Nearly There

We're here. And the baby's not. Just tired and busy, frantically trying to tie up loose ends at work and tackle some of the dirt/dust/grime in the house that absolutely HAS to be eradicated before any sane person brings a new baby into a house. Or, since the baby will barely be able to see and will simply be moved from one plastic baby apparatus to another, pausing frequently to eat at the boob restaurant, and won't care at all about the amount of dust in the house, one could argue that the cleaning MUST be done before one's mom arrives for a two week stay. My mom, that is.

So, yes, we have been keeping very busy. And the baby has been cooperative so far - it's not here yet (good, since we really would prefer to wait until my mom comes to town), and aside from some exhaustion and occasional moments of complete breathlessness, I've been feeling pretty good. Not for lack of M. trying to treat me like an invalid, however. He's starting to get paranoid that every little noise I make (and there are a lot of them, when you're this pregnant) is a sign of impending labor. He's also trying to prevent me from doing anything that might "put me into labor." Like, you know, putting on my own socks.

I've felt prepared, in a material sense, for this baby for several months. The crib has been set up, the clothes have been washed, the hospital packing list has been printed out, the car seat bases have been installed... all for some time now. But the reality that we are about to add a new member to our family, and that we will be embarking on the newborn days of exhaustion once again, has NOT set in. Ditto for labor - it's hard to imagine that I'm going to be going through that whole hazy, painful, long, wonderful but awful process shortly. I guess I am not feeling very prepared in a mental sense. Here's hoping I get there in the next few days!

Here's the latest picture of my girth - it is practically demanding its own zip code at this point. This was taken yesterday, at 39 weeks.



As I type this, the baby is wiggling around, perhaps letting me know that it is quite content exactly where it is. It must come out, sooner or later, of course, and we'll be sure to put some pictures up when it does. Then I can start using a pronoun other than "it" - something I'm very much looking forward to!