38 weeks and the way has been blessed

On Sunday, Sage and Heather co-hosted my Blessingway at our place. If you're not familiar with Blessingways, they're traditional ceremonies intended to celebrate becoming a mother. Mine was a very intimate gathering with the most important women in my life (minus my mom, other sisters, and other best friends who are out of the area of course). The night before, Sage came over and made a cast of my belly:



We did a few rituals including a very luxurious foot-washing using warm water and essential oils. It felt wonderful, and we used the baby tub which was adorable. At the end, Heather decorated my belly with henna. As you can see, she's really talented!



Now, 4 days later, I'm still rocking it:



It felt so special to be honored that way, and it got me thinking. Making the transition to motherhood is really the biggest change in a woman's life and I am thankful to have had this rite of passage. I know it's going to be the biggest transition in my own life, by far. I've been through lots of changes through the years but none quite like this. I guess the difference is that through all previous changes I've remained pretty much the same person. But I know that motherhood will change everything. This pregnancy has given me a headstart to some extent and I am thankful that I've had 9 months to prepare myself...though in some ways I still feel ridiculously unprepared. Everyone assures me that caring for their newborn is more or less intiutive, and that you just do what you have to do until it starts to come naturally. I really hope that's true!

According to babycenter.com:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Maternity Photo Shoot with Kelly M!

Last weekend we had a maternity photo session with the very talented Kelly M. She chose a gorgeous natural setting for us and I'm SO THRILLED with how the photos turned out. She even added us to her blog! I hope you enjoy these photos as much as we do:



Also, I'm 37 weeks! That means baby Zokay is now full-term, and should be just fine if she is born at this point. According to babycenter.com:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Refinishing Popi's cradle

Before I was born, my dad (Popi) built me a beautiful wooden cradle with his own hands. My mom brought it down to us from Oregon when she came for Thanksgiving. It's always been a part of my life, and now it will be a part of our daughter's life too. After 31 years it was still in pretty good shape, but needed a bit of refinishing. Kailen and I sanded it down and added a couple of coats of new varnish this weekend. My mom made a new mattress and bumper out of pink flannel. I don't have a photo of the finished product, but trust me...it's lovely! Here are some photos we took while refinishing it:

Baby shower pics and 36 week update

I feel like such a slacker just now getting a chance to post about this! We had a great time at our California shower. Sarah was an awesome hostess (no surprise there - she's an awesome EVERYTHING!), and the onesie-painting station was a big hit. Yet again, we were really touched by the love and generosity everyone showed toward our little one. We now feel much more prepared for baby Zokay's arrival and are getting very excited to meet her! Here are some photos:

Here I am as of Thursday morning (36 weeks). Whoa belly!



And according to babycenter.com:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

Wondering what a crenshaw melon looks like? Well wonder no more: