An Apology

I have to formally apologize to all women who have ever been pregnant.

You see, I’ve always looked at women who are as pregnant as I am right now and thought they were absolutely stunning.  There’s just something about a pregnant woman that has always fascinated me… something I’ve always seen as SO beautiful.  And in the past I’ve always heard women who are as pregnant as I am right now stating that they were SO ready to be NOT pregnant.  And it always took me by surprise.  I mean, really?!  But you look so beautiful and it’s just such a miracle and isn’t it so cool to have your baby inside of you and omigosh-how-could-you-NOT-want-to-be-pregnant?!

         Um.  Now I get it.

         Prepare yourself for whining…

I’m exhausted.  I can’t sleep for more than an hour straight at night.  I’m sore.  I can’t breathe.  I’m nauseous.  I have to carry a jumbo-sized container of Tums in my purse for indigestion.  My feet and legs and ankles and arms and wrists and fingers are swollen.  My boobs are gigantic.  I’m down to about 5 maternity clothing items that fit.  All of my shoes are too small.  I’m getting a double chin.  The swelling is causing my skin on my arms and legs to look splotchy.  And I have to pee like every minute and a half.

But OH Baby Peele how I love you, and trust me I’d go through this for 40 more weeks if it meant meeting a healthy, strong bug when it’s all said and done.  So don’t get me wrong.  You just keep on growing and chubbing up as much as you need to, and I’ll hang in there as long as you need me to…

I just understand why women this pregnant say they’re ready to reach the finish line… That’s all. J

It is crazy to me how much things have hit me head on here in the last few weeks.  Trying to exercise this week was nearly impossible.  The pressure in my pelvis while I walked on the treadmill was almost unbearable – How do people do it?!  I’m ready to give up on exercising for the last two weeks, but then I start to feel guilty, like I’m letting myself and our little one down by being a sloth rather than being healthy!!

I’m down to 10 more days of work until my maternity leave starts – woohoo!  And honestly, the best part of only having 10 days left is that I only have to pick out 10 MORE OUTFITS!!!  As I wrote earlier, finding clothes to wear these days is TOUGH.  I’ve given up on trying to be a cute, pregnant lady and feel quite accomplished if I find something to wear that isn’t the exact same thing I wore the day before.

As far as my maternity leave starting… I had to go ahead and choose a date since someone is covering my job for me while I’m away.  And I went ahead and chose October 7^th as my last day because the next week there are all sorts of trainings/meetings to prepare for the upcoming months, so it really makes sense to have her go ahead and take my place.  But I’m SO worried that our little one will decide to arrive LATE and I’ll be stuck at home going stir crazy waiting for labor to start!  Oh well… I will not worry about the things I can’t control. J  (haha, riiiiiiight.)

Anyway, onto exciting news… We had a GREAT 37 week checkup this past week and got to see our little bug!!!!  As I posted last week, the doctor ordered an ultrasound to see just how massive this baby is.  It was so neat to see him/her!!  The ultrasound tech said there’s definitely hair (thank you, heartburn) and estimated the baby to be about 7 pounds, 11 ounces.  That would make for around a 9 pounder come Baby Peele’s birthday.  Now, of course the scans can be off – they say give or take a half-pound – but we’re definitely expecting a big ol’ baby. J  Our bug had his/her face smashed up into the side of my pelvis, so we could just BARELY make out the face, but let me tell you there are some CHUBBY cheeks and a BIG ol’ forehead.  I am SO in love already. J

We go back on Wednesday for our 38 week checkup, and I already can’t wait!!  How did I EVER manage to wait 4 weeks between appointments?!  This whole going every week thing is AWESOME!

We also finished up our childbirth classes this week (cue graduation song) and had our hospital tour.  The hospital tour got me even MORE excited!!  I can’t wait to pull up to the hospital in labor. J

We had a wonderful weekend hanging out with the hub’s mom and stepdad.  They graciously showed up in Winston to help us with anything and everything!  Laundry got done, the yard was worked on, the dishes were cleaned, delicious food was eaten, and good times were had.  Thank you Bonnie and Tom!!!!

By the way, wanna know one upside of being this pregnant?  EVERYONE answers their phone when you call them.  You never get anyone’s voicemail, because they think every phone call is to tell them you’re in labor!  Ha!!

So now, we wait.  Remember in an old post, when Baby Peele started kicking, and I said everyday felt like Christmas, because I just got so excited to go through the day waiting for his/her little kicks and punches?!  Yeah, that’s nothing compared to the Christmas-like butterflies I have now.  Like everyday could be Baby Peele’s birthday.  It’s so exciting… the anticipation of meeting our son/daughter, finally giving him/her a name, finally seeing my incredible hub be a dad.  If you can’t tell, I absolutely cannot wait to have this baby.  But to my little bug – you take all the time you need… Just know that we’re ready when you’re ready. J

 Baby Peele was pushing against my tummy right when his/her daddy snapped the picture!

37!!!