Still Here

It's 40 weeks and 2 days and no baby yet.  I'm honored that Mr. Belvedere is loving being in the womb.  However, my patience is wearing thin.  I am in the majority, though.  Apparently, 25% of babies come early, 5% on the due date, and 70% come late.

In an effort to move things along and keep some sanity, I went to the gym this afternoon, and some woman saw me and said, "Oh, congratulations!  Are you about 7 months?"  I smiled and replied, "Nope.  I was due two days ago."  She looked at me like I was crazy.  Throughout this pregnancy, people have constantly told me that I'm not that big, but let me assure you, all my measurements are fine and the scale doesn't lie.

The longest the midwife will let me go is May 10, which is 41 weeks and 5 days.  That seems like such a long way away...

Zero Days to Go

At least that's what the floating baby widget says...

As I thought, I didn't pop today.  I guess I can do only one thing--keep waiting.

Someone Else's Birthday

Today is Nate's 32nd birthday!

Excellent frosting detail, no?

Tomorrow is Mr. Belvedere's alleged birthday, but I'm pretty sure that we're going to have to wait awhile.  That's okay.  I had a minor meltdown yesterday after my prenatal appointment, mostly due to the fact that I'm tired of seeing the numbers on the scale climb to numbers that I was hoping to never reach.  Perhaps someday I'll wear my weight gain during this pregnancy as a badge of honor.  Just not at the present moment.

As for other birthdays, yesterday would have been my cousin Tom's 31st birthday.  We went down to Illinois today to celebrate my cousin's life at his funeral and luncheon.  It was wonderful to see so many people who loved him, and as with any funeral, I saw people I hadn't seen in years.  It's still hard to wrap my head around his passing, as it is for most everyone else.

Preggo Portraits

Several months ago, my friend Angie (of frontporch photography: 414-640-5250) offered to take some pregnancy portraits of me.  I agreed, but I never set up a time, I think because I was unsure of the whole ordeal.  Angie's low key and non-threatening, so it had nothing to do with her; it was just me and my plethora of insecurities about my hijacked body.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, we set a date and she came over to our shack.  I tried to explain that we lived in a pint-sized hovel of an apartment, but she didn't care, explaining that part of the shoot was having the ability to reflect on the photos years later and think about how nice and easy it was to take care of such a tiny place.  For those of you that have been over to our place, she certainly made it work!

Happy Easter

I don't really know how much bigger I can get.  Mr. Belvedere, aren't you cramped?  Aren't you just itching to get out of my belly?  Don't you want to stretch out a bit?

I've been up since 5:30 this morning, did some yoga, and cooked breakfast for myself.  Nate's still sleeping (the NBA playoffs are on, and who knows how late the game went last night), and I'm rather bored.

• I cleaned the apartment in its entirety last night.  Miraculously, I was even able to get down on my hands and knees and wash the floor.  It took me a little longer than usual, but I did it.
• I've read everything I possibly can about labor and delivery.
• Nate birthday present is wrapped (it's this Wednesday).
• I bought my mom's Mother's Day gift and card.
• The bag is packed for the hospital.
• I have email drafts saved for the big announcement.
• The laundry is done.

What else can I do???  I suppose I could go to the Pick 'n Save and do some grocery shopping.  I could cook some more meals to throw in the freezer.

Charting the Belly: Week 39

Well, I think I've dropped:

I can breathe again!

Sorry for the bare belly pictures, but the other ones were less than desirable.  I had just woken up, and my photographer thought that my bed head was "sexy."  I disagreed.

News update: Mr. Belvedere's cousin was born two days ago!  My brother, his wife, and their son welcomed Liam Reid into their family.  He's a peanut--6 lbs. 4 oz. and 18 in.!  Now the family is just awaiting grandchild numero seis...  April or May?  Mister or Miss?  Chub or lightweight?  Only one way to know--WAIT.  My appointment last Tuesday revealed I wasn't hardly effaced and only a fingertip dilated.  There are all sorts of ways to naturally induce labor, but I'm not so desperate that I want to try Castor oil yet.  Ask me in a week.

Life Goes On Part 2

I really should be taking a nap right now.  I'm exhausted from the past few day's events.  My dear cousin, Tom, passed away yesterday afternoon from a terribly aggressive and rare cancer, neuroendocrine carcinoma.  His mom is my dad's sister, so this has been a very emotionally-charged year for this side of the family.  He was diagnosed two months ago on February 18 with cancer, and was given a couple of years.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, it turned into six months to a year.  Friday night, he was in liver failure, and had about a week.  My mom and I went to Chicago yesterday morning, and he was given a few hours.  He passed about an hour and a half after we got there.

I don't get life.  To be honest, I felt very awkward yesterday at the hospital as we shared my 30-year old cousin's last breaths while his siblings and my aunt and uncle sat by his side.  Perhaps the awkwardness came from the fact that I have this life growing inside of me, waiting to make its entrance into the world, while my cousin was preparing to make his exit.  It is inconceivable for me to understand what it would be like to lose a child, and I feel as though I went completely numb.  I couldn't cry, and still haven't really.

I'm reminded of this Buddhist thought that I learned in India when I was there six years ago: There is a paradox in relationships--once you meet someone, you are also preparing for the end of the relationship at some point in time.  Death is absolutely inevitable.  It just sucks when it's someone so young.

Bowling for Belvedere

Last night for date night, Nate and I went bowling at my suggestion.  At the shower a couple of weeks ago, my cousin's wife told me that she went into labor with both her boys after she went bowling, so away we went.  My mom came with us as our "chaperon."  It was loads of fun, even though I had a horrible first game.  It took awhile to get used to how my center of gravity has shifted.  After my hips opened up, I came back in the second game like a champ and ended up with a 163.  Apparently, my mom had the highest bowling average of her career while she was pregnant with my sister and me back in the days when she was on a bowling league.  Go figure.

Dropping Mr. Belvedere

No, I'm not talking about not being able to hold on to the baby after it comes (although that sometimes is a fear because I can't seem to hold on to anything lately); I'm referring to that desirable lightening that is supposed to happen sometime soon when the baby "drops."

Come on down!

Almost every woman I talk to looks at my belly and says, "Oh, you haven't dropped yet, so that baby's not coming out any time soon."  That's really not the news I want to hear, but that's the reality, I guess.  Some people said that when it feels like you're sitting on the baby's head, then you know you've dropped.  I'm guessing that I'll have some major relief to the rib pain that I've been experiencing these past few days.  Last night, my ribs ached so bad that I felt like I had been repeatedly kicked like this poor dude:

Charting the Belly: Week 38

This weekly plan with the midwife is time consuming!  I have appointments every week now, and I've only scheduled them up until April 19, which is next Tuesday.  I'm just hoping that's my last one before Mr. Belvedere makes his or her debut...  Yeah right--I'll probably go until 42 weeks and deliver a 10 pound baby.

Hopefully no more than 15 days to go!

I am beyond anxious to meet who this little critter is that's been jumping on my bladder, kicking my ribs, making me cry these past nine months for seemingly ridiculous reasons, and having me countdown the days until my next appointment with my hair stylist.  As a side note, I cannot get over how much hair is on my head or how thick it is.  Normally, I have to clean out the drain after every shower I take or sweep up my hair from the bathroom floor on a daily basis.  Since about week 20, I haven't had to do any of that, which means that after this baby is born, my hair loss will be indescribable.

How Many People Love This Baby?

I had a conversation with Mr. Belvedere this morning about how many people are so excited to meet him or her.  It's been rather quiet as far as its movement goes these past few days, and I thought maybe it was lonely, so I gave it a pep talk.  It's got to be awfully cramped in my uterus right now because all it does is roll back and forth, kind of like how I feel when trying to sleep at night.  I mentioned that it could come out any time it wants to; we're ready for it!  I think it felt better after our talk, because then it got the hiccups.

My dear mother threw a baby shower for us yesterday afternoon at Sheridan's in Cudahy, and I am still overwhelmed at my family's generosity.  Everyone who came lives somewhere else besides the Milwaukee area, and many people drove several hours to come and celebrate this little fetus.  It was so fun to see the women that are in some way related to Mr. Belvedere.

Our apartment has completely exploded after yesterday's shower:

I cannot wrap my head around how much stuff a baby allegedly needs.  I'm sitting next to the car seat and stroller that my mom, sister-in-laws and sister got us, and it's really intimidating!  I feel like I have no clue what we're about to get ourselves into, despite the fact that I've spent a decent chunk of my life baby-sitting, working in day care centers, teaching, and being around babies.  But it's way scarier when it's my own, and no one's coming here to relieve me of my duties at the end of the day.  I feel like I did right before our bike trip last summer--nervous because I didn't really know how it was all going to unfold.  I'd never ridden my bike for 60 days straight, nor had I ever been in the wilderness that long.  I had an idea of what it might be like, but it's impossible to know what it is that I don't know.

Charting the Belly: Week 36

We're nearing the finish line...  Child-birthing class number 8 of 8 is tomorrow.  Most of the baby clothes are washed.  My third quarter grades are submitted.  Mr. Belvedere is head down and on my left side (left occiput anterior).  The apartment is clean (at least for today).  I've made a list of what needs to be packed to go to the hospital, but I haven't put anything in a bag yet.

The fetus within...

I haven't had the nesting urge yet, or at least the final one where I start tearing apart the pantry and alphabetizing all the food after I've dusted, vacuumed, and painted the walls.