39 Weeks!!!

What's In a Due Date?

Tomorrow we will be one week from the due date, but as I've been reading everywhere (and as my doctor has told me), first babies rarely come on time, so the chances of a March 8 delivery are actually pretty slim. At the same time, it's good to be in the homestretch and at least be breathing down the due date's neck. Everyone says that during the last few weeks, you are pretty much tired of being pregnant and just want to get labor and delivery over with. At the same time, you have NO idea what to expect, so there is a combination of fear, anticipation, frustration and eagerness. The baby's head is down, but nothing else seems to be happening in the labor and delivery department, so we continue to wait.

What I Won't Miss About Being Pregnant

As things wind down a little bit here, a few insights into the highs and lows of the whole experience, starting with the lows:

1. Maternity Clothes. What a cruel industry. The best advice I can give to anyone who is going to enter the lowest rung on the fashion ladder for 8 or 9 months (you can pretty much make do with your normal clothes for the first few months, but you'll still be in maternity clothes for a while after the baby comes) is to buy clothes that are most similar to what you wear when you're not pregnant. If in a moment of weakness you buy two tops made of space-age stretchy polyester-like materials because you think it will be nice to have something that is stain-resistant in the case of being spit-up upon, and this is not a fabric you would normally under any circumstances wear, trust me when I say you will NOT ever wear these tops when you're pregnant. Cotton is still the most comfortable fabric. And if you can, shop at the stores you normally frequent and just go up a size or two. Also, don't hesitate to buy clothes somewhere you normally wouldn't shop if they are your style and they're comfy--the best maternity pants I have had for the whole pregnancy came from JC Penney and the best maternity jeans were from Motherhood Maternity. Still, I can't WAIT to put ALL of my maternity clothes into a big bin and to forget they exist. And as an aside, Motherhood Maternity is a scary, scary place. In addition to being one of those places where the salesgirl keeps bringing you things to try on, they have these funny velcro strap-on bellies in the changing rooms so you can visualize what an outfit will look like if you are ever pregnant with a throw pillow. The first time you go there, they practically take a sample of your blood before they let you buy anything. One minute we were trying to check out at the register and 15 minutes later, we had been signed up for a trial magazine subscription that you can't figure out how to cancel, had a welcome packet with coupons, samples and ads for every major baby product manufacturer, and got a receipt that was about two feet long. And every time you shop there, they ask for your phone number and they make you initial the receipt saying that you understand the return policy. EVERY TIME. If you just looked up my phone number, you know that I've made purchases before. Can't that count as understanding the return policy? Of course, they are probably protecting themselves from the next malady that I won't miss:

2. Pregnancy Brain. I thought it was a myth and I thought it couldn't happen to me, but my brain is turning into mush. I don't know if this is a combination of not being able to sleep at night because I'm so uncomfortable or what, but I have definitely noticed some decline in my mental acuity.

3. Sleeping with so many pillows. In order to stay on my left side, which apparently is the best side to sleep on when you're preggers, I have to have a pillow behind me and one in front of me, and I have another one or two that are for hugging or for putting between my knees. I can't wait to sleep on my back again and to roll around however I want.

4. Having to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes. You're supposed to drink a lot of water when you're pregnant, but when you're within a few weeks of your due date, this translates into many trips to the ladies' room. I think I'm wearing a path on the marble floor at work. I should just claim a stall for myself.

5. Trying to navigate the whole baby product industry. We were lucky to have a lot of great hand-me-downs, but for the things we had to buy, it was no picnic to wade through the huge amounts of crap products out there and find what we thought were high-quality items at affordable prices. And as first-time parents, it's really hard to know what you really need and what is just something you're being pressured into getting.

6. Hitting things with my belly. Today I practically closed the refrigerator on my belly. I also went to Trader Joe's and could barely make it between our car and the car next to us in the lot. I know the belly is there, but for some reason, it seems to be protruding an extra few inches lately.

7. Most importantly, I will not miss having this dumb itchy awful RASH, the other reason I have had so little sleep the past few months.

There are also some things I will miss about being pregnant, but I think I'll have to wait to know what they are. For sure, one thing I'll miss is feeling the baby kicking and repositioning in my belly. Although it is uncomfortable when a foot comes out the side of my tummy and sometimes I swear the baby is trying to do jumping jacks in utero, there is something really cool about feeling that movement. Plus there are no diapers to change, no crying, and no feedings every few hours--yet. It's also nice to not have to shovel snow or carry heavy things. I'm lucky to have a hubby who carries my suitcase up and down stairs normally, but it's nice to have an extra reason to be pampered a little bit.

Another Shower!

This past week, my co-workers threw me a great shower/luncheon at the local Macy's. It has a restaurant inside that's pretty fancy--clearly a place for ladies who shop/ladies who lunch. Let's just say we brought a little something out of the ordinary to the place that day. We had almost 20 people there and balloons on the tables. The folks at work were super generous and gifted us the baby monitors on our registry. There were also some great books to add to Baby Olson's budding library and a bunch of things for the car, such as toys that dangle from the car seat, window shades, and a seat protector. They are also holding a pool so people can guess when the baby will actually arrive, and also for what the weight will be. So far, the guesses range from the day after the due date until a week after the due date, and weight guesses are from 7 pounds to almost 9 pounds. The shower was followed later in the afternoon by a HUGE cake that said "Congratulations Ann" on it--I didn't feel as though I deserved any congratulations until I actually delivered the baby, but the cake was yummy so who cares what was written on it!

What Now?

Now, we wait. This may be the last posting until baby comes, depending on what this coming week holds. If there is no baby by next Sunday, I will make at least one more pre-delivery post. Otherwise, no news means that there will be news--SOON.