Almost 27W

I will be 27 weeks this week and almost finishing my 2nd trimester. It seems crazy that I am almost in the home stretch. I am very excited about my little girl coming into the world. I think that by week 38 or 40 I will be ready to let go of my pregnant state of being. I know some women have it difficult during pregnancy but so far I have had such a great experience, I have enjoyed every second of it and although I know it will get uncomfortable during the next few weeks I am sure that through keeping active I will pull it through; more so I will be ready for delivery. I am honestly loving being pregnant.
We are done with the Hypnobirthing class and now we, especially I, just need to practice getting into a deep relaxation. It might sound weird but while swimming seems to be the best time for me to just focus on the present moment and let go of all the other stuff in my mind and relax; plus it has helped me keep my swimming at a slight decent level.
My neighbor took the same childbirth class when she had her babies and she went to the same group of Drs. I go. I was pleased to learn that even the Dr. whom I have always felt not very fond of was very supportive of an all natural birthing style and even showed his warm side during her delivery; it makes me feel a lot better about what to expect for my girl's birth day. Although this time I didn't have the courage to go to a midwife I do feel that my Drs. and hospital are more open than other practitioners to completely natural birth, and will respect parent's wishes in terms of no intervention and no newborn procedures w/out parent's consent.
This weekend one of the couples from our childbirth class invited us over for a crawfish boil. I have never been to one and it was a lot of fun. It was also fun to share time with couples that share in the same beliefs about birthing than us; one of them is even having the baby at home with a midwife and I am sure they'll have an amazing experience. The majority of people I tell about what I expect from my labor experience think I just don't know what I am talking about; but they said the same when I mentioned doing an Ironman, and I see labor just as another ironman. It will take a lot of training and a lot of endurance and it won't be easy but it will all be worth it, and in the end an amazing experience.
This coming weekend I am going to Quito, Ecuador for my cousin's wedding. I will be there only for a couple of days. I am a bit worried about how my body will react to the altitude, Quito is at 9,000FT. I usually never experience any problems since my body is genetically prepared to adapt to high altitudes; but I don't know how it will respond with the pregnancy. My Dr. said everything should be fine and just to take it easy and keep myself very hydrated while I am there. I am looking forward to the wedding and to show my belly bump to my family!!
I am very happy that I am still fitting in most of my pre-pregnancy clothes, of course with the assistance of a tummy sash!!, and I have 1 pair of jeans that still fits even without the sash. I don't know what is up with maternity clothes, they look very cute on the models but once you get them, especially the tops have this tent like build that makes you look huge. I have found out that for tops a size bigger than your regular size fits a lot better!!