We have (almost) reached the end of our journey together as one. It’s bittersweet writing this… as I reflect on the past 9 months it really was quite a journey and I am emotional about its end. Not because I wish to be pregnant forever or because you are so easy to care for in my belly… ha ha… but because I have been so focused on getting you through this safely and here we are… finally.  I remember being 6 weeks along in September and thinking April was so, so far away. Like a tiny speck I could barely see in the distance. But now, your due date is a week away. It happened so fast.

In recent news…

At 35 weeks my belly started contracting quite a bit and you had me, once again, a little worried. If you were going to be born before 37 weeks we weren’t going to be able to birth at the birthing center and while your safety is most important, I really didn’t want us at the hospital. Fortunately though, the contractions turned out to be practice and you are still safe and cozy. Since I have stopped working, I have been spending A LOT of time with your Auntie G and your cousins Ellie and Sabine. We have been joking around that I am the family dog who just rides around in the car and accompanies the family on drop offs, pick ups, piano lessons, tennis lessons, trips to the farmers market, and hangs around in the hopes of being included for dinner time. Your Auntie G makes THE BEST food so she has been keeping us fat and happy 🙂 Your Daddy is working hard and when he’s working from home, I try to give him some time alone to concentrate and when he is in LA, I am lonely and love tagging along with your extended family. I have been trying to finish the last of the errands, which is so much more fun with company. Fortunately, Granny has been running around with me, and even Don joined in to accompany us to Kohl’s and Target as we returned things and picked up some newborn essentials. That same day Lindsay, Stella, you, and I power walked 3 miles around the Bonita golf course. Stella even tried to share her cutie tangerine with you! All that walking combined with the errands nearly did me in. Later that night I couldn’t lift my leg and had to rely on a hot bean bag compress to relieve the pain! I just have to laugh because I have never had so many little issues before. Yesterday your Granny, Auntie G, and I went to the spa at Pelican Hill to celebrate an early Mother’s day. It was SO indulgent but SO nice. We had a delicious French breakfast at Cafe Bonjour in Dana Point and lunch at True Foods. I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate this upcoming holiday than with my favorite ladies.

So, for the sake of any future pregnancies either of us may have (I hope you get to read these letters when it’s your turn and I can reread them if you ever get a sibling) and to keep this blog from being too sappy, let’s just get real about pregnancy for a few sentences. I have been trying not to complain, because I do feel so blessed,  but I am going to take this next minute or two to document the ugly truth.

Here we go…

My ankles are gone, my feet, toes, and lower legs are actually fat, my upper legs look like sausages, I get shooting pains in my shins and the tops of my feet, I moan and groan when bending over, I have gas, a bubble but, loose stool, a double chin, and back fat. My armpits have wrinkles and are a strange shade of gray, my belly button is sticking out, I have brown spots on my face that are not freckles, and my fingers hurt. I have to pee all the time and need to hold on to something when I sit down. I tried sleeping on a mostly deflated therma-rest to cushion my huge achy hips, and when I roll over in bed I wince and grunt. The therma-rest didn’t work so last week I moved to the couch. I have night sweats, which make me wonder if I wet the bed, a sharp pain in my knee, and when I take off my flip flops, there is an indentation on the top of my foot that lasts an hour. It’s truly a miracle your Daddy still says I’m beautiful. These issues really only started coming on in the last 2 months (I think)…. friends and family reading this, be quiet if you noticed them sooner.

The funny thing is though, I really don’t care about any of it. Fuck it. … we get YOU at the end of this and that is certainly worth all this discomfort. Your Auntie G and I saw your little face at my last ultrasound last week and it was unreal. You are so perfect and beautiful already. If the 3-D imaging can make you look this beautiful I can’t even imagine what you will look like in person.

So, here we are… on our last few days and incredibly happy. A happy ticking clock, but no one knows when the timer will go off! When will your arrival day be??? Fortunately, I feel confident that when you do decide to bust out of my uterus we have got things covered. Between the doula, your Daddy, and the midwife we (you) are going to be in perfect hands. But little baby, before go-time arrives, I have just a couple requests in order of importance…

1. Do your aching Mommy a favor, please get the ball rolling early in the morning so I can rest up the night before. No keeping me up all night without any sleep before the big day please.
2.  Please, please, please don’t push us into May. Just think, the sooner you come the more time we have together.

Less important things but ones to consider if you are feeling generous…

1. Come on a Wednesday or Thursday so your Daddy has more time off,
2. If a Wednesday or Thursday doesn’t work for you, perhaps you can come on April 20^th so you can share Stella’s birthday or April 22^nd so you can share your Uncle Danny’s birthday. Either works for us.

We can’t wait to meet you!

Lindsay and us at the beautiful baby shower she hosted of us. I can’t wait to show you pictures when you are older.

Here we are at 38 weeks and 4 days.

Here you are at 38 weeks in your last ultra-sound