Week 37

No baby yet...

I thought I'd say that right off the bat to take care of those thoughts! (Jeff said today when I called him at work, "I get nervous every time you call!" Maybe the readers of this blog get "nervous" when they check it...so I'll try to cut the suspense. Actually, we're living in constant suspense these days, with absolutely no clue about when this baby will be born. But more about that--and our guesses--later...)

In my week 37 picture, I wanted some company, so I got (from left to right) my mother, my sister-in-law Lori, and Lori's mother to pose with me while they were all here this past weekend. As I look at this picture, I can't help but think about how huge I look--and the ironic thing is that I chose that particular shirt for its "slimming effect." The only thing that actually looks slim in the picture is...well...all the other women. Oh, well, it's good to be able to laugh at myself these days--and good to realize that a 37-week pregnant woman is supposed to look like an elephant, right? :)

Some random notes from this week of pregnancy:

~ I'm definitely in the waddling stage of life...in the grocery store recently, I realized that I was swaying back and forth as I walked--and that I literally could not stop that peculiar sideways motion...interestingly though, I read an article recently about how a pregnant woman's body changes and adapts to accommodate the growth of the baby and to prevent unfortunate events like the mother falling over from having so much weight in her front; and one of the adaptations is this waddle, so I'm glad for it!

~ for those who don't know, Josiah, our first son, was born one day before his due date...David, our second son, was born 12 days before his due date...so I have some history of being early, but of course, nothing is definitive when it comes to predicting this son's birth...although, I am suspecting he'll be early because of the other boys

~ I haven't had any "real" contractions--nothing at all with any pattern to it or anything that made me seriously think that "this is it!"...however, I have been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions with this pregnancy, much more than with the other ones (which I've read is completely normal); but just recently I read that false contractions are usually just felt in the lower abdomen (where mine have been) and real contractions are usually felt throughout the whole abdomen and even the back...so I've not had a single moment so far when I was convinced that the time of birth was near

~ we're all trying to predict when the birth will be, of course...Jeff's prediction/desire for December 31 seems to be futile (unless things happen very, very quickly!)...I have a (completely evidence-less) theory that the baby will be born on a date that is a prime number (since all the rest of us in our family are born on prime number dates)...so December 29th was a possibility, as was the 31st...but so are the 1st and a whole host of other dates in January...that doesn't really narrow it down much at all!...my sister predicts January 10...my dad was hoping that it would be this past weekend when our family was here so that my sister-in-law could take over with babysitting and cooking duties...my mom simply hopes that it's after she gets a good night's sleep, since she's my second support person in the delivery room and she'd like to be full of energy when that time comes...so we're having fun thinking and dreaming and guessing when it will be :)

~ I did wake up last night with a soothing thought: I have no more pressure in my life...no hosting duties...VERY little written in my planner...no self-imposed stress that I have to accomplish certain things with either homeschooling or homemaking right now...I can have this baby as soon as he's ready; and if he's not ready for a while, that will give me a few more days/weeks to do a few things around here that probably won't get done right away after he is born (important stuff, like organizing my coupons!)...I don't have any serious health problems that make a soon delivery preferable...it really is OK if he comes sooner or later...either way is a win-win situation for me!

~ speaking of health problems, the weird symptom of the past two days has been fairly severe pain in my left side: abdomen, hip, and leg...it seems to be a simple case of the sciatic nerve (or another nerve which Dad named but I can't remember) being squished by the baby...nothing to worry about, but it does relegate me to the couch when the pain strikes...if I try to walk during a painful episode, not only does it hurt but it also feels as if my leg isn't working and I have to drag a heavy "bum" leg around behind me...I've been so mentally "ready" for labor that now, to deal with this other pain (and to have people do my normal work and take care of me) just feels silly!

~ Friday evening when my brother and his family arrived from Pennsylvania, my parents used the gift certificates that some of my dad's patients gave him for Christmas and took us all out for dinner at Cracker Barrel which was delicious and fun--and I didn't have to cook or clean up that night!...while we were there, I was thinking about how earlier this year, it was much more of a challenge to go out to eat as a family, since David was still at the age of wanting to get down and run around and needing LOTS of entertainment items to make it through a dinner out...now, however, things have changed; and for the most part, it's fairly simple to all eat out together, since David can be kept occupied with much less stuff and, in general, is more of an easy guest in a restaurant...Friday night, I thought to myself, "how ironic that now that life is getting easier--as far as restaurants go and many other ways--here we go again with making things difficult!"...oh, well, I've never felt "done" as far as having babies goes, so I just accept the fact that this stage of my life still includes lots of diapers, interrupted sleep, big diaper bags when we go anywhere, lots of noise, and room-temperature dinners for me!

~ to say that I'm a little tired of maternity clothes would probably qualify easily as an understatement, although I really am trying to enjoy each day of this pregnancy, all the way to the end...it was a joyful thought today to suddenly think about a particular pink "snowflakey" sweater I own that is NOT maternity, and to realize that soon I'll be able to wear it!...oh, the simple joys of life!