Leprechaun Tights and Hobbit Feet

As I approach 39 weeks and just two more full days of pregnancy, there is time to reflect. It's too hot on the third level to sleep. Laying down is my least favorite position. There is just no easy way to center the belly and the baby doesn't like it when I lay on her parts at all. I look in the mirror and don't recognize the body I see at all. From one angle I don't look very big (I can still see my feet) and hope that the baby will be a good solid weight when she is born. Then when I turn, I think, how many tons of ice cream did I eat during my pregnancy?

This pregnancy seemed to drag on and for the first 16 weeks, I didn't think I would actually make it. I was miserable. Sick, weak, tired, disoriented, it was a constant struggle. Relief was discovered with Zofran. After about 16 weeks, I started feeling better and gaining some of the weight I had lost during those very rough first months. Overall, I would say I was lucky. It took me 9 months to come to this realization. I did not develop pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes. I was never put on bed rest and actually went into the office until this past Thursday. The three days I will work from home were productive and I worked hard.

I only wish I could have chosen my symptoms. I pictured a big checklist or a negotiation.... I'll take vomiting if you take all-day nausea. I'll taking the night sweats if you take fatigue. Hell, I'll take the recent heartburn if you take metal mouth. If you give me an appetite the first months, I'll take the hourly trips to the bathroom overnight, even though I think that is cruel.

Let me just say that I won't miss the maternity wardrobe. A lot of the maternity clothing is spring based which meant I wore a lot of layers over the winter. I didn't splurge and wore the same 5 pants and same 6 shirts and the same 4 dresses over and over! I brought back the stretch pants under dresses fad! I bought panty hose for a special occasion, and I never got them past my thighs. I'm certain I bought the right size, and I surely didn't grow taller, but they were definitely made for a leprechaun. I never did wear them.

Now I sit, tired but awake, just about 56 hours from the birth of our little girl. Where has the time gone? She's already a little troublemaker and not good with directions. Otherwise, her head would be in the right place. As the temperatures soared this weekend, I made another negotiation... I'll take swollen hobbit feet (which have turned up the past couple of days), if you take summer pregnancy! Ha!

Now it's the time for final negotiation. I'll take the whole experience for what it is, just deliver us the perfect little girl we are all waiting to meet.