37 weeks...halleloo!

So after two dodgy 'am I, aren't I?!' labour moments, I'm so happy and relieved to have reached week 37. I feel like I can relax into things a bit now, and things are looking good.

Me and Si had a tour of the birth centre on Wednesday, and it was better than expected. I knew it was a relaxing place to be in, but their philosophy and way of working there is just what I wanted, and need really. As it's a small centre they can manage the number of women in labour better, so it's one-on-one midwifery care. Which for me, especially with regard to my MS, is great. Knowing that someone will be able to keep an eye, encourage me to change positions and help me out is a relief, and sadly something I didn't get last time around. They are also encouraging me to use the pool for mobility reasons and as it fills up in the amount of time it takes for us to drive there, I might get my water birth after all which would be amazing! If not though there are plenty of aids there for me to keep comfortable and upright in labour even if I get weak.

For me though, the most important and surprising thing was that though you can be discharged after 6 hours, we (and that's the other thing. Si can stay too...he won't get turfed out onto the street after a few hours) can choose to stay there for up to 36 so I'll have the option to be in a calm, relaxing environment to recuperate a bit before I get home. It also means that I will get proper support this time with breastfeeding, which was a struggle with Lib. I went into my appointment expecting to have to justify my decision to only do breastfeeding in the early days (as I've mentioned in other posts, I got the guilt trip last time when I said I was struggling. Most of the midwives I met didn't really acknowledge my MS),  but the midwife here was completely supportive. We basically said I was going to have a go and see how I got on (Si was all geared up ready to stick up for me), but that we had formula feeding ready to go for when I needed it, which she thought was really sensible. All ready that's a big weight off my mind, because I did find the expectation and pressure to breastfeed hard to deal with last time. Hopefully it will be a breeze this time, but at least I don't need to worry about being judged if I stop. I felt like they actually listened.

Of course, the day after my appointment (I still had two days to go before I would be full term and they would accept me) I had another false labour moment. Now that would have been sod's law! Being shown somewhere so nice and then it being denied! But no, all quietened down again and we've passed the 37 week mark now so I can relax knowing that all being well I'll be giving birth there.

I think it's safe to say that my body is gearing up though. I had about 8 hours of on-off contractions on Friday, which did start to ramp up, but then I had a bath and it all stopped. Since then, they've been coming and going, but because the rib pain has eased hugely I've had a bit of a new lease of life. My ligaments have softened (meaning I'm less stiff and more mobile) so I'm actually getting out of the house now which is so welcome. All in all, I'm perfectly happy now just to wait and spend some quality time with Lib before his arrival. The end is in sight! :)

Silliest one yet? This week my baby is the size of Swiss Chard.