Bumpdate – Week 38

Week 38 was interesting because everyone is trying to guess when I’ll have the baby and so many people act surprised every day that I show up for work or at the gym for water aerobics.  I had my appointment on 8/29 and was still hanging out at 1cm with Baby Girl down low.  I did discover what a Braxton Hicks contraction feels like and I now realize that I have them all the time.  I just don’t always notice them since they are so light.  My doc seems to think I’ll go past my due date, so we have an ultrasound scheduled  for 9/10 if I do.

I have definitely been feeling more and more pregnant over the course of the week.  More swelling, more trips to the bathroom, and more struggling to maneuver,  but I am still feeling pretty awesome for a momma-to-be.  This week I cut back Eddie’s walks to 0.75 miles on average and I had to give up lunges at the gym (darn!), but I can still give myself a pedicure independently, so I think I’m ok.

I can still paint my toes, but I can't get both feet into the same close-up photo

Are we ready to have the baby?  Well, I’m not sure what “ready” means, but our nursery is fully operational, we have more baby clothes than I ever imagined, and our bags are packed and in the car.  We both have work under control as well. In all practical senses, we are ready.

Dan will joking yell in terror if I ask if he’s ready for the baby, but really, he just cannot wait to hold his baby girl.  He has warned me that I’ve held her for the past 9 months, so he gets to do all the holding for the next 9 months (minus feeding and diaper changing).  I joke that since Dan has claimed Eddie’s front half as his 50% of the dog since we got married and he’s assigned me the back half as my 50%, I get the top half of the baby and he gets the bottom half.  He should be prepared to do all the diaper changing.  And just for the record, Dan still thinks the baby is coming 9/9 so he can keep the x/9 Hart birthday tradition going.  (Dave: 7/9, Dan: 8/9, Baby Girl: 9/9?)

I am experiencing a mix of nerves and excitement to have this baby.  There are so many unknowns with parenting and we just have to trust that since everyone figures out how to do it, we will too.  I have a really hard time grasping the concept that our daughter will not just be a baby, but she’ll grow into a toddler, a kid, an adolescent, a teenager, and then an adult.  This is just the start to a lifetime of parenting and a brand new Hart family.

I am really excited to meet our little girl and see what she looks like and how she responds to the world around her.  The labor process has me freaked out a a bit, but my body has grown this baby girl well so far, so I’m trusting that my body will birth her well also.

The Start of Week 39