37 weeks and counting...

(photo taken at 36 weeks)

Well, it's official. The babe has made it to full-term! I could give birth to her at any time, and no one would stop me. I'm already two centimeters dilated, which could stay that way for weeks or it could mean things are heading in the direction of a Christmas surprise. We'll see! Meanwhile, I'm getting bigger by the second. The new sunburst pattern of stretchmarks around my navel suggest that this one is carried far differently than her big sister. My belly literally hangs over onto my lap when I sit. I feel the pressure of this mass plopped down on top of my thighs. It's rather odd, and I don't remember late pregnancy being this way with Ava.

I decided to take the plunge and use cloth diapers this time around. I always felt bad about how many diapers we contributed to the landfill with Ava. That was bad enough. But when I learned about all the horrible chemicals that modern conventional diapers expose babies to 'round the clock for years, I couldn't, in good conscience, use them primarily again. I know it will be an undertaking all my own because I have extremely little support in this endeavor. All the naysayers will be vocal, I'm sure (whether verbally or nonverbally). And it may not go well, but I have to try. Our shipment of itty-bitty cloth diapers arrived yesterday, and I was so excited to see them and touch them and show them all to Ava, who was quite excited herself. But when we began educating Britt on the use of said diapers that evening, I started to feel pretty intimidated by the whole idea because I don't honestly know the first thing about this effort, really. I only know what I've read online and hope it works out well enough. I know that cloth diapering is not hard, but because I feel all the negative vibes coming from everyone else, I am concerned that it won't go smoothly, and not only will I hear about it, I will have invested a lot of money into another failed project. We'll see. In the meantime, it is fun to look at all these super cute, teeny-tiny diapers and imagine my own little bundle in them very soon.

Very soon! Stay tuned...