36 weeks pregnant! Many of you have already seen I'm getting as big as the proverbial house. Or the long side of a barge. My abdomen is officially on no vacancy status right now. There's not much room for my lungs, my meals or my bladder....and yet the dragon continues to grow!!! He learned a new trick this past week - using my gallbladder as a punching bag! My right sided rib cage is taking the heat too. Swollen feet, puffy hands. My belly button has almost completely disappeared. It's getting really tough to get comfortable, especially at night...all the ever-pregnant ladies put your hands up if you identify!!! Thank goodness, my pregnancy thus far has been completely uncomplicated, apart from all the normal pregnancy moans and groans. I have been very fortunate! And I'm sure it will continue to be the case.
At this point, I am trying to come to grips with the fact that labor could start virtually at any moment.....and we have not yet strapped the car seat in or packed our labor bag!!! I haven't prepared and frozen any meals! We haven't picked out a name! It will all get done I'm sure. Thank goodness my parents were here this past week and left the house and yard spotless, washed all the new baby clothes, put together our jogging stroller, cleaned out the basement, assembled the Pack-and-Play, and packed up many boxes of books in our study and office to make room for our new guest. Oh, and Dad put a huge dent in our collection of half-empty bottles of flavored vodkas. Don't want to be carting those all down to Miami next year, that's for sure!!! Thanks Dad!
Anyhow, I'm also trying to remind myself that labor might NOT start for another 5 weeks. During which time, the dragon will CONTINUE to grow!!! Just when I thought I couldn't get ANY bigger! Unlike my previous major life events, this one doesn't really have a true deadline. I mean, yes, eventually, the baby HAS to come out, and there is a window...but it's not like I can put up a countdown clock because the actual date and time are still unknown.
The element of mystery is unsettling for someone with control issues. What if I start labor early and leave all my colleagues in a lurch? What if my water breaks while I'm in the OR, or even worse when I'm in clinic??? I'm starting to see why some people schedule themselves a nice, predictable C-section. Takes the guesswork out of it. To a certain extent, you get to pick your child's birthday! (As long as it falls Monday-Friday 7am-3pm and is convenient for your obstetrician, of course).
I don't know what labor feels like, but my instinct is telling me it's not going to happen any time soon. Yes, I'm definitely have plenty of Braxton-Hicks contractions. But the dragon is riding high and seems pretty comfortable in there. I don't think he's planning on going anywhere soon. Though he is super big, he continues to buck like a bronco and bounce around like a Mexican jumping bean. The lack of space doesn't seem to be cramping his style yet. I'm not sure what he's doing in there (Katelyn thinks he's practicing kick-boxing in preparation for his Team Awesome initiation). He's gonna be a squirmer, just like his dad, I can tell that for sure.
For now at least, I'm taking things one day at a time....letting go and waiting to see what happens.
Thanks again to all my friends and family for your support!!! Steel City Road Runners and Steel City Greyhounds are sponsoring a training run this weekend, Saturday September 15th from 7-10am with 6, 10 and 16 mile distances, beginning and ending at Riverfront Place. Check out this website if you are interested in participating in any way!
http://steelcityrrc.org/scrrcevents?eventId=548254&EventViewMode=2&CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=9/9/2012
Mugen, the dragon and I will be there to welcome runners back from their training runs. Maybe this will be the moment you decide you'd like to run the marathon this year! Keep it in mind!
