Honeydew Melon

Today marks 35 weeks. Five weeks to go, give or take the 2-3 week error bars. I can't believe I'm actually far enough along now that those error bars are starting to effect my perception of things. Weird.

In a completely practical sense, we're ready. As in, if the baby were born today, we'd be okay. We have just about everything that we want to have on hand for the first couple of weeks, barring a few things that I've ordered online that are currently on their way to us. The only big thing missing is the crib, and we have a workable substitute for that now, so as pissed as I am about the situation, it's nothing we can't work around. We have a mohel, we've discussed the bris ceremony with the rabbi, we've discussed travel plans with the family, we've finished our baby prep classes. We're good to go.

Understand, however, that I'm not actually saying that we're totally ready in all senses of the word. Leaving aside the "Oh my G-d we're about to become parents!" emotional readiness that I don't think anyone has before the big day, there's still a ton of stuff that I want to get done before baby Barack makes his appearance. I have a big project at work that I'm frantically trying to get done before my maternity leave. We haven't packed our bag for the hospital. We haven't installed the car seat in the car. I have a sewing project that I'd like to finish before I go into labor. We haven't quite agreed on a name. (We have a front runner, which we'd probably just go with if forced to make a decision today, but we'd like to keep looking around some more.) I've done several loads of baby laundry, but there's still a few more loads of wash and sterilizing that I'd like to do in advance. I haven't quite finished the paperwork for my state-sponsored maternity leave benefits. There's still some nursery decorating that I'd like to finish. I'd like to have a nursing bra or two on hand right away, but I'm having a hell of a time finding any that fit. Oh, and the house looks like a tornado disaster area -- I'd like to get it presentable before it gets hit by Hurricane Barack. Nonetheless, these are all things that could be thrown together if need be, or done after the birth, so overall, not too bad.

That's the status. Physically, my hands and wrists are killing me (worst carpel tunnel I've ever had) which is making it difficult to finish that project at work. My feet are swollen beyond recognition. I'm peeing constantly, and often finding it hard to breathe. Overall, though, this all seems pretty mild compared to how bad other women I know have had it during the final month or so. And I'm actually sleeping better than I had been, which is helping.

My advice for comfortable sleep during the third trimester: pillows and a husband to support your belly and back. I am always warm these days, thanks to the built-in radiator that is my unborn child. Despite the heat we've been having lately, I still pile pillows in front of me and under me, to support my stomach as I lay on my side. This tends to heat me even more, though, causing S to retreat far onto his side of the bed, complaining that I am so unbelievably warm that he would burn himself if he touched me. This left me with nothing to support my back (pillows were of limited help there). Now, I super-cool our bedroom every night to near-frozen temperatures. I still feel pleasantly warm, but the frigid air freezes poor S. When we get into bed, he naturally snuggles towards any heat source, which means that he stays put firmly against my back, providing awesome back support for me all night long. Breathing the cold air is giving him a bit of a sore throat, but the decent night's sleep puts me in such better spirits that we've decided it's worth the trade-off. Way to go, S -- taking one for the team! (Not that cuddling with his wife is such a big sacrifice....)