38 Weeks

Hello, full term.  Hello, pumpkin sized baby.

It's amazing (and amazingly frustrating) to think how quickly my entire pregnancy flew by.  Until now.  It seems like I hit 37 weeks and everything came to a halt.  I really hate this stage of pregnancy where things can start happening "anytime."  Like every other pregnant woman in the world, the Type A planner in me would pay big money for a crystal ball that could tell me when all this false labor is going to turn into the big show.

For now, I'll just keep (impatiently) waiting.

What else has been going on lately?

As ready as I am to have this baby, I'm also having super mixed feelings and emotions about Cam not being my one and only anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I am super excited to welcome this baby girl and to give him a sibling - but another part of me is sad that this chapter in his little life and our life together is closing.  I tried to put my 38 week pregnancy exhaustion and discomfort aside this past weekend and make a point to do fun things with him.  Not that he will remember, of course.

We went to the Armed Forces Day Parade on Saturday morning, swimming at the YCMA in the afternoon, and for fro-yo afterwards.  We played and played on Sunday and went back for a swim at the YMCA in the afternoon.  I would like to note that getting in and out of the pool was no easy task for this giant-bellied-mommy.  My mom met us to watch him swim and the two of them would clap for me after each entrance to/exit from the water.  And to be completely honest, I feel the applause was well deserved.  

I'm quite confident that my co-workers (I'm looking at you, male engineers) believe that I've reached the point in my pregnancy where I'm going to spontaneously erupt and give birth at any second.  In fact, I was sitting in on a division meeting recently and our division head asked me, "So, Lauren, you're due just about any second right?"  I awkwardly laughed, waved my hand, and with a straight face responded, "No, no.  More like any minute."  Co-workers will ask me when my maternity leave begins and my response has remained the same, "I'll be here until she comes."  Some of these men look at me as though I mean that literally - as in I will be at work until she is literally leaving my body.

Speaking of co-workers, I cannot walk down the hallway without receiving comments on my body and/or pregnancy.  More "Woah," and lots of "I thought for sure you'd have had that baby by now."  My personal favorite was when I was wearing a striped maternity dress last week and someone graciously pointed out that "... stripes don't make you look smaller."

When picking up Camden from daycare last week, one little girl said to me, "I love your skirt."  And then her older sister quickly followed that compliment up with, "I love your big belly."  Needless to say, I was much happier to receive body/pregnancy comments from these little girls than insensitive old men.

I'm still having lots of contractions and cramping and thanks to my appointment this morning, I know that they are doing more than just annoy me.  More progress on the dilation and effacement front.  Thank you, Jesus.  The baby is low, my hips and (especially) pelvis are extremely sore and uncomfortable, and there are a lot times when I feel like this baby is going to fall out of me at any moment.

Maybe those insensitive engineers are onto something, after all?

It's hard to believe that whether she comes a little early or right on time - it won't be long now!

Take Luck,

LP