3:24 p.m. - 2006-08-10
A Whole Lotta Mama
Today marks 30 weeks -- 3/4 of the way done, 10 weeks to go. Theoretically, of course -- she could wait it out another 12 weeks, or she could be a good girl, good to her mama, and decide to come in 7 or 8 weeks instead. I'm not even technically a mother yet and already I'm at the mercy of my child.
I'm feeling miserable physically today. I don't feel ill, really, but I feel incredibly big, as though not one more ounce of anything could be packed onto my body. I went out for a huge lunch with coworkers today and put away a massive quantity of food, which hasn't helped. If I listen closely, I can hear the cells of my skin on my stomach groaning and crying out in pain. I can't take very deep breaths, partly due to the fact that I'm sure my ribs are actually compressed into my lungs. When I get up from my desk, the baby weighs very heavily on my lower abdomen, forcing me to waddle even more pronouncedly. The sciatica is also worse this week, so the waddling is pretty damn slow. Truly, I'm a sight to behold.
Baby gifts keep coming in. At last night's HR meeting (the monthly mentoring group I'm involved with), they surprised me at the end with a beautiful cake and a gift card to Babies R Us. It was so much fun to be surprised like that. I was also back at BRU over the weekend to add a few more things to the registry. One thing I haven't added, and probably won't add, is a breast pump. My friend Karly, who's due the day after me, and I agreed that it's a hard decision to make this early, not to mention the difficulty in composing the thank you note for the person who gave it to you ("Dear Aunt Mildred, Thank you for the lovely breast pump. I will think of you every time I use it.").
