Getting comfy (34 weeks, 3 days)

As a brief update, Aaron and I went on our third and final tour of the hospital where I am giving birth. Yes, I said third tour. Surprisingly, though, this is not a manifestation of my obsessive compulsive personality, as you might suspect. I think there is actually a very good reason for it. In September, we took a tour, but we also took a tour of 3 other area hospitals. At that point, I desperately wanted to switch care providers and one of the ways that I was trying to narrow down which new practice to pick was by deciding what hospital we liked. Needless to say, it was really too early to remember things that were important like how to get to labor and delivery after hours, so we knew we needed to take a second tour. Okay, so last month we went on a second tour, but we got there a few minutes late. The whole tour was practically over by the time we got there and I was just dismayed by how little info I heard. When we went to the midwife, she said she didn't think all the information that we had gotten was correct. Ugh. I didn't like that tour guide, so I resolved to go when the head of prenatal education was giving a tour. We met her on the first tour and at the breastfeeding class we took in December. So, we went this Monday. It was still brief, but informative and we definitely have it down cold now about how to get to labor and delivery. I was a little overwhelmed to realize that the next time we go to labor and delivery, it will be a vastly different experience!

So, with a few weeks to go, everyone is getting a little comfy. I think little Sprout is settling down some and starting to turn himself around and down. I still feel those two odd lumps, but they seem to be moving ever so slightly. When I woke up this morning, the lump on the left was much more centered and closer to my belly button. The lump moved back later, but it has convinced me that he is practicing to move down. If I have to go to the hospital three times to give birth, surely my son might need to practice moving some -- we might be a lot a like after all. Also, I feel a lot more movement lower towards my hips.

Sprout isn't the only one getting comfy, though. Sailor the Cat is also getting comfy. He has discovered, as we knew was inevitable, a whole new variety of places to sleep. First there was the gliding chair. He loves that chair. Now that we have reorganized the nursery, though, he has somehow realized that there is a crib in there. I mean, it was huge and present before, but it somehow missed his gaze. At first he figured out how to jump up into the crib, but now he has realized that he can take the easier step of jumping up on the dresser and then into the crib. I know most people worry about their pets being able to access the crib or the baby, but I have no such worries. To be honest, there is nowhere in my house where you could put a child and not have the child exposed to pet hair, pet dander or pets....nowhere! So, I'm not worried about this at all. Meanwhile neither Maggie nor Mouse seem to care about the crib. Can't wait to see what they think when Sprout gets here.