Only 70 days left of pregnancy! The update: I'm starting to get less and less sleep as I wake up about 3 times in the night. However, I have adjusted my sleep schedule quite naturally to be in bed between 10-11...so that has helped make up for the interrupted sleep patterns. My biggest issue lately has been indigestion, acid reflux, and heartburn...which I've tried to keep under wraps! Some days go better than others but once I started noting what triggered feeling terrible, I have made adjustments to my eating and am now feeling a bit better. Baby is sure getting bigger in there! It's weird trying to do anything without core stomach muscles. It's amazing how you can take for granted getting off a couch or jumping up to quickly do something or bending in the car to reach your seat's levers. My world feels like it is moving at a turtle's pace simply because I am haha. Other than those very normal symptoms, I have been doing great without any complication or concerns which I am grateful for. The stressful February blues are over and done with and I am starting to get SO excited for birth and to meet our baby!

Baby was in head down position at my last midwife appointment - not sure now if she has moved as I feel her moving so much it's hard to know her position. It's still early and she can still move pretty freely so position can still change multiple times. Of course I am hoping she ends up in the proper head down position for when the time comes and it matters! She was a week behind in growth at the last appt which initially really freaked me out because she was always measuring a week ahead until now...but I learned it's normal...and having a smaller but still healthy happy is not at all a bad option! Plus these measurements can always be a week off, so it's nothing to worry about. Her heartrate and my blood pressure are both perfect and normal, and I feel her move often and frequently so my midwife says everything looks great for right now to continue to move forward with plans for a homebirth. Speaking of homebirth, still the goal! That being said, we are gonna roll with however things progress and use what information we have at that time to make the best decision for both baby and myself. There is TONS of evidence that for a low-risk birth, birthing in a familiar, comfortable environment actually helps speed up labour, can prevent the need for assistance in dilating, eliminate the need for drugs, and minimizes tearing. So it's really important to know all the facts - I don't want to birth at home because I am against hospitals (because I am not!) I just want the best birth we can have and to be as comfortable as possible. Most don't realize that complicated births 9 times out of 10 have warning signs both before labour and in the early stages of labour that midwives look for to determine if a home birth is a safe option for mama and baby. They would never keep me at home if there were signs I needed to be close to the hospital. Many don't know that the mortality rate for mothers in birth is actually higher for c-sections than homebirths. Education, when it comes to making medical decisions especially, is key. Making decisions out of fear of extremes is silly. Moms also have amazing intuition when something is wrong with their own body or baby. My midwives are so much more "medical/evidence based" than even I was expecting when meeting them! If any one of If when I go into labour, I become convinced I need to be close to a hospital - no big deal. They meet me there and we go that route. So I am not "set" on any one birth plan because I really have very little information before me right now, and won't until I am full-term and we can look at all the facts and make the choice then. Of course, being me, I dream of a beautiful home birth lit with strands upon strands of string lights and beautiful quotes and surrounded by my birth team in my beloved Emberly House but I also am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure we are safe.

Today was originally our booked date for our maternity shoot, but it's been postponed because of freezing wintery weather that I'm not into...lol. I am bummed as I had a really pretty dress picked out (non-maternity) that was still able to work, and will definitely not work for the rescheduled date as I was already squeezing into it last week. So a new dress hunt has officially begun! Man, nice maternity dresses are hard to find. I am sure I will find some random thrifting score though.

Tomorrow is our first baby shower of three. I am slightly overwhelmed at the thought of three showers but in the end it just made sense - I couldn't imagine putting everyone together and leaving a few friends or family members in charge of such a large shower. It would be overwhelming for them and I would be stressed feeling like there was too much on them. My *biggest* fear is burdening people...so even having three showers feels so insane because in total, we have 12 WONDERFUL organizers, and I feel bad the level of work involved for all. It really is a personality struggle for me to "accept" people doing so much for me, especially when I feel like I can't help too. Showers have always been my area to help plan and decorate in our friend group - so not being involved is so weird but is a true blessing to be so well loved on. Our showers are split into three categories: close circle of friends, family, and church friends. We figure this is easiest as those groups will all mesh best. I second guessed myself so many times of whether we should combine them, but in the end I am sure it will work out great and be the right sizes for each one without overwhelming anyone (hopefully!) I am so grateful to all the people who are helping out to make these showers happen, and also to the people taking time out of their busy lives to attend and bless our baby girl. I am sure it will be SO surreal tomorrow...the day has finally come to celebrate we are going to be parents. It still hits me in waves that this is finally happening for us! We are so thankful for everything.