Inflation: Part IV

How excited am I!?!?! There are no words that can encompass what I am feeling inside. With 2 1/2 more weeks to go, the anticipation levels in this house have risen to an all time high. Or maybe it's just in my head. But regardless...I'M SOOOO EXCITED!!!! Baby is almost here. I know I'm going to miss being pregnant. P keeps reminding me of that every time I say that I can't wait until he's out. Of course I'll miss it! You will never have a closer bond with another person than when they are in your womb. I'll miss all the belly dances, especially when I eat something sweet. I'll miss the rhythmic thumping of Baby's hiccups. I'll even miss the way I look. I know most women cannot wait until they shed the baby pounds, but I'm in no rush. I've always been chubby, so that's old news to me. This outrageously fake-looking baby bump has been so entertaining to me and P. This whole pregnancy is still a shock to us, since it wasn't planned. And to see this ridiculously round protrusion only enhances how unbelievable this whole journey has been. I hope we never have to plan our pregnancies, though I know this will be difficult to avoid. I'm just thankful we got to experience at least one of them with surprise and incredulity. It's like being given a gift you didn't even know you wanted. And now you can't imagine living life without it!

I've been trying to get out more...walk more, so the baby can drop. We spent this past long weekend doing lots of window shopping. Plus we had another heat wave and we really wanted to get away from that. So we drove to the coastal cities and hung out there. Long car rides means good music. We listened to songs that artists were inspired to write when their children were born. It was hard not to be moved. You can tell how badly they wanted to express their joy, so much so they just want to tell the whole world. I'm sure even after the lyrics and music came together, it still wasn't enough to fully express what they felt. But how amazing it must be to have this song out in the world that your mom or dad wrote, just for you...just because of you.

I know the first few months will be rough (few years, from what I hear). I'm not going into this with naive excitement....cute baby, tickles and rattles. Please. I've spent the last 8 months thinking about spit up and poop. Not to mention the crying. Don't even get me started on breastfeeding. But I also know, the good outweighs the bad. It has to, or it wouldn't be worth it. I think babies are designed so that no matter how awful they are acting, you can't help but want to nurture them and love them. Granted, there are some folks out there who are immune to such genius design, but they're assholes. After I give birth, so many of our friends will be right there with us, becoming first-time parents! I'm only sad that I'll be too busy to spend more time with my newborn nephews and nieces. At the same time, I'm so grateful that Baby has so many friends to play with already!

At first, I didn't think I was getting any bigger. I mean, big is big, right? But notice how much more my belly extends past my hands. No wonder I can't get up from the couch! I'm 37 wks and 4 days now. Yikes!!

Oh, and remember how I said I don't look pregnant from behind?