The count down begins

We're almost there! I am 35 weeks pregnant (according to my weekly email that keeps track better than I do) and we are so close to meeting our baby girl! Next Monday is our last ultrasound before we deliver! My doctor will see what position she's in, and give us an estimate on how big she'll be. I'm excited to see her again. It's always so amazing! For the most part this has been a great pregnancy. She is very active, but nice to her mommy. She doesn't kick me so hard that it hurts. She wiggles a lot, and pokes around, but she seems content to hang out. I like to imagine she is eavesdropping on everything people say; gathering information. I think she is going to be a more relaxed child than Owen is. Or that could just be hope. Only time will tell. We aren't completely ready for her yet, but I would be more than happy if she came a bit early. :) Things are getting uncomfortable for me.

I am huge. There is just no other way to describe it. It's amazing I am able to get around at all. The funny thing is, I don't think I'm as big as I got when I was pregnant with Owen. (Of course there are still a few weeks for her to catch up!) It is amazing what you take for granted in your every day life. Some things that I'm grateful for:

1. Being able to lay flat. I haven't slept in anything but a sitting position for months. If I try and lay flatter I can't sleep because of heartburn. But sitting up is not easy! I wake up all night long. But it's just a little less uncomfortable than the heartburn, so this position wins.

2. Being able to lay on my tummy. I miss my tummy. I am a tummy sleeper. It's also unfortunate because I cannot get a good back rub lying on my side.

3. Getting up and down. This has become a complicated process. I either need someone to help me up, or something sturdy that I can use for leverage. Or a crane. That could work.

4. Consciousness. There are 2 or 3 times during the day when my body wants to just shut off. I can be having a conversation and suddenly my eyes start to droop and my speech starts to slur. It happened when I was pregnant with Owen, but a 20 minute nap was all I needed to feel refreshed and good to go. This time I can sleep for 3 hours at a time. These moments aren't timed very well either. It would be convenient if they coincided with Owen's nap. But it doesn't usually happen until Owen has already been asleep for an hour or so. I go to lay down, and Owen wakes up about 30 minutes later. That's just mean.

5. My brain. I miss it. I forget what I'm saying AS I'm saying it. I walk into a room, and forget why I went in there. If I didn't write everything down, it would be gone forever.

And last but not least...

6. Getting anything done in a timely manner. I am slow. It takes me at least twice as long to accomplish things. It takes all day to finish the laundry because I can't get all of the clothes folded and put away in one session. I can't sit or stand long enough in the same position to do it. Emptying and filling the dishwasher have become two separate events. The bending over causes heartburn issues, so once I've emptied it I have to take a break and let the flames subside before I go back to fill it. Cleaning up the toys at night requires sweeping everything into a big pile first so I can sit in one spot and reach everything. I have to schedule extra time to get anywhere. Waddling takes longer. And in general, anything that I do requires an extra 30 minutes for me to talk myself into it first.

In short, I am excited to NOT be pregnant anymore. :) But I am certainly more excited to be having my baby girl :)