36 Weeks and Why the Weather Channel is Just Plain Mean

The Highly Uncomfortable Homestretch

We just passed the 36 week mark this past Monday. That means that by the end of next week, the little one is considered full-term and could arrive at just about any time. Of course, given that most first-borns are late, we're not holding our breath that we'll get to meet junior any time before the projected March 8 date. I'm now at the point where I have weekly doctor appointments, and the best part of these appointments (of all the appointments, really) is hearing the baby's heartbeat. The first time I heard the baby's heartbeat, I started to cry, which totally caught me off guard.

I'm feeling pretty good, except for two things. My dumb PUPPP rash has come back somewhat, and my lower back is really starting to ache. I'm not sure if the insane itching is worse than the insane back pain, but both are extremely unpleasant. The rash seems to be subsiding again, and it's more limited in scope than what I was dealing with during Christmas, so that's good! The back pain is also intermittent, but when it comes, it is BAD. I really can't complain because I never had morning sickness, I haven't had a cold or cough since I've been pregnant and I generally have felt great, so I should be able to suck it up and deal with these last-month challenges. My kingdom for a good night's sleep, though (that probably won't happen for another 18 years or so...). Who am I kidding? I have been told by many folks that sleep will be a distant memory very soon...

A small note about baby things and where to get them: I am happy to report that Babies R'Us is not nearly as annoying as Toys R'Us. I was really scared the first time I went there, having been traumatized at Toys R'Us in recent years while shopping for nieces and nephews. My theory is that given all of the pink and purple things for girls, we are going to have a whole generation of females with under-developed rods and cones as a result of not being exposed to primary colors! They even make Lego Duplo blocks in a boy variety, with red, yellow, green and blue blocks, and a girl variety, with pink, purple, white and light blue blocks. Egads! But at least Babies R'Us is much more relaxed and focused on parents, rather than children, and the toy section is kept to a minimum.

Why the Weather Channel is Mean
So I'm watching the weather while eating my breakfast the other morning, and they are giving the forecast for the next few days, which included phrases such as "bitterly cold" and "frigid." Then after laying out our dismal forecast, the man says, "Up next we'll have the tropical update." How terribly cruel to put those back-to-back! Of course, how many ways can you say really, really cold? They should just change the phrases they use to include such gems as, "Trust me--you don't want to know what the low is tonight" and "One word: Brrrrrrr."