Being pregnant can make you a little (or sometimes a lot) whiny, if you let it. So, to try and stem the tide of whininess for a while, I'm going to stop and tally up the things I appreciate about this particular time around.
1. As my lovely sister (you know who you are!) pointed out, my belly isn't sticking straight out this time. Personally, I think this makes for way fewer stretch marks.
2. When I was incapacitated with back pain (never sew on the floor when you're pregnant!), I had some wonderfully helpful children making lunch, bringing me heating pads, and otherwise catering to my needs. Thanks kids!
3. I had a great baby shower - totally low-stress (I hope for everyone else, as well as myself.), with some of my very best friends (also all relatives). Accepting gifts usually feels kind of awkward for me, but it helps when you know everyone loves you and actually wants to be there. Now I just need to buy the crib to put my beautiful new baby quilt in!
4. Some people may want to blame my occasional rants on my pregnancy, but this one has actually had pretty little impact on my emotional state. (I guess I just admitted that I'm always this crazy?) Very good. No one enjoys being a bawling basketcase.
5. We haven't just moved into a new house, AND we have no impending moves for at least a year! For my last four children, we either moved right before or right after they were born. One week after Sofia, 3 weeks before Annika, 3 months after Jonny and 2 weeks before James. Packing or unpacking while you're nine months pregnant or with a small infant...not good. Not productive. You just spend a lot of time feeling overwhelmed by boxes and babies.
We may have a few boxes still lingering around from last year's move, but they just blend into the scenery for me now. :)
6. The scale is currently out of order (so I may have to update this after my next Dr. visit), but, to the best of my knowledge, I haven't hit 160 lbs. yet. And if I do, I'm going to totally blame it on my swollen ankles! (I'm sure they're retaining a couple of pounds each!) It isn't really a weight to be excited about (when you are 5'1"), but I have super low expectations.
7. It has been really fun to share this pregnancy with my kids and see their excitement to welcome a new baby into our home...especially the older kids, who may actually remember this some day. I hope a couple of them are able to be there for the birth - but not Anthony, who (much to my relief) said he would rather wait at home with the little kids. Whew!
8. Tony WILL get to be there! (That is, assuming that this will be a nice, lazy labor, so that he can get home from work in time...because that is almost definitely where he will be when I go into labor.) It's a minor miracle to be present for the births of six children during a Navy career, and he was especially likely to miss this particular one, considering the type of submarine he's on now (fast attack!) We knew the risk when we decided to get pregnant, and we're grateful that it has worked out in our favor.
9. Comic relief for the family. Every time I cough, my belly button pokes out like a turkey timer. They all think it's hilarious.
10. This sweet little girl hasn't done any too painful gymnastic moves while in utero. (The painful coughing was totally not her fault.) I hope I haven't spoken too soon (at least 3 weeks left), but it's nice to feel and watch the first movements of your child without having to wince.
So, now all that's left is the actual childbirth experience. I'm hoping for a Sofia experience, where, as they placed her in my arms for the first time, I said, "That wasn't so bad. I could totally do that again some day!" instead of an Anthony experience, when I told Tony that I was never, ever going to go through that again. He seconded the motion, so it's amazing that we have more than one child. I told my midwife that the next time I wanted to have a baby, I was going to get another cat. I'm sure she thought I was horrible. Thank you, Sarah, for showing me how it was supposed to be done, so that I could muster the courage to try again!
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