OK, I'm officially changing my mind about pregnancy. I actually am enjoying this one. Now that I'm not so tired, and have no particular food aversions, it's been all good. Of course, now I'm almost finished. Sure, there are definitely some uncomfortable things: swollen ankles, stuffy nose, frequent contractions, baby rolling around and keeping me awake, peeing when I sneeze (yeah, that one does stink), but in general, I'm enjoying it, even though I hated it last time. I love that Margaret wants to talk to the baby every day and give my belly kisses. I love the introspective mood I've been in for a few months. The last time, I viewed the pregnancy as a very clinical experience, and I read everything I could about the mechanics, etc. of it. This time, I seem to view it as a spiritual / emotional experience, and I'm a little sad that it might be the last time I do it. I don't necessarily want to get pregnant again just to be pregnant (because 9 months is a different time frame than the real 20+ years it takes to raise a child), but it has been very pleasant. Wes seems to think that every time I groan that I'm expressing my misery, but the truth is that when I bend in any direction, air escapes from my lungs because my diaphragm is compressed beyond belief. I groan because I breathe. Sure, I'm a little uncomfortable, but not unhappy about it. I don't really know how else to express it. He doesn't really get it, but that's ok.

Yesterday I got a ton of contractions...I think it was the baby settling down into my pelvis, because he/she moved all. day. long. Usually, the big movement is more contained to certain times of day, and the smaller kicks and hiccups are less dramatic, but all day yesterday I felt rolling, kicking, etc. and my uterus contracted a lot. I never really suspected it was labor, mostly because it wasn't particularly regular, but it was frequent. It was even kinda fun since it was more contractions than I ever had with Margaret. This morning at the midwife, she told me the baby's head was firmly in my pelvis (not transverse, not head up, nor any of the other wacky positions this baby has been in over the last month). I'm also pretty sure it's relatively anterior, since most of the kicks I get are way back on my right side. So she recommended doing squats daily, which I've been avoiding until the baby was in a good position. woo hoo!! now as long as the baby stays anterior, all will be right with the world. My midwife also mentioned that she recommended an herbal supplement (5W) with most of her VBACs since we can't be induced and none of the docs want us to go late, but she said that since I've been having lots of contractions already, and the herbs would give me more of them, that it didn't seem necessary unless I wanted to try it. I really don't want to have this baby 3 weeks early, so I'll hold off. Maybe the week of my due date, I'll give it a try.

Tons to do in the meantime: paint the bedroom and hallway, get some more stuff out of the guest room and into our new closets, get more shelves from Ikea to hold said stuff from the guest room, etc.

On Tuesday I had some professional photos taken of my giant belly. OK, it's not giant to anyone but me, but boy does it feel giant. One of my neighbors is a professional photographer, and she did them. The polaroids look great, so I'm looking forward to seeing the real thing. All black and white. It's too bad I couldn't get my hair cut before I went, but in general my hair looked fine. I am getting it cut on Friday, and I'm tempted to dye it with pink highlights before I deliver. It might be nice to have some rock and roll post-partum pics. Of course, if I add one more thing to my to do list, I'm sure this baby will come next week just to spite me, so maybe I'll just reserve that one for "things i'll do if I get bored waiting for the baby."