MUST accomplish before baby's arrival now is to relocate the clothes and blankets i expect to use for this one (probably some of the neutral colors as well as a few in "girl" and "boy" colors since we won't know which we have until the birth). Those items DO need to be washed and i will have to find a home for them. That last bit should be the most interesting of all aspects of the job pertaining to those things! ^_^ It'll be fine.
I sure am getting excited! This is the first time i've been able to look forward to a birth this way. What's the difference? i'm not getting stuck at the labor!!! ^_^ Why? Well... i think it is a many-faceted jewel of a difference in me, honestly. For instance, i'm walking right around 2.31 miles every morning as well as doing "kimchi" DEEP squats. i walk and do squats 6 days per week. As a result, i feel very strong in my body and greater peace, generally. The peace (and ability to feel it regularly if not constantly) is due, at least in large part, to the time i spend praying and listening to uplifting talks during my walks, which walking requires right around 1 hour every morning. (Today was 65 minutes.) i do think the Bach Remedies i use are enabling my brain to access the Peace always available to us through Christ much more constantly.
Bach Flower Remedies are most definitely a facet in the jewel of my anticipating this birth. THAT is a huge one, i think! If i had to say which of the remedies are making the biggest impact, i'd have to say: Olive, Aspen (which has been particularly helpful regarding fears), as well as Hornbeam and White Chestnut. Many days i use a total of 7 remedies, but i've been trying to use fewer the last couple days. Just felt like i should....
Meditation is, of course, yet another facet. If you haven't tried it, i HIGHLY recommend doing a little reading/watching and making a 40 day commitment. If 40 days is too much, try 7. In my opinion, 40 days is THE best minimum to try... but doing even as little as 7 could show you the value. As for me, i started with a 40 day test this time around. (A long time ago, when i was 25, i practiced some guided imagery meditation and loved it, but scared myself out of doing it. But that's another story! ^_^) The test, which i honestly didn't think i'd be able to completely, went wonderfully well. Apparently the differences i felt were not very apparent to those around me, but i felt them so much that i kept going even though there was a good deal of opposition. i'm super glad as i'm now approaching my 1 year anniversary! ^_^
Currently, i'm practicing Kundalini Yoga. It's nothing like the yoga that is commonly understood when that word is used. In my opinion, it's MUCH better... though not usually/always as physically demanding. If you do a search right here in my blog, you'll readily find a few posts that include the meditations i do regularly... except for the most recent addition (i started a new 40 day challenge), which i'll write about soonish.
Finally, but in no way meant as the least of these, is my effort to eat very well. Organic produce is the majority of our food supply currently. Hopefully, some of that will come from my garden very soon. (So far it has been very little in the form of some greens. Definitely grateful, but hoping for a good bit more.) Juicing is also a big effort. As i progress in this pregnancy it becomes increasingly difficult to juice regularly due to physical fatigue, but i still try to do it every couple days!
There is surely more, i just cannot think any more on this subject. My mind is ready for sleep, but i have hours yet to go before i may.
Namaste!
Prosperity has been much on my mind since I read Felice Austin's post about her Daddy being rich. I came to realize something more completely as a result of it. I shared about that just this past Thursday.
