FULL TERM!

Can you believe it? The past few weeks especially have flown by. I've been blessed with an incredibly easy pregnancy so far — couldn't have asked for any better. The aches and pains are just now setting in, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Surely nobody completely escapes that particular pregnancy problem. I can't believe I'm so close to the end.




I got a little artsy with that last one, huh? What do you think? LOL

Actually, I'm pretty much in love with my belly right now. I think it's perfect and endlessly fascinating. The baby's movements are so strong now, and so close to the surface. So undeniably real.

I can't quite fathom that I'm going to be a mommy sometime in the next three weeks. I can't even fully wrap my head around labour and delivery, let alone how drastically my life will change once I have a newborn. It's overwhelming. It's thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I hope I can be a good mother. I hope some maternal instinct takes over and guides me whenever I'm full of doubt, which will probably be often.

I feel unprepared, like I don't know nearly enough about taking care of a baby. I don't even know enough about the stuff involved in taking care of a baby. I really don't think we have everything we'll need, but I couldn't tell you what we're missing... if that makes any sense.

Anyway. Despite the anxiety, I'm happy, and I know we'll be just fine. I can't wait to meet my (still nameless) son!

Work, Work, Work

All I want to do right now is plan for baby, prepare for baby, and daydream about baby. But instead I am still struggling to finish my last major project at work. I missed my original deadline (today) by a long shot and have promised my boss that I will absolutely be finished by the end of this week. To do so I will have to work late every night. Like I did last week. I'm so tired.

Okay, okay. I just have to get through this week and then I can relax, and in another two weeks I will be done work for a year. Imagine — a whole year!

35/35

I couldn't let this milestone pass without comment: 35 weeks down, 35 days to go. Wow! I'm going to be a mommy so soon!

Have I mentioned that apparently I've gotten huge? In the space of a month I went from comments on how small my belly is to comments on how huge it is — and, yes, at my shower last weekend, someone even uttered the dreaded "Are you sure it's not twins?"

Friday was my "surprise" work shower. It was very nice — beautifully decorated with daffodils (one of my favourites) and yellow and green tablecloths and streamers. It was a potluck lunch and everyone brought delicious things. My 33-week pregnant co-worker and I each got a little gift basket with a towel, facecloths, booties, and a Babies.R.Us gift card. One very crafty co-worker made each of us a stuffed bear. An employee who has been on maternity leave since I started there dropped by with her baby and brought each of us a beautifully wrapped gift. Mine was an adorable yellow sleeper with a mouse on it.

The tortuous part of the work shower was the attention from so many people I barely know. One co-worker kindly told me later that I turned red and splotchy and my hands were shaking as I opened the gifts. Nice. I'm just glad I was sharing the spotlight. Of course, I'm sure they wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of a shower just for me anyway. After all, I'm still the "new girl," and I haven't really made any friends.

On an unrelated side note, while chatting at the shower I learned that my team leader thought I was 23, max. For some reason that really bothers me. I'm 31. I've had my driver's licence for 15 years. I have seven years of experience working in my field. I've been married for five years. It took nearly two years to conceive this baby. Really — I've come a long way since 23.