David and Lindsey Down Under: Ninjette Update

I’m officially at 39 weeks! We’re less than a week from our due date - I can hardly believe the time has gone by so quickly.

I’m still feeling great, all things considered. I was able to run until 36 weeks and have been keeping up my walking ever since. Thank goodness for the support band and custom insoles for my runners - I really don’t know what I would have done without them!

The past month I’ve struggled with sleeping (I mean seriously. How cruel is Mother Nature to give 8 month pregnant women insomnia?! Not to mention a huge belly to contend with when trying to turn over in the middle of the night) but I really have been so fortunate throughout this pregnancy that I have really no cause to complain. A little swelling here, acne there is no big deal considering I’ve been able to control my weight gain and still have this much energy!

Ninjette is looking great - she’s estimated at just over 7lbs now and is head down getting ready to go. She’s dropped very low but is not yet engaged. David and I are so excited to meet her!

We’ve set up the baby stuff - unfortunately we can’t really do a nursery because we don’t have the room in the apartment (our guest room will be occupied by our parents for the next couple months!) but we’ve set up the pack ‘n play in our bedroom and a changing station in the living room. I’ve washed all of her clothes and blankets and my hospital bag is almost packed. I can’t wait to create our underwater theme nursery when we get back to the US. I already have visions of the sea creatures on the walls. :)

We took our antenatal classes, including one focused on breast feeding for me and a first time dad’s class for David. The class we took together was a 2 Saturday marathon, first about labor and delivery and then about parenting. I’m so glad we took the time to attend - both of us feel so much more prepared on both fronts.

The hospital is beautiful. The delivery and parenting suites are set up like hotel rooms with amenities to boot. We’ll be there for 4 or 5 nights depending on the type of birth I have. I continue to be impressed with the amount of support this country offers new parents. Between the longer stays at the hospital, the local early childhood clinics and the automatic placement into mothers groups, I feel like I’m going to have more support than I know what to do with! What a great feeling of security as we get ready to start this new adventure.

I’ve been working from home for the past couple of weeks. My last day will be September 30th unless Little Miss decides to make her appearance first. The waiting game is tough but exciting! :)

Here are some recent pictures of Ninja's mom-to-be (Ninja is too big to fit on the ultrasound screen so no more pics of her until she's born!)

~LAA :)