39 weeks!

It's quite surreal and fantastic for me to say that I'm 39 weeks pregnant.  According to my last 2 doctor appointments, we are expecting the baby "any day now."  They think it it's unlikely we'll go to the due date (March 28th), but who really knows!  I have had a pretty bad cold for the past few days and my doctor has strongly urged me to take it easy and get rid of this cold so that I can breathe during labor, which is probably a good idea I suppose! 

So my goals for this week are to a) rest and get healthy; b) enjoy the fleeting days of life with only 1 kiddo; and c) celebrate Sam's second birthday on Thursday March 24th (baby boy - can you please NOT arrive on Thursday? Sam doesn't share very well these days, so I'd like to not have to require him to share his birthday. Thanks!).

I am tentatively scheduled to be induced on Tuesday March 29th at 7am if baby boy hasn't made an appearance on his own before then.  It feels strange to know that there is a definite end date to all of this - there's a finite amount of time left in the pregnancy!

Baby boy is still quite active and keeping me up at all hours of the night.  I am pretty much up every 2-3 hours.  If I'm going to be on a newborn's schedule, I might as well have a newborn to feed and take care of, right!?

This past weekend I read Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy.  Although I certainly don't agree with her take on immunizations/autism - the book was an entertaining quick read.  I could definitely relate to some of her "what the hec is going on in my pregnant body" moments.

For example, my ankles no longer exist.  Someone has stolen my ankles.  They have been replaced with huge swollen sausages.  I can't even bear to look at them any more, they're so ridiculous.  My wrists are bloated too, I can't wear my favorite tennis bracelet and my rings are officially living in my jewelry box.  Brad's dutifully taken on the role of giving me nightly back rubs.  Sam is very proficient at picking things up off the floor for me when they drop - he thinks it is a terrific game (although he usually then drops it back on the floor and laughs, picks it up again, drops it and laughs, etc).  I almost fainted when I saw my weight gain last week on the scale since my eating habits haven't changed lately - but the nurse assured me that it was just water weight since I've swollen so much over the past week.  Let's hope she's right!

Coincidentally, two years ago today, March 21, 2009, was the day my water broke with Sam and I went into the hospital to begin 3 agonizing days of pre-term labor that ended with a beautiful and premature 32 week old baby. As you may have read in my blog post on Sam's 1st birthday about his birth story, it was quite an emotional and scary experience.  I feel much more ready this time and know more of what to expect once the baby arrives - although I've never been through this feeling of "will today be the day? will my water break" excitement and wonderment that accompanies the end of a full term pregnancy.  It is truly an amazing feeling to be READY for a baby's arrival - quite different than what I experienced with Sam's early birth. 

Over the weekend, we actually packed most of our overnight bags for the hospital - which is a big deal for me (see my earlier blog post about my decision to NOT pack a bag yet). Applause please. 

I am so grateful to have made it to 39 weeks.  Every night when we put Sam to bed, we say the V'havta which is a Jewish prayer said when you go to sleep at night.  We chant it together in Hebrew and in English and then we each say a few things that we're thankful for that day.  For the last few months, every night I say that I am thankful to still be pregnant and that baby boy is doing well.  Although I'm still quite thankful that baby boy is healthy and doing well and that the pregnancy has lasted this long - I'm officially ready to NO LONGER BE PREGNANT! I'll keep you all posted!