Waiting...

So I am only a week and a day away from Ethan's due date! We are soo excited! For a long time we were in the nervous phase, but now we are just so ready to meet our little boy. The nursery is done, the car seat is in place, and our bags for the hospital are pretty much packed. As of my doctor's appointment last Friday, I still wasn't dilated or thinned out at all. It seems our little man wants to stay inside his cozy environment as long as possible. The doctor said, the longer he is in there the better. I feel strongly about not being induced, and my doctor is supportive since she said a due date is just a rough estimation, so we truly are just waiting! I am going to try and help the process by walking a lot and drinking raspberry tea( those are supposed to help me go into labor)! 

 After a lot of praying and reading,  I came to the conclusion that I wanted to have a natural childbirth, so Craig and I have been preparing and practicing a lot for labor.  We are using the Bradley method which emphasizes relaxation, breathing, and teamwork between the husband and wife during the labor process. Craig has been such a good sport about practicing because it truly isn't the most fun thing in the world! :) I know a lot of people are probably reading this and thinking I am crazy for wanting to do it naturally, but I really believe the Lord led me to this decision and I have had confirmation of that in several ways. I won't go into all of them but, one way is that our childbirthing nurse/teacher had both of her babies naturally and offered to be there during my labor even if she wasn't working! HUGE BLESSING! We had coffee yesterday morning and talked for a few hours about how to continue preparing mentally and physically and so forth! She said she would come even if it was Thanksgiving! WOW, I am just so thankful that God provided her help and support! 

  In the mean time as we wait and prepare, we have been meeting a lot of great people! Craig is on a volleyball team through our church, and we have been super blessed by his teammates kindness and pursuit of us since we are newbies! He is really enjoying playing VB and I have enjoyed cheering on the sidelines. It is kind of sad but my competitive side can rear its ugly head every once in a while at his games and I have to tell myself to calm down! 

  We are also getting prego pictures taken today. Megan and Garrett offered to use their spiffy camera, so we are super excited to spend time with them and take some fun pics! 

  Well, thats it for now! Thanks for all of your encouragement and support during this season! We are about to welcome little Ethan Asher into the world and we just feel beyond blessed! I ask that you please keep us in your prayers. I will keep you posted as to my progress! Much love!