Final Countdown

Well, we're at 39 weeks, and counting down. I could do without this week. Everything hurts and I'm as big as a house. I'm actually fantasizing about being able to workout again. My hips hurt all the time, my groin muscles are sore because she's sitting on them, my stomach skin is stretched out and itchy, I'm tired and sleeping until noon every day, my back hurts, and I can't sit forward. Gah. I am well aware that this week is going to fly by, and that even the few days she might be late will go by all too quickly and I'll be missing these days of having my life all to myself, so I'm going to complain about these silly things now while I still can!

Here's the BabyCenter info and picture. At our appointment on Monday, she was about 6 lbs 12 oz, so the sooner she gets here the better, as far as I'm concerned -- I don't want her getting any fatter, hehe!

 Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Maternity Leave, Day 4

I am trying to enjoy the calm before the storm. But speaking of storms, the one that has kept me inside for the last two days is driving me crazy. I've been sitting on the couch for like 3 days in a row. I've discovered some sweet shows on Netflix that are going to keep me company until I can leave the house. I've been reading a lot. Sleeping a lot. But now that most of the baby stuff is done I'm just waiting. Crying at sappy tv shows. Watching soap operas.

Right now, what I really want to do is walk down to Starbucks and sit outside and read for a while. If it would stop raining.

38 Weeks

Hello there,
Today is Day #2 of my maternity leave, and I've been pretty productive so far. I have a to-do list for today, but I also just want to hang out and read and relax. Today is my 38th week, and I've posted the info on baby below. She's getting big, and pushing me around from the inside. She looks like an actual baby now, hehe.

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.)

Day 1 of Maternity leave. Some people have asked that I post a pic every day so that they can track the Droppage. So, here is Pic #1.

Things to Remember

1. Nausea lasted for 20 weeks before it could safely be said to have finally vanished. At around 32 weeks, it made random appearances again.

2. Heartburn sucks. And it comes from everything, not just spicy foods. Keep antacids in your purse at all times.

3. Everyone thinks they're an expert. Remember ways to deflect annoying advice, no matter how well-intentioned.

4. Stretch marks happen.

5. Chinese food made you sick.

6. You gained over 50lbs. Don't do that again.

7. Sleeping on your side made your hips really sore. Invest in a better body pillow, and use it.

8. Testing for Strep B was not fun.

9. Shawn was miraculous during the whole 9 (10) months. Remember to thank him.

10. Growing a person is exhausting. Sleep a lot.

Philosophy and Diaper Bags

You know what's weird? This little critter is literally half of me, and half of Shawn, yet she's also her own, entirely distinct person. That is so bizarre. So many odd revelations like that have been coming to me in recent days. The most frequent of which is just the oddity that is rapidly-approaching parenthood, like, are you for real with this? Is this really happening? Surely not. After all these months of planning and waiting and getting used to the idea of being "pregnant" I'm suddenly going to be "parent," and not just in a some-day, yes-I'd-like-to-be kind of way, but in a drastic, unalterable, real-shit kind of way. And I don't say any of this because I'm like, freaked out or worried or scared or anything. Just sitting back in awe at how big that is. I mean, I'll still be me, but I'll never be the same me again. That's kind of nuts to think about. My definition of myself is changing on a fundamental level, and everything that was once a priority, everything I based my whole life and decisions and used as a frame of reference, is going to be totally altered by this time (hopefully) next month.

What. The. Eff.

Also, I still have the super-fun experience of shopping for a diaper bag awaiting me. If I had my pick (and an extra $350), I would get this one from Coach, which I have wanted for years.

In reality, however, I'm going to get one of these gems. The first, a gorgeous little number from Petunia Pickle Bottom, is freakin' adorable, nice and roomy, and a respectable $150. There's a matching clutch, but let's not get carried away. Also, I'm pretty sure it doesn't come with a baby posing like a cherub.

 

The other one, from Amy Michelle, is also fabulous in delicious patent leather, fantasitically roomy, and still chic. I must maintain my sense of fashion at all times.

Head Down

Just a quick note today to record the doctor's visit. We did a quick exam that wasn't entirely pleasant to me to check for various things, then did an ultrasound to check baby's position. She is already head-down and ready to go, so that's good. Unless something weird happens, no c-sections for me. And lordy if she isn't bigger than it seems possible to be in such a small space. Not like, too big or anything, but just, it's crazy to think that even at that small size she seems so big already. Weird.

The doctor continues to not be worried about my weight gain, so it's still just me feeling like a house. I took some cute pics of the belly last night, will post asap.

Synchronize Your Watches

Well, here we are at 35 weeks, and I'm starting to get information on how to know if I'm in labor and what will happen during delivery. This baby is getting bigger and heavier every day, I have to pee about twenty times a day, and I'm having just a slight bit of good ol' nausea again in the mornings, though not nearly to the debilitating level it was before.

First, here's the update from BabyCenter about how big this baby is:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

I don't know who they modeled that drawing after, but my belly is way bigger. 

I discovered on Monday morning that red meat does not agree with my system anymore. After having to stay home sick because I had been up in the middle of the night throwing up, and was just too exhausted to do anything but sleep until 11am and then lay on the couch feeling gross, Shawn and I decided that it must be the beef. I'd had some yummy steak the night before, and it seems like every time I have red meat my body reacts that way. Mom said she had to avoid it as well. Makes me sad. I hope it goes away.

While I'm not yet "sick of being pregnant," I am getting restless to have her here. So I guess in that sense I'm tired of being pregnant -- I just want to meet her. The anticipation is getting to me. After next weekend's shower I can start setting up an actual nursery -- I'll have my changing table back, and it looks like some more furniture and stuff as well. If we don't get our dresser, I have a $50 Ikea gift card that I'll use towards getting the one I want.

When I flipped the calendar over to March yesterday morning, I had a very surreal moment of, oh, that's it -- just one month left, and there it is, in visual aid, only those days I can see right now, right in front of me, that's all the time I have left. Start the countdown.