37 Weeks Prego with Willa

I am just over 37 pregnant, due April 30th! I get to meet my last little baby soon and excited to hold her in my arms. Each pregnancy has gotten harder and I'm looking forward to feeling like myself again. We talk about this being our #fourthandfinal 

My body hurts and I wake up at least 20 times a night due to back and carpal tunnel pain from pregnancy. I'm super grateful to have a healthy pregnancy though and we are all looking very forward to meeting this baby girl soon!

This quarantine has been very strange being away from everyone so I thought it would be good to post an update pic. I figure I better get at least a couple photos of me this pregnancy for posterity sake as well. 

I am using my amazing midwives again to do a home water birth, they just dropped off the tub today for my home visit and so it's all feeling very real! 

Dear Wilhelmina 💕 

What a time to be born! The Coronavirus has covered the Earth and stolen so many precious moments --Graduations. Prom. Weddings. Baby Showers. Church Missions. 
22 million Americans are without employment. I was laid off from my job as a dental hygienist on March 5th. Luckily, your Daddy is still working and working hard. There is a big feeling of uncertainty for everyone. Things change weekly and even daily at times. It almost feels as we are in an alternate reality. We live right next to cousins and grandparents and many friends but we are not supposed to see any of them as we practice "Social Distancing". There is a "Shelter in Place" order where all the schools in California and around the nation have closed for the rest of school year. All of Elle and Trooper's extracurricular activities have been canceled --gymnastics, jazz and hip hop classes, piano lessons, Elle's Love of Learning classes, sewing lessons with Grams, and Reading Hour with Gramps. Even church and all church activities has been canceled until further notice.  

We anxiously await your arrival as we finish Elle's 1st grade home schooling and spend lots of time at home. We are finding ways to keep busy by doing neighborhood walks, riding bikes and scooters on Berry Court, doing puzzles, bead pets, squirt guns, sidewalk chalk, science experiments, games, & more. I have been working on finishing home improvement projects during tax season to get our home ready to sell. There are so many pesky detail oriented things I have worked on --caulking, filling nail holes, painting baseboards, touch up painting rooms and all the cabinets and bead board, 5 trips for paint, re-painting the bathroom walls and ceiling, scrubbing doors and baseboards, sealing granite countertops, replacing hinges, spring and deep cleaning, dejunking and much more. My body has been very angry to be this pregnant and doing this many projects. This is the most acute and chronic pain I've ever felt in pregnancy. The last month of my pregnancy, your Daddy urged me to see the chiropractor twice a week and do therapeutic massage as well. It has been helping but sleeping has been very difficult. 

I think everyone is wrestled with many mixed emotions regarding the corona virus: fear, uncertainty, depression, anxiety, or anger. Your Daddy and I have talked about how grateful we are to have already made the decision to do a home birth with midwives. The hospitals are not where I want to be or want you to be right now. Many hospitals are not allowing and family or even husbands at the birth. My friend who just had her baby in the hospital had to wear a face mask in the hospital as she labored and birthed her new baby boy. Even my midwives have made it so I can no longer bring your older siblings to my prenatal appointments due to COVID-19. There are days that I feel anxiety about everything going around me and other days that I feel grateful that I was already taking a slow down in my life to get ready to have you.