Week 36

It's a good thing this baby's almost done cooking, cuz my body is feeling pretty "done" by now. I keep saying "I'm finally starting to understand why women are considered disabled around this time... I'm really starting to feel disabled!" In the morning, I literally feel like I can't walk for a while. I feel like my limbs may start falling off behind me as I go. And depending on the distance or really just randomness, I've been starting to do the full-term pregnancy waddle, which is apparently the result of hormone-triggered loosening and softening of my connective tissue. I really just do it because it hurts not to sometimes. Unfortunately, those loose joints can lead to some pretty serious hip and pelvic pain. They say the baby could be about 6 pounds by now, but I'm wondering. I think our little one may be a little one. :)

One exciting thing is that most of the baby's systems (from circulatory to musculoskeletal) are ready for prime time, though his digestion system — which has done only practice runs so far — will kick into gear as he takes his first shot at a meal through the mouth!

Everyone seems to have gotten the memo to start telling me (this week) all about everyone they know who ever gave birth 5 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 weeks early..... I think just to freak me out maybe! I dunno. lol. but it's working! I can't imagine going that early for my first baby! Ahh!

I went to Ikea with Renee this week. She was about ready to burst but she was so cute! She's officially 2 days late as of today!

Last night, Jason and I went on a tour of the maternity ward at Underwood Memorial Hospital! Parts of the tour made me really nervous/scared... (because I'm sort of a wimp) but a lot of the tour made me really excited too! I just kept feeling a weird sense of eeriness about what our future held in that very hallway or room... It was a very surreal feeling to think "In about 4 weeks or so, we'll be in here doing this for real...I wonder what that will be like...." It's strange when you're in a place where you know you'll soon be experiencing something completely life-changing!

Today, Jason and I are celebrating our 36 monthiversary since we officially began dating!

Oh yeah, this is a fun story too... last night, Jason was singing to the baby as he does many nights. Once he was done he hummed the tune "pigs in the barn yard, pee yew......" (you know the tune?).... Except he hummed the equivalent of "pigs in the barn yard, pee......." and paused... and the baby kicked or punched or something very abruptly right near his face as if to finish the line "...yew". We were cracking up because this is now the THIRD time the baby has done this... bringing the song back to the tonic when Jason leaves him hanging, so to speak! Jason is convinced he's beginning the journey of raising a musical prodigy! I, however, am convinced that this baby has inherited my intense fear of performance (which I've grown out of quite a bit since childhood)... but, I swear that every time I want to let someone feel him kicking or want to let someone watch him squirming and moving all around, he stops. I don't know if he gets distracted by my changes in breathing as I'm concentrating on watching him or what but I swear that it's just that he isn't a performer! I guess we'll see. Tonight was the first time I was able to have my mom and Kacy actually catch a good session of squirming and wiggling as I sat my cell phone on my belly and told them all to be quiet and "NOT TO LOOK AT ME".... and once they "weren't looking".... they got to catch quite a show of cell phone surfing and shaking! FINALLY!

Anyway, musical prodigy? Consummate performer? I guess time will only tell!


*** NOTE: for some reason I find it easier to see what's going on when you can't hear Jason narrating... so if it helps to mute it, try that! We caught him at the end of a really active spell but he was starting to calm down when we were taping this.