Full Term

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant and considered to be full term! I have made it! My baby is going to be born soon and be totally fine! I keep thinking back on my whole pregnancy and thinking about all the weeks that I spent checking the tissue for telltale blood and my stomach gripping with fear every time I had a cramp or twinge. I spent a lot of this pregnancy worried that my body would somehow kill my unborn baby.

I had a bad head cold right after Christmas and I worried the whole time that I would give her something that would kill her. I wished and prayed that she would just be born healthy and I could stop worrying about her - then, of course, I smacked myself realizing that I will never stop worrying about her, my life will be full of worries from now until the day I die. I just figure that once she is born, there is less of a chance that I will kill her inadvertently by simply getting a cold.

I see the doctor today and I am planning on heading back to the pool this afternoon for another swim in the blissful weightlessness of the water. I went yesterday for the first time and it was so wonderful! The only bad part was getting out of the pool and feeling every pound I have gained settling back on my joints and bones.

I really hate all the negative stuff that people want to tell you about how horrible the nurses can be and how you should not eat broccoli if you are breastfeeding as it will give the baby horrible gas and how if you eat a lot of salty foods after delivery you will swell up and not be able to pee. I just really think that people are trying you help you be prepared, but so much of this crap they spew at you is mis-information for one thing and highly personal to their bodies, babies and situation.

Here is the thing, if you get a nurse that you are not clicking with, simply ask to have another. You are not locked into having a nurse that you don't care for, so fucking stand up for yourself! Breastfeeding means that everything you eat is, in part, passed along to your baby. If your baby is having gas, then you may be eating something that the baby is sensitive to, like dairy, but hardly ever is the baby sensitive to something like broccoli and a trained lactation consultant can help you determine where the problem is coming from and how to fix it - again, stand up for yourself and get the help that you need!! As for the salty food causing you not to be able to pee - I have a feeling that this woman had this one issue and assumes that everyone must has the same issue, which is a really arrogant way to think really. What happened to her is her own business and has more to do with her own physiologic makeup than anything else. This particular woman stops by my desk almost daily to tell me another "tip", which means another highly personal, situation specific and horrible story! I really try to let her words go in one ear and out the other, and I tell her that everyone is different and I am sure that we will be fine, but she will not stop!!

Gee, I guess she has upset me more than I realized! Sorry about that little rant there :)

Mom told me yesterday that she has done something to guarantee that my daughter will be born in January - she is making this cross stitch sampler that will be framed and on the wall in Smug-Baby's room, it will have her date of birth, her length and weight and her footprints on it. Mom has completed everything except those specifics. Then yesterday, she decided to needlepoint in February in the birth date section, thus now she thinks that this will ensure that Smug-Baby comes in January requiring her to rip out the date. This is kind of funny, but since I want Smug-Baby sooner rather than later, I actually hope it works :)