38 weeks 3 days

I am apparently now pregnant in my face, I’m hoping there’s a chance this is a 30 pound baby, and that’s our tub all set up behind me.  I have four shirts that cover my entire belly, and all are meant to be dresses or tunics.

On Saturday I went to a doula training at my midwife’s house to be a volunteer “practice belly” for the doulas to practice palpating and determining baby’s position.  It was actually pretty fun, even though my near-constant Braxton Hicks contractions made it difficult for some of them to feel.  Apparently when I’m on my back you can practically see the outline of the baby’s head.  Everyone was in consensus that baby is ROA (right occiput anterior) – back along my right side, head facing backwards.  Babe has been pretty firmly in that position for a couple of months, so no surprise there.

I still feel like I’m a ways away from actual labor.  I have a couple noticeable contractions a day, but nothing I have to pay attention to.  I’m REALLY excited for the moms to come in this weekend – my mom and John’s mom both come in on Saturday.  I think I might be in a bit of denial about this whole process, like I don’t really realize that the end result of pregnancy is a baby.  An actual living, breathing being that we are going to be responsible for.  I just feel like I’ll be pregnant forever, that this is a permanent state for me.  No big deal.  Last night we got home from a movie and I didn’t want to sit down, I just wandered around tidying up the apartment, and John asked if that meant we’d be having a baby in the next 24 hours.  My first reaction was to think, “Of course not!  How ridiculous to even think that!  A baby, tomorrow – ha!” except that it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.  Babies come out.  Weird.

Well – off to run errands before the midwife appointment this afternoon.  It’s HOT outside.  I’m not a fan of this.