7th November 2008

Final Two Weeks to Go - Last Days of Pregnancy

Boredom is not my problem.  I read about the 36th week, and how boredom is sometimes a problem.  They talk about how heavy you feel in the lower part of your abdomen - how the baby is righting herself for delivery - how at any time now - the baby could come.  They talk about your growing discomfort - that she’s 6 lbs typically by now, and 20 inches - almost two feet of baby in my abdomen and six pounds plus fluids, etc.  I’ve gained almost 30 pounds during my pregnancy, and let me say, I feel every ounce. 

In the past week, Melina feels more like a baby moving inside of me, than a body part kicking here and there.  Now the entire belly rolls as she moves about inside.  Her space is limited and sometimes it seems as if her head is resting hard against my tummy’s skin and will just come straight out any minute. 

I’m getting excited as we get into countdown mode here.  Months became weeks - soon weeks will become days - days will soon become hours - and here she will be, in my arms, in front of me, here.  I have packed the diaper bag and it’s in the car.  The suitcase is almost ready - the remaining things I needed I got last night.  The only thing I have yet to get - I’ve been to three places to get the car seat certified and no luck.  “They no longer do that.”  So, one more place to go, and then after that - it’s up to me to figure out how to knock that car seat down into the latches - 9 months pregnant and all.

I called four of my friends this week to help out, three who ran over immediately within hours to help.  I was panicking about my “list of things to do”.  I completely forgot an appointment today - two and a half hours later.  I have misplaced my cell phone charger.  Yesterday, on the way to the office, I figured I could charge the cell phone in the car - but then I misplaced the cell phone itself.  Giggles.  Ugh.  It hurts to laugh now.

My belly button looks funny - kinda blue around the button part.  I never got the outie that so many people have.  I never got stretch marks either - yay.  I’ve seen some scary ones in pictures.  I got lucky.  I never got hives or anything that made me seriously itch during pregnancy.  My mom did with me she says.  I have not cried incessantly for no reason.  I’ve weeped for good reasons - like losing the twin early, early on, but I believe that God took good care of that baby’s soul inside of me.  Otherwise, I’ve had a good pregnancy despite the typical aches and pains.  Okay so I suffered and do suffer from insomnia but there is a lot to do around here.  But really, pregnancy has been a journey of discovery about my body and what can go on inside of it.  I was able to work out with a trainer twice a week during pregnancy up through mid-September.  I’ve done prenatal yoga through YogaOnHigh, in Powell, Ohio, and I’ve not had any serious cravings or aversions during pregnancy.  I finally in fact, got over the issue of c-section delivery which took months to deal with.

Now as Melina enters her final position (she’s been breech for a while) and final stages of womb life, and she and I get ready to meet, I feel excited about her arrival.  I’ve come to admire all women who go through pregnancy, gracefully even moreso.  I’ve come to admire those multi-tasking women who balance work and home along with children.  And for those who do it with a smile on their face - amazing!  ‘Cause it ain’t easy just getting through the pregnant part.  It’s really hard by the way, on the fun side of things, to even concentrate during a meeting about high stakes business issues when your belly is moving about and your baby girl is moving across your bladder and r—–um.  If you’ve been pregnant, you know what I’m talking about and it does NOT feel good. 

The other day at the election booth - the guy said something about not believing I was 40 (he was 50 plus), and I told him, believe me, if you were to see me struggle to get out of bed with this big load of a belly, and see me where I can hardly even bend a ligament due to stiffness and pain - you’d think I was 80 years old.  In fact, I’m sure I look 80 too.  It does NOT look pretty or graceful, guarantee you.  My cat of 18 years doesn’t even want to sleep with me anymore.  Some nights, he just sits outside my door, on the steps, and looks at me when I wake up.  Imagine Garfield saying, “Ew, Geez, get a shower or do something with that hair of yours.”  I do not look as relaxed and slumbered as Monroe and my dog look below (see blog entry of November 5th).

My belly is so big now that I could swear my breasts have just all but disappeared.  I mean I’ve gone up in sizes, up there, but they look a little lost next to the belly that extends almost 90 degrees out from below your chest margin.  TMI - right?  Yep - I hear ya!  I’ve looked at nursing clothes - who would have thought, after so many years of hoping for a baby.  I was in line last night at BabiesRUs and the woman in front of me somehow commented on how breastfeeding gave her boobs she never had before.  She had a 7-month old child in her wake.  It was kinda funny, because I actually noticed the very attentive 7-month old sizing up my belly.  I mentioned it as being cute to the mom, who in turn said she’s probably noticing that my breasts look different than hers, the mother’s.  Considering the mom had about a 40 Double D, like I’d even know, I imagined that was possible.  But I laughed that a child would notice - why doesn’t she have breasts like you Mommy?  In any event, I was convinced the child was looking at my oversized belly, not my breasts.  Hee hee.

I’m now on a new kind of mailing list, despite my do-not-call, do-not-mail status.  I’m getting catalogs for baby stuff, young child stuff - all for Christmas.  I get to think about Christmas gifts for my baby girl for the first time in reality.  Before they were just dreams and odd-placed children’s books I’d buy hoping for the day Melina would be here in reality. 

So, as I occasionally retire to Melina’s lilac-tinted room at night, lightly illuminated by a tiny vintage pink miniature lamp, and turn on the sound machine and listen to the ocean waves (which by the way, I think, were the reason I was so busy dreaming about boats and ships of every kind - see earlier blog entry), I soon fall asleep peacefully and dream of her arrival.  I may not sleep for long due to discomfort, but I have no problem falling asleep.  One of the girls from work was over this week and said it felt very peaceful in the room - very calming.  Considering I still have my office desk setup in the room, it’s amazing that despite office tech, a room can still emit a sense of calm knowing a young child is about to enter its presence and become the center of attention.

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