Home Brewed Smittle: Week 37. 3 to go.

Today marks 37 weeks for sweet baby Eli. That means that technically he is considered full-term, but I'd still like to keep him in and growing for the next three weeks just so we are sure to have a fat healthy baby.
Today I had my home visit which is where the midwives(I'm having two attend my birth.) and the apprentice(Who is a WONDERFUL help) come and visit the house, take a look around to see where everything is in the house, and make sure I have all my supplies. This is a great time for us to be sure we have everything ready and there isn't anything left to get as far as birth supplies or baby stuff. I was particularly happy to have my home visit today because my midwife from the first homebirth, Mary, was able to come today. She works together with Kim, my current midwife. Because of our location Kim was closer and more convenient, and she's been so so wonderful, but I just love Mary too! I think, the two of them working together is a great combo, and with the help of the apprentice, Holly I can't think of a single fear I have or need that has gone unmet. That's been my favorite thing, by far, about having a home birth. Their care is AMAZING. They don't just spend 5 minutes with me then push me out the door each visit. They want to know how I'm doing, what I'm eating, how things are going, is the baby moving, am I getting proper sleep and exercise. They are always ready with a good solution for any issues that come up. I just love the time and energy they put into taking care of me and my sweet baby.
So, I've shared before that Eli will complete our family by being our last child(as far as we know, anyway). As we sat in the urology office last week and Scotty had his procedure I found myself feeling excited about the future of this being the last baby. I was thinking about the fact that in two years from now our youngest child will be two and there won't be anymore on the way. I won't be nursing or pregnant for the first time in, by that time, 11 years. We'll soon be past the diapers stage. I know it sounds silly, but I've been buying diapers for at least one(at one point THREE) for eight and a half years. The thought of having that extra money in the budget makes me smile. No, I don't want to rush this sweet time with my kids, but having the next years to simply RAISE the kids and have fun with them without the fluctuation of pregnancy/nursing hormones is a lovely thought. It's TOUGH right now, and I look forward to the next chapter. I don't look forward to three pre-teen girls at the same time all that much, but there are so many blessings that will come with this next phase, that it makes the sadness nearly melt away.
Now, I can't say that I'll never have baby fever again. I'm assuming it will return, as always, around 6 months after Eli is born, but I'm planning to feed that baby craving by doing transitional foster care/"cradle care" in the future. Not for several years, but somewhere down the road.
Eli is still moving around like crazy. I've been having prep contractions off and on, but none really close together or really painful. It's exciting when your body starts getting itself ready. I'm just hoping to make it past my best friend's wedding tomorrow and maternity pictures on Sunday! I haven't had any real maternity pictures done since I was pregnant with Olivia, so I'm excited to have those.
I'm also having the same friend come to be our birth photographer. This is the first time I'll have a birth photographer, but I really want to be able to have those moments locked into photos.
Babycenter says that Eli is likely about 6 and 1/3 pounds and about 19 inches long. This is the time that Isaiah was born, and he was almost exactly those measurements. I'm thinking he's likely to have a head FULL of hair because I've had almost CONSTANT heart burn and my Granny always said that meant your baby would have a lot of hair! Ha! I've had all my final tests(including strep b), so now we just settle in for nesting and resting! Yay!
This week, they say the baby is about the size of a stalk of swiss chard. OK, then...