Thirty-seven weeks.
Sometimes I think I'm still sort of in denial about being pregnant. It still hits me every once and a while that
Whoa... this is really happening! Of course, the symptoms are obviously kind of hard to ignore at this point... not being able to roll over in bed without great effort, significant fatigue, swelling... not to mention a belly the size of a beach ball that moves on its own.
Joe and I went to the doctor on Friday. Everything is right on track for this point of pregnancy! He said the magic words, too - "If you go into labor now, we're not stopping you." That's right - I'm finally full term.
I look back on all the transitions that we've made during the course of this pregnancy and think
How in the world did we do that? We moved from our host family's home in Bulgaria to our own house in a mountainside village, then we moved from there to stay with our friends for a couple days before traveling back to the States where we stayed with my parents in Virginia for three weeks. Then we moved to Ohio and unpacked the boxes that have been in storage for almost a year now to set up our apartment.
Baby is actually quite well-traveled... During this pregnancy I visited Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Greece. I have flown through London, Vienna, Sofia, and Washington, D.C. and driven what seems like everywhere else in between.
With all of the changes we've made in the past few months it's been hard to really focus on the fact that we're having a baby. It's just been since we've gotten to Ohio that we've really been able to make the preparations that we've been wanting to make... And only in this past
week that we've finally come to the point where we feel like we have a place for our new arrival (more on that later!).
Now we just have to wait for when Baby decides he/she is ready, too!
Baby's grandparents went together on a gift and got us a wonderful travel system. It includes a large stroller, car seat, and car seat base. We've got the stroller set up in our apartment as soon as we got here - it's just such a nice reminder of what (or really, who) is soon to come!
I like getting these baby prep things done. It's comforting to feel like we're finally getting a place ready for our little one. We also (well, I shouldn't say we... it was Joe and Tyler, not me) got our couches moved into our apartment today. It's feeling more and more like home!
Before the day started going downhill, though, we got to have a tour of the OB unit at the hospital where I plan to deliver. We really liked the nurse that gave the tour, and we're very pleased with not only the facility but also their standard of care for obstetric patients.
Joe and I are getting really excited for the big day! First things first, though.... we still have an apartment to get moved in to! Tomorrow, Joe and our soon-to-be brother-in-law, Tyler, are going to get to work rearranging furniture. I can't wait!
