The Baby Countdown

By the end of January, my baby will be considered full term, so I'm going to say the countdown is now ONE MONTH until 'any time now,' though the official due date is six and half weeks away.

One month to go. It doesn't seem real. Sure, it feels real enough with someone constantly pressing on my bladder and lungs, reminding me she's in there. Looks real enough--no one can mistake the big-bellied waddle of a preggo. But, still...I don't know if I can truly believe it until she's all gooey and crying in my arms.

Last month, the hubby and I attended child birthing classes. Shudder. The first thing they showed us was "the video." Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. The live birth video. Except this showed FOUR live births. The hubby had watched Discovery Health before and he'd seen such videos. He might've even seen animals birth their young, but me... nope. I was raised on a dairy farm, and still...I'd never seen anything like this before.

I thought I was going to pass out. But holy cow, what they showed is supposed to happen to me?! My first thought was, "I can't do that. OMG, I CANNOT do that." Except...well, yes I most certainly am going to do that. I began to panic; think I scared my baby because she began to kick around in my stomach, which reminded me even more I wasn't going to get out of the whole birthing process. I think the only reason I totally didn't lose it was because everyone else taking the class watched the video without passing out; I refused to be the only one. So, I held steady, even if my husband lost all feeling his hand I was squeezing.

But don't worry. I've calmed down since then. I think (hope, wish, pray) I'm done with having panic spells and will be okay from here on out. I just keep telling myself, every other mother in the world has done this, plus I don't have to watch the process from the view they showed on the video, and DRUGS, lots of drugs will get me through.

The second week of class, when they showed yet another video, I didn't even think about hyperventilating; I actually laughed at the part when the woman looked down and said, "It doesn't look like a baby."

This month will be "baby shower" month. My family is throwing me a shower, a friend is throwing another, and my church is hosting a third. Whew. There's so many people to help take care of me, I can't even begin to show my appreciation. Still...I hope they know what I'm going to need more than I do, because I haven't got a clue. There are a couple Dr. Seuss posters on my wall for my nursery's Dr. Seuss theme, and I've accumulated some baby clothes, but other than than I need everything. Thank goodness someone is donating/loaning me a crib, bassinet, rocking chair, and changing table.

Little baby is doing good. The stubborn girl is still in "breech" position, but she has plenty of time to turn, so there's no need to worry yet. She's incredibly active in the morning, afternoon, and evening. She hasn't woken me in the middle of the night with her movements, so I'm hoping she keeps this pattern!

My check ups are coming every two weeks now, and my doctor--bless him--has told me I glow more than a lot of his other pregnant patients. I don't even care if he says that to all the women, I totally appreciate it. He gets an A+ for his people skills.

What I miss most now is being able to bend over. Honestly, this is getting out of hand. These days, if I drop something, I just kind of shrug and consider it gone forever. I'm also one of those slouchers. But if I want to breathe, I have to sit up straight (bluck), and that just makes my back hurt. Other than all that, I'm doing great. Any misery is totally worth it to get my hands on that gooey ball of screaming baby!

Okay, I think you're up-to-date. I have another ultrasound at the end of the month, so maybe I'll have more pictures to share come February. We'll see.