36+ Weeks and A Pregnancy Epiphany

Effacement, dialation, stations....so many words, so many possible meanings! Well I am officially 36.5 weeks preggos. Can you believe just 3.5 weeks to go until D-day?!? Doctors appointments have been a regular part of my week now as I frequently visit with my wonderful midwife, Chantel. I am currently 1cm dialated, 40% effaced, and at a -2 station. For those of you who don't know what any of that means, it means....Caroline is coming....someday! It would be nice to think that we could have a date in mind, but really it could be any day or weeks from now. For now, we sit and wait for the impending delivery. Bags are packed and the car seat is in place. Right now prayers are being lifted by our wonderful friends and family for a safe delivery, healthy baby, and for at least Feb 1st so we can get the supplemental insurance, right?

Oh and last week we had an ultrasound. All looks good in there. She is head down, approx 6.1 lbs, and the ultrasound tech said she has hair!!! Yeah for bows!!! She also is looking a little cramped in there with both a hand and foot in her face. Sorry baby!!!

I am a reader. A big reader. In fact, I cannot stop reading pregnancy and baby books. The toilet reading includes Your Pregnancy Week by Week and What to Expect When You're Expecting. The newest "pleasure" reading is Baby Wise. It was recommended to me by several friends. What a great book so far! And from it comes my epiphany....there has been proven research that links infants children who get a full night sleep are more intelligent, have quicker response times, etc. This all directly ties into experiencing different stages of sleep. If they are awakened every few hours they will never achieve this. So now my brain is churning (surprising due to the lack of sleep I have had for 36 weeks.)...Pregnancy Brain is real! I am not just getting dumb and forgetful! It has been 36 weeks since i have had a full-night sleep. Sure I am in bed for over 8 hours in any given night. However, I am waking up every 2-3 hours to go to the bathroom or for other pregnancy discomforts. So this means my body has no chance at achieving a true REM state. So here's to hoping this Baby Wise stuff works and a few months after she is born both of us will experience the joys of the different sleep states. And true intelligence, judgement, and other joys of a well rested brain will be experienced!

...Oh and by the way, for those of you reading the above that have opinions otherwise and do not believe it is possible to have a baby who will sleep through the night by 2-3 months old, keep your opinions to your self. This is my blog and my happy world...get your own if you wish to state your opinions!!! :)