Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Pregnancy: Week 40

It's here folks-- due date.  Yesterday I had a couple Braxton Hicks ("practice contractions") and I have a lot of pressure on my pelvis, but otherwise, I don't think I am going to be birthing this baby today.  

But, in honor of my official due date, let's look back on the past 20 weeks of bumpage:



..and the grand finale (along with the rarely-seen full frontal):


Yes, my t-shirt says "Pirates arrrrrrrr cool".  Because they... arrrr.
Pregnancy By the Numbers:
Weight Gained: 26 pounds
Inches Added: 44 to waist
Clothing Purchased:  1 pair of shoes
                                2 maternity shirts (apparently pre-pregnancy I had a thing for loose and/or empire tops)
                                2 dresses
                                5 pairs of pants
Daily trips to the bathroom:  12-15, which is a lot for a girl who's mother referred to her as 'the camel'.
Gallons of lemonade drank:  probably like 100
Items dropped and left for someone else to pick up:  innumerable.

My belly button held on for dear life, but as you can see in the above picture, it has started to pop.  I had this mental image of a bunch of little men holding onto ropes, trying to keep it in and finally one of the ropes snapped.  Thanks for trying guys-- you did what you could, and I appreciate it.

I love the shocked looks I was getting from people when they would ask when I was due and I got to answer "Tuesday".  I'm thinking about running to Target just so someone will ask me when I'm due so I can say "today".  hehe.

When I had my Braxton Hicks yesterday I went into OMG-what-if-I-go-into-labor-and-the-house-isn't-clean mode.  I still needed to empty the dishwasher, the bedroom needs to be dusted, the checkbook needed to be balanced, and there weren't fresh towels in the bathroom!  So I zipped around like a mad woman trying to have the house clean, and guess what?  I'm still pregnant.  I'm telling you-- pregnancy strips the sanity from you.

Winston knows something is up.  He's been following me around every day as if to say "I know something is going to happen and I want to make sure you are ok".  He's my buddy :)

A strange thing has happened this week:  our calendar is completely empty.  We have no plans of dinner with friends or anything of that nature.  No parties or day trips over the weekend.  Nothing.  Just spending the last couple of days as "just the two of us".

When we were first told the due date of September 27th, it seemed so far away (even though we only have 4 months to go!).   Now that it is here, I have all these emotions running through me; excitement, fear, love, joy. All of them are so strong, and yet there is still this disconnect that within the next week I will be bringing home a baby.  A little human being that I am responsible for.  That I get to keep-- no more handing it back to the mother when it makes noises I don't understand.  I have to figure out what those noises mean now.

My next doctors appointment is on Friday.  If I haven't given birth by then, we will start talking about inducing.  So this time next week, I will have a baby.  It's been a strange and yet incredible journey, and I thank you all for your support.  It has really warmed my heart to read your kind words.  <3

Always & Forever,
  ME

2 comments:

bethany said...

Oh my heavens, LB. I cannot believe you're due TODAY. This probably sounds like the worst thing ever to say, because you've felt every day of this pregnancy...but I can't believe this babe is about to make his appearance! Time has flown like wild.

I'm sure that now that you're due...soon to be overdue...you're in this weird waiting phase. Like you said...no more plans! The world just has to stop until the ltitle babe decides it is time.

And until then...I urge you to find every reason you can to watch a whole lotta tv, take naps and all the "pre-parent" things you enjoy. ;)

Come ooooon, baby!!

claire @ a peachtree city life said...

you are too cute! i bet the waiting is almost unbearable... but at least you have a clean house!

hope that baby comes out soon! best wishes!