Baby Blessing: Week 39

Me, earlier today:  "Hey, Josiah, I need some pictures for my week 39 post.  Would you like to take them?"

Him:  "Yeah!  But you're not 39 weeks."

Me:  "Yes, I am."

Him:  "No, you're not."

Me, in my head:  "Hmmm...I know my brain isn't as sharp as it used to be, but I'm pretty sure I'm not 40 weeks yet, and I'm also pretty sure I'm past 38.  What is he talking about?"

Me, finally beginning to understand:  "Oh!  OK, you're right, I'm not 39 weeks exactly.  I'm actually 39 weeks and 5 days.  But I haven't written my 39 weeks post yet, and I'm allowed to do it any time during my 39th week.  So, will you take my picture?"

Him:  "Sure!"

This is life with my nine-year-old, mathematically-minded, perfectionistic, wonderful firstborn, who cheerfully took my pictures and had fun experimenting with holding the camera at different angles, as you'll see!  :)

I suppose I should write next about my appointment yesterday with the midwife.  Once again, I had the pleasure of seeing Ann; and she told me she'd been thinking about me last weekend when she was on call.  She's not on call again until Easter, but there's still a very good chance we might make it that long and she might get to deliver this girl. :)  Let's see...here are the important stats from my appointment.  My blood pressure was great - 120 over 70.  My weight was 188 pounds, which I'm sure is the most I've ever weighed in my whole life, but nobody there fusses at me about it.  Baby's heart rate was 128.  Her position is head-down.  I'm dilated 3 centimeters and about 60% effaced.  All of that means two things:  everything is going fine, and we still have no idea when she will be born.  ;-)  The latest I've ever gone is two days after my due date, but Ann went ahead and got me set up for an appointment next Friday for an ultrasound and a non-stress test (that would be a first for me, since unlike my friend Sally, I've never had one with any of my pregnancies)...just in case I go that long.  If I do, they'll do those tests to make sure Little Miss is doing fine in her watery world!  I don't think anyone really expects that I'll go another eight days without delivering, but God only knows.  :)

As I've been reflecting back over this whole pregnancy, I've been thinking about some of my favorites this time around.  For example, my favorite spot to relax has been sitting in the rocking chair in the living room, looking out the window, watching the world go by; and the times when Shav has snuggled with me while I did this are the best of all.  :)  My favorite nap spot is definitely the couch; more than ever before, I love our "new" couches!  :)

My favorite foods during this pregnancy are easy to identify.  It used to be chocolate raisins; but even though I still enjoy them, I do not crave them like I did back in December and January.  I still have part of a container remaining in the snack closet, and most days I don't even dip my hand into it once.  But here are the foods that, for the last while, I have craved intensely and have eaten liberally:  tortilla chips from Costco (like I mentioned in my weeks 33 & 34 update) and dry Russian tea mix (which I eat by the spoonful).  Those are my two favorites-by-far; and if I could, I would try to survive off just them.  But because that hardly seems wise, I also include a few more items, such as these items that are a little lower on my list of favorites: milk, string cheese, and smoothies.  A well-balanced diet, right?  ;-)  As I was analyzing myself earlier today, I realized that with the Russian tea mix and the tortilla chips, a big part of the pleasure of eating them comes, not just from the taste (although I love the taste of both items), but from the feel of it.  The chips are crunchy; the tea mix is gritty (and I like gritty, so that's not a problem!); and my mouth appreciates those sensations.  I even--and you can start laughing at me now, if you're not already--thought about how I hear a particular sound when I'm eating those foods; and that noise is part of the pleasure of it.  The crunch of the chips, the friction of the tea mix.  I just really, really like it.  ;-)

OK, you had your turn; now stop laughing at me.  :)

I was trying to decide on a favorite clothing item, but that's a little difficult because pregnancy spans such a long period of time and the body changes so much that what looks and feels good at a certain stage does not necessarily work for the whole nine months.  Overall, I'm just really grateful that I have a wide variety of sizes, even in maternity clothes.  I have some pants, for example, that were laughably big when I tried them on much earlier in this pregnancy; but guess what?  Now they're perfect for me.  Some shirts that hung so loosely they resembled a tent early on, now are exactly what I need to keep my enormous belly (44 inches!) covered.  So I'm thankful to have enough things in different sizes that I haven't had to fret too much about clothing as my body changed.  With that said, I will mention that the below-the-belly pants that my generous friend Lisa gave me have been particularly appreciated this time around.  :)

While I'm waiting, I've been keeping busy, with periods of high energy and motivation alternating with sluggish, let-me-just-take-a-nap times.  When I'm feeling exhausted, I make every effort to find time to rest; but when I'm feeling energetic, I run with it!

I've had a lot of fun making freezer meals, and even asking my mother to come up and help me with them (which she LOVES to do).  In my week 38 post, I recorded that I had made Curried Lentils, two dishes of Wild Chicken, and Lentil Stew.  Since then, I've also made and frozen Lasagna, Sausage & Bean Soup, Ground Beef Grand Style, Italian Sausage & Veggie Pasta (minus the pasta, which will be easy to cook and add to the rest of the ingredients when we're ready to eat it), and Breakfast Casserole (which will likely be eaten during a breakfast-for-supper night!).  It is a GOOD feeling to have those meals prepared already, and most of them are big enough portions that there will surely be some left-overs (and I LOVE left-overs).  ;-)

Besides the cooking, I've been staying busy with things like paying bills and keeping up with paperwork so it doesn't accumulate terribly during the initial postpartum adjustment, organizing our music CDs, sorting through and putting away in the baby's room another wonderful batch of clothes from Lisa, cleaning the upstairs of the house (cleaning the main floor is on my agenda for tomorrow), dropping things off at the thrift store, trying to keep up with laundry, washing the infant carseat and getting that ready for a new occupant, etc.  Simple tasks, but ones that have been made extra-special by thoughts of the little one whose arrival we're so breathlessly (sometimes literally!) awaiting.  :)

Every day, I wonder, "Will this be her birthday?"  And every day, I think, "This date would be a good day for a birthday."  April 3rd would have been a good day...so would April 4th...so would April 5th, but now it's nearly gone.  Tomorrow I'm sure I'll think, "April 6th would be a nice birthday."  And every day until she's born, I'll have that thought at some point during each day.  :)

There are several events that are coming up that would be particularly nice days in which to give birth.  First of all, Passover begins tomorrow evening, so if she's born anytime after sundown tomorrow or if she waits until Saturday, she would have the honor of being a Passover baby.  And of course, with Easter being on Sunday, that would be a very special day on which to give birth, too.  My brother David and his family from Pennsylvania are coming for the day on Saturday for a quick (pre-)Easter trip.  Wouldn't it be lovely if they were here when she was born?

In all reality, any day and any time would be the perfect time for her birth.  She is welcome to come now and equally as welcome to stay inside for a while longer.  I am astonished at the peace and contentment that have been washing over me in these last days.  Astonished, and so very, very grateful.

Bottom line?  She's coming soon.  And oh, what a day (night?) of rejoicing that will be!!!  :)