37 weeks comparison

Thursday 10th saw me reach 37 weeks. A good time to get an updated photo. And just like the black currant bush behind me - I am heavily laden with ripe fruit. Sandy dropped the birthing pool off when she visited today as we can have baby at home from now.
For anyone wondering how this tummy compares to the others - here are photos of me at 37 weeks with Hezekiah and 40 weeks with Hannah. So at this stage perhaps looking a bit more like I did at 40 weeks with Hannah - and I think the main reason for that is that in both instances baby already had head down in the pelvis for 2 weeks (from 35 weeks this time and from 38 weeks with Hannah).
Hezekiah did not engage till just before he was born. So I am thankful that this baby has started to get lower - it does however come with more discomfort. It was interesting to look back at the notes from the pregnancy with Rachel and she only engaged at around 38 weeks and was born by 39 weeks. So going over 2 weeks with a baby "engaged" is something that I am really not used to.
Hezekiah was so funny when Sandy was checking baby. Generally as soon as I lie down he climbs onto the couch to be as close to me as he can. At first he just sat watching her so intently.
Eventually I asked Rachel to get me my camera (as it was so funny to see his serious little face). As soon as he heard the camera's click though - he looked at me and you could see he instantly relaxed.
Relaxed so much so that he then wanted to help.
The younger girls made the most of Hezekiah's nap time by getting some marble runs created. It was nice to see them both coming up with their own ideas. I then gave them little tips on how to make them more stable.
We have been trying the one-nap-after-lunch with Hezekiah but it does not seem to be working. He does not get more than 1 1/2 hours sleep and so the days are just too long for him (and me). So we may have to look at moving back to a longer morning nap and perhaps just a rest time in his cot in the afternoon (and a sleep if he needs it).

Brendon had to work late today - so to help me get through the long day I let the children watch some TV while they waited for Dad. Hezekiah just loves the Wiggles. When he first watched them we brought this cushion over for him to sit on (you can see where it "stays" in the photo above - to the right of Ruth). Now - every time Wiggles is put on Hezekiah goes to fetch his cushion. He only sits for short periods though as he enjoys dancing along with them. It's great to have some men dancing for him rather than only having is ballet dancing sisters to watch all the time. :-)
And about TV - I have not mentioned any movies that we have watched for a while. We watched this one this week - Akeelah and the Bee - and really enjoyed it. It was actually on TV but something went wrong with our taping and we missed the last 1/2 hour. We were very thankful that Fatso had it and we could watch the whole thing. We think we have worked out why the recording got cut before the end - so hopefully we won't loose any more ends of movies.

Friday 11th: A friend is coming around every Friday now for a visit. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to pop up to the local shop for a few things which also gave Hezekiah time to be with her - without me around. It was great to see how relaxed he was that he did not even make a bee line for me when I got home. He sat happily playing with her, getting tickles and giving hugs. I am so glad he is able to build this relationship with her - it will make it much easier in the labour if there is someone here that he is really comfortable with.
This friend is really good at sewing and so I asked her to think about perhaps having the older girls visit her regularly for some sewing time. I probably have the material for a number of sewing crafts but just don't get the time to get it all out.
Once we have our school room it will be much easier - easier to have everything safely in a spot that little hands can't get into. The girls are very excited about the possibility of this happening and it will be something they will really look forward to.
Last week the friend had watched the children so I could get my blood tests done. I was pleased that my regular berry smoothy has helped maintain my platelet count - but my ferritin has dropped a bit more. I suspected it may be more of an issue because we have just not had the red meat the way I did when I was pregnant with Hezekiah (and had wonderful iron levels through that pregnancy). Thankfully it's not as bad as it was with Hannah and I don't need to look at iron supplement - I just need to find some dietary helps. One simple thing (which I am frustrated I did not do before) is to add Spirulina to my smoothy. It changes it from that beautiful bright red to this brownish purple - but with 2 big teaspoons of dark green in it - it's too be expected. Thankfully the taste has been easy enough to adjust to.

Another help is just getting that red meat in. Kerry had some beef in the freezer that she gave to me and so today Rachel cooked up a nice batch of meatballs. Meatballs is one of the things that Rachel loves making - so even though I was planning on making them this afternoon - she asked if she could. The girls enjoyed some tasters this afternoon - but they will be kept specifically for me and baby. Frozen in little containers I will make sure I get some red meat in much more regularly in the days ahead. Thanks Kerry.
Even though Brendon had another long day at work again today - we still managed to get down to the pool. It was lovely for me to get a walk and a swim in today and Ruth continues to practice so hard. We have to laugh though as she just can't get down to touch the floor of the pool with her hand. She just pops up like a cork. Brendon said if she ever falls into a deep river again - she must just try touch the bottom and she will pop up to the top. :-)
Swim week is coming up at the end of the month and Ruth knows that one of the things she needs to do is pick things up off the bottom of the pool. I think mostly this is to help the children get used to going under the water. Ruth has no trouble there. It's just getting herself down that she finds so hard. I must remember to get a video of it next time. Our little fish who just loves the water so much.