Now Entering Parenthood...

As long as a leek and as heavy as a mini-watermelon, our little baby is quite big. I can’t believe I am nearing the end of this journey. My doctor is saying my due date is 12/31, although some of the ultrasounds (and this new mom’s ability to read a calendar) says later. But it doesn’t really matter… because at this point anything could happen. My water could break today, or I could be in for a long two+ weeks of anticipation.

Signs I might deliver any day:

• The baby has dropped. It started late last week. My co-worker and maternity back-up Teresa noticed it first. I thought she was kidding, but the next morning my stomach looked different. It was flatter and softer, and by the evening I was waddling and felt major pressure in my hips.
• Braxton-Hicks begins. This has been going on for the past couple weeks. It is mostly at night, my stomach turns rock solid on and off, but it has started to creep into my days.
• Freezer is packed to the brim. I spent every extra minute this week making soups, chili, lasagna, banana bread. One could say it was my nesting instinct, or one could say I just got incredibly bored when my sick husband prevented our nightly LOST marathon from continuing.

Signs I might be in for a bit longer

• Still exhausted. Despite my one “burst of energy”, most of the time I am dead tired and I honestly go to bed each night wondering how I would endure if I woke up a few hours later and had to start my delivery marathon.
• The power of will. The instant my husband became sick, I decided I just couldn’t have this baby until next week. I swear the baby moved back up and returned to his normal kicking and squirming the minute I had that thought. Now that Tom’s feeling better I’m kicking myself…
• Jinxing myself. The fact that I have even told people I feel like it could be “any day now” means I’m going to last until mid-January, I just know it.

So, this whole journey might end pretty anti-climatically. No breaking water, no first contractions in the middle of the night, no calling of the relatives or being able to turn to my husband and say “it’s time”… I might get induced.  Or I might be sitting at my in-laws Christmas morning and have to put the brakes on the celebration to get someone to drive me to the hospital.

As much as I didn’t want a Christmas baby, I’m starting to hope for the later :)