35 weeks and 5 days...

yes! I'm moving along now... this thursday i will have reached 36 weeks, which means only 4 more to go! i'm getting really excited to welcome the little man into the world and not be pregnant any longer. Husband and I have tried to maintain a flurry of activity recently, trying to work in all the fun things we like to do together, seeing friends, heading into the city, etc. We know its not as if our life will end, but its going to change. And i'm sure just hopping in the car on a friday night to head into philly won't happen as often, or be as easy as it is right now. So, we're just taking advantage of our last 4 weeks - just us and the dogs.

I've also taken to the 'nesting' symptom of pregnancy... its so strange, but most all pregnant woman, particularly in the last trimester, become concerned with cleaning, clearing out, having the house just as it should be before the baby arrives. I didn't realize this was 'nesting' until it was pointed out to me. Recently, I had become obsessed with cleaning out closets. with making donations to the goodwill. with clearing the basement of stuff that should be trash. with planting our vegetables for the summer. with vacuuming. laundry. dishes. yard work. clearing out the refridgerator. the list goes on. Problem with some of these tasks, is that husband has to be the one doing it. Ya know, me, big ole pregnant, can't lift stuff. I announce "well today, we have GOT to clean out the exercise room and get the treadmill in there!! and clear out the basement. we have too much stuff!" then i end up monitoring much of his work, declaring 'thats trash', 'donate' or 'keep that', or 'why do you still have that' and husband saying 'we should have a yardsale'. What? A yardsale? add additional work? sure the cash would be great. (note to self - i will be out of work for 4 months. hmm) but ugh. we've had a yardsale twice - the first one was horrid, i hated it and had to do all the work myself. the second was a bit better but still not that great. we'll see.

Back to the pregnancy, I've enjoyed my third trimester better than the other two. I realize most woman are miserable by this point and say the third is the worst. Yet, i'm having the opposite experience. First and Second trimesters were just awful for me and the third has been much much better. I've enjoyed my life, been able to keep busy, and haven't felt horrid. Guess pregnancy sure does hit everyone differently.

Its interesting, folks ask, are you going to go natural or do the epidural? I mean, practical strangers ask me this. I'm always a little baffled, and end up sputtering out something like 'um, yea, well, uh, i just don't know.... well see...'. I made the mistake of telling one person, well i want to go natural. They proceeded to tell me why that was a bad idea, why i will end up taking the epidural, and why its no big deal. Okay, great, thanks. I didn't ask for your thoughts - you asked me my plan!! Now i give the most honest answer possible - i just don't know. My goal is to go as naturally as possibly but hey, this is my first experience so it may be pain beyond my wildest imaginable dreams that i can't endure for another nanosecond... i just don't know. So well see.

The kid moves daily. He pokes and prods me frequently. Last night I felt he was trying to bust through, tired of the womb, as the crown of his head emerged into a massive lump on my belly. I tell him, 'you fatten up in there kid... don't expand me out anymore... just you grow now'.

The kid will arrive soon. His room is ready. We have clothes for him. how bizarre to think we will soon bring another human being into this world, onto this earth, and into our home. I still can't fully comprehend this and look forward to the amazement of seeing him. (not the amazement of getting him out!)