Somebody Lied - 9 months and counting

So whoever said women carry babies for 9 months lied, it's closer to 10. I hit the 9 month mark this past weekend with three weeks to go before my official due date.

So my Weeble Wobble post had many of you in stitches while others were concerned about my state of mind. The past week has been better. I'm learning to cope with the discomfort and I'm back to being my blissful self. Right now, the bliss is not so much about being pregnant, just overwhelming excitement about meeting the lady who's been growing in my belly for the last 37 weeks.

I've had two dreams where I've seen her face so it will be interesting to see if she looks anything like the baby in my dreams.


So here I am, 9 months and counting. I've gained 25 pounds, my belly is at 36 centimeters. The baby is running out of room so I feel her every movement, especially when she decides to play hopscotch at 3 a.m.

All Packed

Pregnancy is a lot about crossing things off checklist. The latest on this journey has been the hospital bag list. My friend Emily and I sat in the nursery today and packed two bags, one for me and Baby Daddy and one for the baby. PJs, check. Warm socks, check. Back massager, check. Snacks for Baby Daddy, check!!

I'm not sure when exactly we'll need these bags. It could be anytime in the next two to four weeks. Because I'm a habitual over packer, baby's got about three home-coming outfits packed. One of them was knitted by our dear friend Mr. C., one of Baby Daddy's former engineering professors. When Jervon and I got married Mr. C crocheted a bed spread as a wedding present. It's one of our favorite gifts ever. And when he found out that we had a little girl on the way, he got to work knitting this cute sweater, shorts, booties and hat. The set is complete with receiving blanket and pillow.

We can't wait to see our little princess in her outfit. Hopefully she won't make us wait too long, especially since Baby Daddy is accusing me of holding her hostage in my belly, and my dad is convinced I've been pregnant for a year.

N

Very Very Very Pregnant

So I get it now. Many times you hear women in their 9th month of pregnancy say "get this kid out of me now." For the first 8.5 months I couldn't imagine ever saying that. I've had a pretty blissful pregnancy with lots of joyful moments and very few complications. Like Halle Berry, I had visions of wanting to be pregnant forever. Until this week.

I woke up one morning to find that I was feeling body parts that I didn't know I had. Putting one foot in front of the other to take steps now require serious thought and effort. So by the time I make it to work in the morning shuffling my feet and waddling all the way, I'm spent. It hurts to sit, to stand, to lie down. There is no comfortable position.

With 4-5 weeks left, my belly looks like it's stretched as far as it could go. I just noticed today that my belly button has been reduced to a slight, disappearing slit. But inside, this baby feels like she's getting bigger everyday. And boy do I feel it.

Am I anxious to meet this little woman? Hell yes.
Am I still blissfully pregnant? Pregnant, yes. Blissful? Ask me again when I stop moving like a weeble wobble.

Baby's first Neiman Marcus outfit

As the days when I bought myself beautiful designer outfits slip away, our little lady is being introduced to the likes of Neiman Marcus. My coworkers threw a fabulous shower for me Monday, and among the loot was this too-cute-for-words outfit that my boss ordered from Neiman Marcus. This kid is already so spoiled.

I was also moved by this really cool idea, the brainchild of my friend Sheron. She gave plain white onesies to all the guests and had them design them anyway they'd like. The result was more than two dozen hand-painted baby outfits featuring some sassy, funny, artistic designs. It was fun to see the boys really get into this craft project :)

Enjoy these photos. We had to loads of fun, even though I couldn't have any of the rum punch :)

Nursery Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak at our nursery in progress. Yes, Jervon and I painted those masterpieces you see on the wall. They actually look better here than they do in reality. Well, at least mine does. We'll post photos of the entire room when it's complete .

So Cool

There's a reason my company continues to be named one of the best places to work in America. My coworkers know how to make a pregnant girl feel special. I arrived at our offices this morning to find this poster plastered all over the building, even inside the elevators. The delivery man who was riding the elevator with me had a good chuckle.

Stay tuned for photos from the shower, which I'm sure will be lots of fun.

Vital Statistics

• Gestational period to date -- 32.5 weeks
• Belly -- 32 centimeters long
• Weight gain -- 15 pounds, feels like 51
• Baby's weight -- 4 pounds
• Baby's Heart Rate -- 148 beats per minute
• Time till due date -- 7.5 weeks
• No. of times Baby Daddy has rearranged the nursery - 8