Weekly Pregnancy Post

It’s the final countdown… four weeks to go!

Is it acceptable to start feeling incredibly anxious at this point in time? Please say yes because that’s the one word that best describes the multitude of emotions I am experiencing with just four weeks to go until our due date. Everyone keeps asking if we’re excited and yes, we are very very VERY excited. We’re excited to meet our baby girl and I’m excited to no longer be pregnant. But on top of all that excitement is pure anxiety and for an already overly-anxious person, this added anxiety is causing me to feel a bit neurotic and act a lot like a crazy woman. Just ask my husband. I’m a planner and an organizer. It’s just what I do and who I am. Not knowing exactly when I’m going to go into labor or how much longer we have until she arrives is driving me a bit crazy. I have been feeling this overwhelming urge to just be ready, completely and totally ready, even though I know that you really can’t ever be ready for a baby’s arrival. This weekend we cleaned the house from top to bottom – every floor was scrubbed clean, the shop-vacuum came out for a good dust clean-up, cabinets were cleared out and contact-papered, and toilets were scrubbed. Not that she’s going notice any of those things, right? I just feel so much better knowing our house is clean. We finished her bedroom with the exception of the lamps that I’m still waiting for Land of Nod to deliver to my front door. My hospital bag is packed with the exception of a few last-minute items to be thrown in on the day-of. I woke up about 50 times last night after having dreams of my water breaking. I'm sure this is normal but if she doesn't arrive for four more weeks I may just drive MYSELF crazy! I think Dave will be thankful when she arrives for the simple fact that I’ll regain some of my sanity and he’ll be able to watch his weekend sports without the constant dictation of his next task. Then again, he WILL have a baby demanding lots of attention and dictating diaper changes and feedings (sorry, my love, but your sport-watching weekends will never be the same again :)).

How Far Along: Thirty-six weeks

Well, Hello Bags: By bags I mean those lovely bags that form under your eyes that tell the rest of the world just how tired you're feeling. I could get 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep and still manage to have those dark bags under my eyes. I can't even remember the number of people who told me that I looked tired last week. That's an understatement and a feeling that I'm sure won't subside for a very long time. Ironically enough, I'm getting the most sleep now that I've gotten throughout my entire pregnancy. I think this nasty cold virus I'm trying to fight off may have something to do with it. Either way, if you happen to notice the bags, politely tell me that I look wonderful and move on :) Make a pregnant lady feel a little better, would ya?!

Food Cravings: This week I had two very spontaneous and random grocery store purchases: chocolate milk and Frosted Mini Wheats. I haven't had chocolate milk in a very long time but I managed to finish off the gallon in a day and it tasted delicious. I've never had Frosted Mini Wheats in my entire life but for some reason that bright orange box stood out to me as I walked down the cereal aisle and they just looked too deceptively delicious on the cover I had to have them. Unfortunately, they didn't live up the hype but I do plan on finishing that box.

Just the Two of Us: Dave and I have really been trying to savor our last few weeks as a family of two. Last weekend we enjoyed a little night out at the movies, seeing The Dilemma. On Saturday night we spent our last Christmas gift card on dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Despite some terrible service and my pizza being delivered covered in onions (I'm mentally allergic to those nasty little things), it was a nice night out. We even did a little browsing at Baby Gap and both agreed that once she's born and we know just what size she is we'll be heading back for some adorable spring and summer outfits! We know it'll be a while before we get some time together, just the two of us, once she's born so we figure we should make the most of the time now. Although, I will admit we spend most of our time talking about all the things we plan to do with baby girl and really, we're just so excited to become a family of three!

Superbowl Bound: Dave has informed me that I am not allowed to give birth on Sunday, February 6th now that the Packers are Superbowl bound. And if I do happen to be in labor during the Superbowl, it will be on in my room and he will efficently multi-task in cheering me on while cheering on the green & gold. I politely informed him the last thing I want as background noise while in labor is football but there's no reasoning with a man who loves sports. While it's highly unlikely I'll go into labor two weeks early, I did tell him that she might just decide to arrive that day to prove to her daddy that she will always come before sports :)

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Realizing that in less than a month we'll finally be parents. I've been pregnant for over a year now in theory (give or take a few months) and I'm more than ready to hold our baby girl in my arms. Knowing we're this close to that day makes me feel like a kid on Christmas morning!