Baby Bump: 37 Weeks!

The other night, as I was getting in bed, I was complaining about some little annoying pregnancy-related issue -- the fact that I can't take full breaths anymore, or my fleeting but excruciating back pain, or one of the other many symptoms that have made me a little bit whiny for the last few weeks.

And Chad looked over at me and goes: "You know... you won't be pregnant forever, and then you'll have the rest of your life to not feel like this. Why not enjoy the last few days of this pregnancy while you can?"

I kind of looked at him, dumbstruck. Because, fair enough: During all the wonderful moments of the last nine months, I've talked a lot about how grateful I am for this experience. Like almost everyone I know, I've always been nervous about whether I'd be able to have children, and I can barely describe the incredible joy and relief I felt when I got that positive pregnancy test.

But as the months went by... I started taking it for granted. I started focusing more on "when he gets here" and less on "right now."

Some of that is smart -- there comes a point in pregnancy where you can stop learning about all the Pregnancy Rules (whether a sip of wine is ok, whether you can eat cheese or spinach or take this or that type of medicine) and start learning about How To Take Care Of A Baby. But as my focus moved away from pregnancy and toward the actual baby, I started getting more and more frustrated with how much longer I had to be pregnant before getting the baby.

Which has basically been the last month. I started saying "any day now" at about 37 weeks, when these photos were taken. Now it's almost two weeks later, and "any day now" has turned into "NOW, JUST NOW, OK?"

But Chad makes a good point. I don't know if I have hours left to be pregnant, or days, or weeks... but I do know that I'm incredibly lucky to have gotten this far, that I'm grateful for that (even when I forget to acknowledge it), and that despite the heartburn and the insomnia and the crazy food rules, there will come a day when I miss these last few days of our pre-baby life.

So, for however long it lasts, I'm going to try to enjoy it.

How far along? 37 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 26 pounds

Maternity clothes? Jeans and leggings and some dresses.

Stretch marks? No!

Symptoms: Back pain, insomnia, heartburn -- those are the big ones. Oh, and I literally pee every 20 minutes.

Sleep: I get up to pee probably 10 times every night. Sigh!

Best moment this week: Starting to feel contractions!

Worst moment of the week: Feeling like every week is just endless. The last month of pregnancy feels like it takes a year!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Being skinny. :-)

Movement: Still quite a bit, but it's funny how easily I tune it out now!

Food cravings: Cake! Doh.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not eating -- when my stomach is empty, it tends to bring on some nausea.

Have you started to show yet: I am huge!

Labor Signs: I have a few contractions most nights, but they're not regular or frequent, so nothing to indicate real labor yet.

Belly Button in or out? I think it's officially out at this point!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: A little of both...

Looking forward to: Getting to see this little baby who's been kicking me in the ribs for the last 30 weeks or so!