Discomfort Sets In

I've made it to Week 38. I'm sitting here patting myself on the back because I have made it so far but we still possibly have a month left until her birthday.

38 weeks! She could arrive at any time now.

That said here is my public pat on the back.

I have been really good so far. I have complained very little throughout my pregnancy. I have not felt sick for the most part. I've had some indigestion and heartburn, and a little difficulty breathing in my third trimester--but for the most part things have been good. I moved across the country, got the house ready, and sadly I've gained 40 lbs.

That said this week has been hard and I think I can say I am tired, and ready to not be pregnant anymore. I don't like the amount of effort it takes me to get out of bed to walk to the bathroom. I'd like to be lighter again. Honestly, I'm promising myself, I will never get this heavy unless I am pregnant again. I am tired and hungry most of the time. I feel large (ok huge). My clothes are limited. I have two pairs of pants that fit, four pairs of underwear, no bras and only a few shirts that cover my belly all the way. I miss my cute pre-pregnancy clothes.

The end is near enough...and she could arrive at any moment. I'm anxious, excited and a little uneasy about being a parent. Everyone keeps telling me I'll do great. Honestly, I do feel prepared. I've done my research, but at the same time I know I will be constantly learning and thinking on my feet as a parent.

That said, thanks to all who have supported me throughout my pregnancy--especially Greg who has put up with so much and even at 3 a.m. (when I felt so big and uncomfortable) was able to make me feel better. My little girl is so lucky to have a daddy like him, but not as lucky as I am to have him for a husband. 

Who will she look like?

There are many questions going through my mind as I am in the last month of pregnancy. What will Miss P be like? What will she like and not like? Who will she look like? What will her favorite book be? Her favorite movie? Her favorite color? What color eyes and hair will she have?

I thought it might be fun to post photos of her relatives as babies here so you can see what she might look like... For fun let's play a little game of "name that baby." Leave your answers in the comments... Later this week I'll post the answers as well as some of Greg and my some guesses about her personal traits.

Maternity Photo Shoot

Greg and I decided to get a maternity photo shoot to document our relocation to Columbia, MO (CoMo) and what things look like in the house. Below are a few photos (taken by Lollipop Photography's Rhiannon Trask) and a link to our album on Facebook.

It's a....

Well we've been guessing for awhile about our baby's gender. At first, Mimi thought it was a boy because the baby was sitting low in her belly. Then we thought it was a girl because Mimi kept getting kicked and it was keeping her awake. As Mimi put it "only a girl would be this mean." Then we looked at the heartbeat (lower=boy while higher=girl). Ours was "medium low." So we thought it was a boy.

Unless I'm blind and unless the sonographer was hiding something...Baby P is a little girl.

Luckily, in my life I've been surrounded by women so I know the basics. I know all the Disney princesses and I know to keep Kleenex handy. I'm going to try to talk her out of being thirteen. I would actually just prefer her to go from twelve to...maybe twenty. Just skip that messy stuff in the middle that I won't understand.

Mimi and I do have a name picked out. In fact we even have backup names also in case the baby comes out and the name just doesn't feel right. We won't be sharing them because of my own sinful nature. In the past, people have told me names they were considering and I've felt very free about telling them which name I thought was awful. And inevitably that's the name they pick. Awkward. I will save my friends from this by taking this off the table.

Updates

Make a pregnancy ticker

Weird People and Pregnant Ladies and Stop Grabbing The Belly

People act weird around pregnant ladies. (Although, to be fair and politically correct, I'd imagine people would act equally weird around pregnant men).

Some of it is pretty sweet. Folks riding the X-2 bus with us are a little more likely to offer a seat, family and friends are more sensitive about our time and eager to make sure Mimi gets enough rest.

Then there are the belly touchers. Family and friends aren't a problem, but strangers off the street are. They seem to be under the impression that they are entitled to touch my wife's stomach. They'll ask permission sometimes but usually they're reaching for her stomach before she gives consent.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Can you kindly remove your hand from my wife's stomach?"

I want to think that people are just enamored by the mystic time that is the creation of new life. But I don't think it is. I think it's just American entitlement.

Little Earthquakes

It is the strangest feeling in the world when something is growing inside of you. Yes, I know it has been said before but I'm a little weirded out by the baby turning somersaults in my belly. Baby P woke me up last night at around 3 a.m. kicking me in the side. By the end of today I felt like he/she had bruised up my entire inside belly. It feels like a mini-earthquake (far from those that impacted Haiti or Japan, but very impactful in my little world).

The responses about this on Facebook were all excited ones. Mother's gladly sharing the joy they felt when they felt their little babies moving for the first time. I am excited, but at the same time this is all sort-of strange. Hoping tomorrow that Baby P is a little nicer to my insides, but perhaps as I get scars from the preliminary kicks it will feel more like he/she is kicking and less like getting jabbed in the stomach from the inside.

I know the earthquakes will just become bigger as my pregnancy progresses. One thing I do know is that the more I feel the baby move, the closer he/she is to arrival. The first half has gone by so quickly (yesterday marked five months until Baby P's due date). I'm praying for you each day baby. I love you and I cannot wait to introduce you to this world.