Sunday, May 25, 2008

262 days down, 18 to go...give or take

It's crazy to think Baby G will be making his grand entrance (or exit?) any day now. Of course, it's equally crazy to think it could be another month, if he decides to hang out until week 42. I thought I should do some documentation before the big day, whether or not that falls on the 9 month mark, so here's the standard profile at 37 weeks and 3 days, or a bit over two weeks from the last photo update. The top in this photo is not actually a maternity top but one of several tops I bought last summer, giving in to the extra long t-shirt trend. Is that still the fashion? I wouldn't know...

Maybe that's part of the reason why (knowing I can still technically fit a few pre-pregnancy tops), but for whatever reason, I feel a little better with these latest images. The pics from my grad school graduation last weekend left me feeling like I look more like a female gorilla than myself lately, but I guess that goes with the territory. I don't know if it's related or not, but I've also felt better in terms of general discomfort and sleep deprivation over the past few days. A solid 20 minutes or so of stretching every night, including sitting on a balance ball for awhile, seems to have helped with the hip pain at night, allowing me to sleep for more than a half-hour before rotating. I still feel sleepy at times during the day (and, despite enjoying the new Indiana Jones film more than the third in the series that we re-watched the night before, could have totally fallen asleep about halfway through the matinee yesterday), but I'm hoping this change from last week continues to the end.


It probably didn't help that we were left with half of this cake to finish after my sister-in-law, nephew, and niece went back home after the festivities. I'm not even a cake person, really, usually preferring baked items like cookies and brownies (although I do love buttercream frosting). The cake is from Sweet Maria's, a bakery in central Connecticut (and not Boston, fortunately) that makes some of the best cupcakes around (in addition to not being too dense or dry and their yummy buttercream frosting, they fill each one with a mousse filling of some sort). A cake or a few cupcakes from this place has become a staple of the family visits lately, regardless of whether or not anyone's celebrating a birthday. And the little shred of willpower I might have had pre-pregnancy has completely vanished by now.

Added to the list of unusual (for me) cravings, but consistent with the breakfast theme, is a sudden interest in IHOP. I hadn't eaten there in years, extremely disappointed with my last meal there, but for some reason I suddenly had this urge to go and gave in to that craving yesterday after the movie. I was somewhat disgusted initially but ultimately intrigued by their omelet description, which boasts a dash of their pancake batter thrown in to the egg mixture to make for an extra fluffy concoction. I couldn't taste the batter but my omelet and pancake combo was much better than I remember during my last visit there years ago. And I was full for a solid 6 or 7 hours after.

Anyway, the gorilla comparison is fitting, I think, not only physically, but temperamentally (look at her expression!). Even on my good days, I feel so cranky at times (and this coming from someone who's always been a little on the irritable side, even sans watermelon). I know people mean well, but I have to say, I'm really tired of the whole "your life is going to change forever" line, especially since it almost always comes from someone without children. Duh. Give me something I can use. Offer to bring me a home-cooked meal after my baby's born or sign me up for some maid services. I like what another friend told me recently, a gal with a now four-year old daughter. She said I'll never get everything done in time, I'll never be ready to have this baby, but life will continue. And with that wisdom, I've started prioritizing my to-do list by tackling first the things that freak me out most when I consider the possibility of going into labor in the next hour.

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