37 Weeks, 5 Days

(I feel like I should be taking belly shots more frequently now, since baby could come any moment.)

John came along for my weekly appointment today, because we scheduled an ultrasound because my doctor looks for excuses to schedule ultrasounds to confirm that baby was head-down. She is, in fact, head-down, and she's beautiful. We watched her moving and turning, opening her mouth, sticking out her tongue, and puckering her lips. She is a sight to behold.

According to the ultrasound machine, she weighs approximately 6 pounds, 11 ounces, plus or minus one pound. So we really don't know how much she weighs, but we know that she's healthy, fluid level was good, and everything was measuring as it should. (Oh, and she is a she.) Also, I'm now 1.5 cm dilated, and 70% effaced. Very little progress from last week, but progress nonetheless.

As I was driving to the appointment, I realized that the scan could reveal some problem, that maybe baby would be breach, and we'd have to schedule a c-section, possibly very soon. And as I was thinking all this, I started to panic. Just a little. I have wanted a baby since before I knew where babies came from, and I prayed and hoped for this little miracle long before she was conceived, and I've been looking forward to her birth since the day I learned I was pregnant, but now that it's so close, I just...I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ABOUT TO HAVE A CHILD. That any day now, I could go into labor and within hours, hold my daughter in my arms. My daughter, mine to raise and protect. So very soon, our little family of two will swell to a family of three, and our lives will never be the same again. I'm okay with that, and very excited, but also just a little bit scared. Just a little.

I came down with a nasty cold this weekend. My second this pregnancy. It's my own fault though -- I was doing too much and not resting enough. So I'm taking it easy from here on out. Being nine months pregnant isn't so bad, but nine months pregnant and fighting a cold is miserable. Lesson learned.

Other than the cold, I'm feeling okay. Pregnant, but okay. At all hours of the day, I feel like I've just eaten a large pizza by myself, what with the heartburn and indigestion. I find myself full after two bites of salad though, so no, I'm not eating large pizzas. Sleep is also uncomfortable. Baby likes to move, and she'll get going at bedtime, pushing up against my ribs or leaning against my bladder, kicking and rolling, keeping me awake. I prop my head on two pillows, place another under my belly, and one between my legs. During the night, I must roll myself out of bed to pee at least once, and then I'll wake up again from heartburn and take two TUMS. I've gone through three bottles of TUMS so far.

I still force myself to go to the gym in the mornings, and even though I can go 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, I'm winded from talking these days. And if I have to walk up any stairs, I need at least five minutes to recover. I've been having some contractions too. Nothing painful, or consistent. But I occasionally feel my belly getting hard, usually during or after physical activity.

None of this is exactly pleasant, but it's all a part of the miracle that is growing in my womb, and it's totally worth it.