Sept.13.02

This past Sunday I hit the 36 week mark, which means I'm now nine months pregnant. I didn't know this for the longest time, but the regular pregnancy calendar is actually ten months long, not nine! It's 40 weeks! So why does everyone think that pregnancy only lasts for nine months?

Well, whatever length of time my bebe is planning on staying in my abdomen, it's gotta be coming to an end soon. The past couple of days have been kind of hard, physically. I can feel my body reaching the point of maximum capacity--rolling over during sleep is...hrm...interesting, getting up at night to pee (which I do several times) is an experiment with gravity, and nearly every morning I greet the day howling and clutching a leg, desperately rubbing and pounding a tightly-cramped muscle. No one told me about the leg cramps, people. It sure takes all the fun out of that luxurious morning stretch I used to enjoy.

And unless I try really hard not to, I waddle now. Oh, it's so graceful! I feel so big, and yet when I look at my reflection, I don't look as large as I feel, which I guess is good, since looking like an elephant is not what I'm going for. Heh.

Ah, I complain, but really it's not that bad. Nine months of carrying my little peanut around inside me has been a real trip. And I know it could be so, so, soooo much worse! I count my blessings that I do not have any of these: Stretch marks. Swollen ankles. Fatigue. Severe back pain. Constipation! Hemorrhoids! My list is mercifully short. I don't know how I got so lucky. I try not to make a big deal out of my little complaints, since it could obviously be so much worse, but this is my diary, I have a right to bitch a little, don't I?

Now I wait to feel more of the signs of this pregnancy coming to an end. I wonder each day when I will get whacked with my first real contraction. I wonder if he'll stay in there past my due date or if he'll show up early. I am so excited and nervous. I feel pretty good about things. I hope that labor will be good, hard work, but not more than I can handle.

Did I mention that we've decided to have a home birth? Yup. I have not told my family, C. has not told his family. We haven't told most of our friends, either. I don't know if we ever will. Would they think we were off our rockers? I don't know. I guess if all goes well at home, we might tell them someday, but we don't want people to think we're courting danger--a doctor will be here, there are paramedics at the fire station around the corner, and most importantly, the baby and I are in great health. I mean, it's not like we live in the wilderness! We live in the city. If a problem does arise (god forbid), the hospital is a quick jaunt from here. But home birth is still a pretty controversial thing. It's hard for many people to believe that a normal birth does not need to be in a hospital. I have a lot of faith that everything will be okay.

Hey, does anyone wanna place bets on when this kid is going to make his appearance? I'm ready to start a pool!

square - hip