Just an update

So with all of the updates on what we've been up to, I've forgotten the thing people want to know the most... the doctor's visits, arrival schedule, etc.

Our actual due date is December 23. At this point I am going to the doctor every week. This past appointment, Thursday of last week, they said that they didn't think it would be in the next week. This isn't really an exact science so she immediately followed up by saying "but it could be tomorrow."

They can't really tell us if they still think the 23rd or not. We are just waiting and seeing. They estimated that he is about 7-7.5 lbs right now...he's a big boy!! EEEEK!!!! So if I go to December 23, he'll be a little over 8 lbs. Again, just another estimation. Good news is that big babies are typically healthy and sleep well? Bad news is they are big.

I am 1 cm dilated. I am not effaced. Sorry if that was TMI. I won't go into what either of those mean. And honestly there is not much significance to those measurements since labor is different with every woman and every pregnancy. Some women dilate from 0 cm to full on labor quickly, some stay at 3 cm for weeks. Some women drop (baby sits lower) weeks before labor. Some drop in the hospital. So there really just aren't any boxes to be checked saying I'm on the way. I'm literally just waiting and seeing. And we all know how I feel about that! Ha ha!

I'm being a pretty good sport, I think... We have 2+ weeks left till our due date so I'm hardly impatient. I've said it 100 times in the past 3 or 4 days, but while I am ready to not be pregnant, I'm not quite ready to have the baby here. I know how to take care of him right now - eat well, get rest, etc... I know where he is 24/7 and he is protected. When he's out, I have NO clue how to take care of him. And I have a feeling he'll be a bit more vocal :) I'm honestly not looking forward to being newly un-pregnant either. A lot of folks have a misconception that your body just snaps back to pre-pregnancy mode. I'm not looking forward to the hormone flood - I didn't handle the one going into pregnancy very well. And I'm not looking forward to yet another new body to get used to and come to terms with. And obviously, the physical pain of the recovery is not too exciting. A lot of people, including me formerly, do not realize the trauma that having a baby puts on a woman's body. When you stop to think of it, it's really common sense. However, I think the magic of a new little baby kind of distracts from the common sense of it all.

As strange as it sounds, I'm also nervous about seeing him. I know I'll love him - he's our son!!! I get that, so I'm not in need of a speech about how my life will change or I will feel a love I didn't know existed. I'm reallly excited for all of that. But babies look funny on those first few days and they arent' necessarily all pretty and soft and cute. So I'm nervous to see him and meet him...again - I know none of that will matter and I will love him and he will be beautiful. I didn't say this was rational, I'm just sharing that I'm really nervous about it all!!

It will be so funny to look back at this in a few months or years and remember how strange all of this was to me and how silly my feelings seem then. But for now, they are VERY real and VERY strange! ha ha!

So that's the update. We (Rhett and I) are both healthy as horses (or ponies). All of our vitals are strong and I can't speak for him, but I feel fine aside from the obvious discomforts. The first few months were terrible with the pregnacy symptoms (I'll spare everyone including my future self from the details), but after about 15 or 16 weeks, it's been pretty smooth sailing!! FJ might disagree as a passenger on this crazy train, but God willing - I could be convinced to do this again with some wine and nice jewelry!!!