The End is Near

I'd like to think so anyway. I'd like to think the end is very near indeed. I'm really hoping I'll have a baby within the next week. I've told Lil to come on Monday, August 10th. It will give me a weekend to rest and prepare after my last day of work, my doctor will be in, and it will be 1 week before my mom, dad, and brother arrive. I don't get to see them very often these days, and I don't want to be a delirious slug when they are here. And I really don't want to be an over-due whale when they come. So August 10th it is. I'm accepting all good vibes on that one;-). Unfortunately, one thing I've learned during pregnancy is that baby is the boss from day one. Such a little person controlling our every move--I have a feeling we have a lifetime of this to look forward to.

~

Pregnancy in review:

~

Cravings: In early pregnancy, I was so sick I had a very hard time eating anything. I can't even remember what I ate. I remember eating a lot of Progresso vegetable and wild rice soup, which is something I can't even think about now because its mentally connected to nausea. From my late 20 to mid 30 weeks, I had a total obsession with tomatoes. I've never really liked tomatoes but I was all the sudden putting them on everything: think slices on sandwiches and wraps, big chucks in scrambled eggs and on top of anything Mexican. Loved them. Then one day it just ended. Me and tomatoes went our separate ways. I also couldn't stand meat for probably the first half of pregnancy. I was probably 21 or 22 weeks by the time I got back to eating chicken. However, one thing I remain to love and crave is Applebees riblets--don't get me started on how much I love those. Other pregnancy obsessions include potato salad, milkshakes, and anything fruity and chewy (fruit roll ups, Mike & Ikes, Skittles, etc). At the beginning I couldn't stand chocolate (a travesty for this chocoholic) and I wonder if I'll ever again be able to eat many foods that ended up in the toilet after I ate them.

~

Whats really strange is the mental connection between certain things and being sick. I was sickest over Christmas break and into January. When I see pictures of people dressed in winter clothes or snow activities, a little wave of nausea hits me. This also happens with the "30 Rock" theme song. We watched hours of that show during Christmas and now the song makes me sick. And sadly, the same thing happens with the idea of Christmas. Christmas trees, presents, stockings, the whole thing--I get nauseous thinking about it. Its tragic. I'm hoping this Christmas will heal my emotional scarring.

~

My physicallness: Well, I have been nauseous every day for about 33 weeks, but that is just my thing, I suppose. Every person has a "thing" (or several) and mine must just be nausea. I was wondering the other night if it would really go away after the baby comes. The prospect of not being nauseous is exhilarating, but seems unrealistic. One great thing? No stretch marks. Not one. Every visit, by doctor compliments me on my nice stomach skin (it takes a special person to be an OB, I think, ha ha). I credit Creme de Corps, the $28 bottle of lotion we got on recommendation from Chris's thesis advisor. Once I started growing, my belly started itching so bad with no relief. I layer of Creme de Corps, a layer of Johnson's baby oil, and I was good. Nice and shiny and greasy, but good. And one bottle, though crazy expensive, has lasted my whole pregnancy, so for me it was a good investment. The other thing that helped with stretch marks was that my weight gain was relatively steady. My fastest weight gain was 8 lbs in 4 weeks, and that was during my trip to Idaho, where I was extraordinarily well-fed. All in all, my weight gain has been acceptable to me thus far, though I'm very curious to see how much I weigh after the baby and all the baby juices come out (yummy, I know). A final weird thing about my body? My feet have shrunk. They shrunk early, probably by 13 or 14 weeks. I remember putting on all my different heels for church and they were all flopping off. What?? They still do. I wonder if its permanent. And since I haven't gotten any swelling--or hardly any--all my shoes are now a size too big. Very strange.

~

I won't get into the emotional side of things too much. Some things are journal things for me, not blog things. But pregnancy is such a roller coaster of emotions. Exhilaration and excitement one second, followed by fear and worry the next. Its hard having a baby inside you where you can't check up on her, can't make sure she is doing ok. I used to freak all the time when I couldn't feel her move. Fun fact? I have an anterior placenta, which blocked me from feeling her for a while until she was a little bigger. It still muffles a lot of her movements, so I've been told. I do think I worried too much. Its my goal not to worry so much as a mother, because it can really drain the fun and excitement. One thing that's funny about pregnancy is it makes you survive this 9 month marathon of emotional and physical misery and joy. By the end you are totally exhausted and then--then--you're expected to go through labor and delivery. Every night I come home and think "There is no way I could do labor tonight, I just don't have the energy." That's why Monday sounds good to me. A weekend of a little R & R ought to get me nice and ready, right?

~

~

I've gotten a ton of great advice from new-mom friends. Now I'm going to open up a few last minute questions to the masses (k, I just realized there are a lot of questions; maybe pick one or two? ha ha). I know every mom, baby, delivery, recovery is different, but I want to hear your story:

*

What did you do, or wish you had done, to prepare for bringing the baby home? For example, I've heard of pre-cooking and freezing meals. We may or may not have family around when we bring her home (and I'm honestly fine with either), so what preparations would you recommend?

*

Did your water break? Did your labor begin with contractions that built up? I'm afraid I won't notice I'm in labor. Is that even possible?

*

Maybe more importantly, do you remember feeling differently shortly before labor began? Like sick to your stomach, out-of-it, or just "weird". I felt so "weird" yesterday and wondered if it was a sign. Alas, it wasn't because here I am at work blogging.

*

This is weird, but are babies cold all the time? Its 95 degrees here and a million percent humidity, will we still need to wrap her up in all sorts of layers when we take her home in the car?

*

If this is too personal, don't worry about answering, but any breastfeeding tips? This is my biggest fear, but also one of the things I have the greatest desire to succeed at.

*

How was your recovery? Did you feel like you were out-of-it for days, or were you up and at it in no time? I know you should take it easy no matter what, but what would you say I should be prepared for in terms of recovery?

*

How did you feel about guests? Was there ever a time when there were just too many guests or too much going on? On the other hand, if you were left alone early on did you feel overwhelmed trying to care for the baby?

*

This is my last "pregnancy post".

Its time to wrap up this whole pregnancy thing I think.

Time to move on to the baby thing.

Just a little surreal.