Long Lost Update

I realize it has been quite some time since I updated last. I have no excuses. I have not really been too busy nor have I had nothing to share. I just forgot. But, with the impending arrival of Eleanor Anne, I figure it's time to jump back on the blogwagon and try to be a little more diligent in keeping people up to date!

So, to bring you up to speed, I am almost 38 weeks pregnant, big as a house, and ready to meet our Ellie!! Many people ask me if I'm still riding my bike and the answer to that is yes! It's definitely getting harder and more uncomfortable and I pretty much poke myself in the stomach every time I get off but honestly it's easier than walking around. Although I think I am done with trips longer than 5-10 minutes. Yesterday we rode to church and that was no fun, even with Dan pushing me most of the way. On the way home, I felt like I was sitting on Ellie's head...whoops! But I will keep riding close distances as long as I can. 

I'm down to weekly doctor's/midwife appointments. I've started seeing a doctor at the hospital I will be delivering at, which will help me to become familiar with the staff there. If everything goes fairly normal, I will be delivered by a midwife in the hospital. So far, everything is looking good. She is head down (although needs to keep moving lower!), I have no complications(blood pressure is great-low even! no glucose problems, etc), so as long as everything remains like that, the plan is to have the midwife deliver me. Obviously if there are problems, they will call in the OB. 

At this point, my plan is to try med free as long as possible. I'm not hard core stuck on it, which may be a bad place to be if I really want to have a med free birth :) They do have epidurals here but the majority of Dutch women give birth naturally. I think my second option will be a pain pump that they offer. It allows you to control it, is only short term(so, basically to get you through the contractions) and is out of you and the baby within 15-30 minutes after giving birth. We'll see though, you know what they say about best laid plans!

Everything is ready for Ellie's arrival. The nursery nook is finished (see pics below). We basically took one side of our room and turned it into her nook. We only have a one bedroom apartment so while she's little and while we continue our hunt for a 2 bedroom place, we will all be sharing a room. Her little cloth diapers are all washed and ready to go (with some disposables in case she's too little or it's just too hectic the first few weeks).  The rocking chair sits empty and all her clothes are folded or hung. Now all we need is baby!!

My parents will be here 2 weeks from today! I can't wait for them to experience life here, although it will be pretty different from our usual normal obviously. Dan's mom will be coming in mid-August so we will have lots of help for the first month/month and a half and I'm very grateful for that!


So now we just wait. We have our travel plans for getting to the hospital in place, thanks to some generous friends who will be offering rides as well as our back up plan of calling a taxi. Contrary to what my adorable husband thinks, we will not be hopping on the local bus while I'm in labor. :)


I'm posting a few pics below of Ellie's nook as well as a few of me being this pregnant. I promise to try and update more often!!