Thoughts on Being 37 Weeks Pregnant

It feels like I’ve been pregnant FOREVER now, doesn’t it? A bit of seasonal confusion is probably not helping since we had summer in New Zealand in March and now a cold foggy winter in San Francisco in July. Also aided by the fact that everyone I knew who was pregnant had their baby weeks ago. Instead of posting outfit details (I’ve given up on buying new clothes) I’ll switch to sharing random observations until the baby comes. This is such a strange time, and I’m sure will seem only stranger when I look back on it later.

• I put myself together in this nicer outfit for our hospital tour at UCSF – which was a bit overwhelming. This brand new maternity ward is marketed as being nearly a luxury spa. However, at the end of the day it is still a hospital and the reality of going to a hospital and staying there (which I’ve never done before) is intimidating. I try to think of my grandmothers who both loved the attention of it all and commanded great audiences from their hospital beds.

• I’ve never been better groomed in my life. I take a long lavender epsom salt bubble bath every day to help with the swelling in my hands and feet, and general achiness of having gained nearly 40 pounds.  My nails are perfectly polished, I’m lotioned head-to-toe, hydrated like a starlet and I blow out my thickened pregnancy hair twice a week. This will certainly not last.

• My energy levels seem to be constantly battling my body. My normal pace of keeping active, working, cooking, walking miles and finding new adventures hasn’t abated but can only seem to take on two things a day before falling apart bodily. The loss of my hands to temporary pregnancy arthritis is the hardest. I would be happier sitting back if I could embroider or do something with my hands. Still, I have loved working from home even more these last few weeks. I can’t imagine having to go to a job each day and keep it together without naps and all kinds of chairs and couches to choose from.

• Pre-natal yoga continues to be a godsend for both stretching out my sore body and relaxing my mind. I’m now the most pregnant in the class and the one who gets to intimidate the excited 14 week pregnant newbies who had planned on complaining about their weight gain. I’m also still mountain biking a bit. Rob took me to Tennessee Valley in Marin last weekend to ride the relatively flat beach trail.

• The baby is now head down and her favorite trick is stretching her very long legs out all the way so that her back is pushed against one side of the belly and her foot jabs out a few inches on the other side. This terrifies and impresses strangers on the train.

• I outgrew one of my biggest maternity shirts yesterday.

• In general, life is very good right now (the sun even broke through the fog as I typed that!). I sleep pretty well except for two wake-ups around 12:30 and 3:00 – I hope the baby returns to this schedule. Braxton hicks contractions are fairly constant – I try to see them as good practice. My days are quietly filled with watching Tour de France race through small villages, eating string cheese, pregnancy teas, ice water and my weight in ripe tomatoes and nectarines.