Is he here yet?

FIVE days left til the official due date...not that anyone is counting of course or checking emails around the clock or waiting for a text message or FaceBook post or even the long awaited phone call! No, its very obvious NO ONE is counting the days til this kid decides to show :)

We've tried everything short of poking him with a sharp stick to get him to mosey on out but it appears Jax has his heart set on being an August baby so I guess I might as well get used to having a little peridot boy charm on my mothers necklace soon. He's been a great pregnancy, I cannot complain. Very little water retention except when MOMMY misbehaves and eats or drinks something I shouldn't. No sickness, no blindness (like with Freyja), minor numbing of the limbs and only a couple of really sucky nights sleep. I'd love to be one of those women who "claim" to never know they were pregnant til labor began but at the same time its been fun watching another little parasite take over my body and do all these interesting things again!

Tomorrow we go as a family to a friends studio and take some family shots and some pregnancy shots. I look forward to posting those online after we're done. Keep in mind if you check out the album that she is still a budding photographer and these are raw photo's before she and I attack them with PhotoShop! Since I haven't had him yet today...I'm hoping at this point he stays put long enough for us to get the photoshoot out of the way tomorrow night!

So, I've heard this question a lot lately and figured I would put it in writing so that everyone knows what a "doula" is.

• labor coach: an assistant (often the father of the soon-to-be-born child) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes.
• A doula is an assistant who provides various forms of non-medical and non-midwifery support (physical and emotional) in the childbirth process. ...
• A support person, usually female, with no medical or midwifery training, who provides emotional assistance to a mother or pregnant couple before, during or after childbirth.
• originally, a layperson who helps a new mother through pregnancy and early infant care, and now a model being tested to use experienced volunteers to help persons facing serious illness

Essentially, she is a professional birth coach. Mothers (such as myself) who chose to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) are at a large risk of a repeat c-section. Having a doula present increases chances of a successful VBAC because she knows every possible position a birthing mother can attempt that would bring about a successful delivery. We were lucky enough to find someone who is still going through her doula training but has 2yrs experience as a midwifes assistant that is willing to work with us for free. Doula's cannot "officially" charge for their services unless they are CERTIFIED, there are two types of certifications out there and Shari, our doula, is working on her DONA certification as well as having just been accepted into the nursing program at PSC (Pensacola State College...previously PJC). I hope this helps clear up any confusion as to the who or why we would have one of these present.

In other news:

Not much is new on the homefront. Freyja and I have pretty much been hermits all summer (hence the scarcity of photos lately). Lack of a/c in my car has kept us at home except for early morning trips to the store or to the inlaws for a morning swim. Freyja is getting MUCH better in the pool! Last summer ended with her just beginning to "tolerate" water accidentally getting in her face, this summer she has graduated to private swim lessons with her daddy without her waterwings! Momma would like to have a heart attack when the wings come off but luckily daddy has enough confidence for us both. She is getting the hang of treading water for the most part, just gotta keep working on keeping her mouth closed and holding her breath when she feels like she's gonna go under. By next summer she'll be a pro!!

August looks like its shaping up to be a busy month! Birthdays galore, a new birthday (unless something happens in the next 90min...), dad and Stella visiting(9th-16th) and Rob (Davids brother) visiting (14th-18th). Its a good thing I have TONS of space on my Picasa for all those upcoming pictures...now just gotta get new external drive for the computer to store them all!

Well, thats it for tonight. This child is being a pain in my buttocks, LITERALLY, and is demanding I remove myself from the sitting position and go to bed. Have a great night/day/etc and rest assured as soon as he decides to make his presence known you'll hear about it :)