Getting There

I am 36 weeks and 3 days along...only about 3 1/2 weeks to go, if you don't count the rumor that most pregnancies, on the average, ACTUALLY go 41 weeks before delivery. I choose to ignore that rumor.

I have had an uneventful pregnancy. I had morning sickness in the first trimester, reflux in the second which has extended up until now (and isn't going away yet), back pain now. Bladder troubles, which while totally normal, are SUPER annoying and embarrassing. (DON'T tell me to do more Kegals! They are NO MATCH for a hugely pregnant uterus, grr.) But nothing on that list has been unusual. Baby Lucy is totally healthy by all appearances, and kicks the living snot out of me constantly. (Rarely does this bother me.) Honestly, I can't complain about this pregnancy at all.

But, I'm officially ready for it to be over. As much as I wanted to get back to work...and I did, and I do enjoy my job...this week my back pain is just telling me that this is all foolish, what the hell am I doing still working?

I am entering the "one-day-at-a-time" phase. I can make it one. more. day.

Before, my thinking was that pregnancy discomfort would be the same whether I was at work or at home. But now, I just want to lie down and rest my back. Now, walking and pushing stretchers for 13 hours is too much.

I definitely need the salary, which ends once I go on leave, and I need the health benefits, which also end until I return from leave, so I at LEAST need to get into September. And I want as much of my maternity leave to be spent with the baby as possible. So I still go to work, at least next week. We'll see about the week after that...

But, now for the complaint-free part. The baby's room is finally done, and we are happy with it. The room has white siding on one wall and is painted taupe for the other walls...we are renting, and I hate to paint, so I just decided to leave it the way it was. Our crib, changing table, glider and armoire are all set up and filled with baby things. I made linens and curtains out of cute Amy Butler fabrics in pinks and oranges. And I'm having a small shower next weekend. I've ordered the car seat (baby can't come for a week, until we get it...). The bassinette is in our bedroom. The "stuff" part of being ready is pretty much completed. Of course, that's the LEAST of "being ready."

And since this is ostensibly a band blog, I can report that I have gained about 22 pounds for the whole pregnancy. I measure exactly on target for size. I'm sure I'll gain a little more, but I have room to do so, if I can eat enough. The truth is that my stomach doesn't hold much now, and that's true for most pregnant women at this point. As long as baby still looks healthy, my OB has no concerns. I am pretty sure that I would have gained much more without the band. Hopefully, between the band and nursing, it won't take too long to lose the baby weight after Lucy is here. I've stayed healthy otherwise too--BP is normal, no GD, nothing but the usual pregnancy complaints.

I hope to post some baby bump pics, and some pics of the nursery, but it's taken me this long to even blog, so I am not making any promises.