40 weeks

It's Due-Date-Day!

Baby is still snug inside, though.

I was looking back at the last picture I took wearing this shirt, at 30 weeks.  What a difference 10 weeks makes!

{I've never had a baby before, so I suppose I could be wrong about this week's letter.  Maybe when I hold this baby in my arms I will love him or her more than I do now, and maybe more each day after that.  I really don't know.  But I am pretty sure that it won't have anything to do with accomplishments and achievements.  I could be wrong.  But I don't think so.}

39 weeks

The nursery walls are painted.

The crib is assembled.

The changing table is set up.

There are still many things that should be done that haven't been done yet.

But my feet hurt.  And my hips hurt.

So anytime this baby wants to come is okay with me.

But Nathan asks it to please wait until he finishes his 20 page paper that's due next Wednesday.

I guess we'll see which one of us the baby respects more.

38 weeks

It's suddenly struck me how weird it is that this baby could come tomorrow, or it could come in a month.  That is a really big span of time, right?

At this point, sooner already sounds better than later to me.

{this is my "I feel like a beached whale" face}

37 weeks

Recently I stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up a few things.

People, it is now possible to buy eggs and yogurt with sell-by dates stamped on them that are after this Baby's due date.

This discovery blew my mind a little.

36 weeks

I was looking back at my earlier weekly dear baby letters, and while I remember thinking I was getting huge weeks and weeks ago, now I see those pictures and realize... that was nothing!

Will I look back on these pictures in four more weeks and think the same thing?

A frightening prospect! I'm already finding it difficult to put on my socks in the morning, or to reach down for the shampoo on the floor of the shower. And I recently stepped into a public restroom stall and went to close the door, only to find that I bumped it into my belly instead and had to do some maneuvering to get the door shut.

{Awkward, yes.}

35 weeks

It's Holy Week, and that means lots and lots of hours spent in church, since both Nathan and I sing in the church choir. Just between yesterday and this evening, I think we spent seven hours in church services.

It's funny, I don't remember all the standing making my back and my feet ache as much last year. I don't recall the singing, or even just breathing for that matter, being so difficult. And I certainly don't think that last year I would have almost toppled over during the slow processing.

I suspect that all of this has something to do with a few {cough cough} extra pounds weighing me down, a little baby bottom pressed against my lungs, tiny feet kicking me in the ribs, and my center of balance being considerably abnormal these days.

34 weeks

This week was Recital Week around here. Nathan and I had the crazy idea of doing both our graduate recitals on the same weekend. What were we thinking?

At home last night after Nathan's recital:

This afternoon at my recital:

And now, I intend to sleep. I'll be honest: if I didn't have an orchestra concert tomorrow afternoon (my last grad school orchestra concert!), I might not get out of bed tomorrow at all.

33 weeks

Is it just me, or have I practically doubled in size since my 30 weeks post?

The past few days have been increasingly uncomfy. Suffice it to say, how do you like my fake smile in these pictures? I tried my best to look like a glowing mother-to-be, but when I look in the mirror these days, I usually think I resemble a hot air balloon or a blimp more than a human being.

If I can make it through the next eight days without crashing and burning, I am going to be so completely relieved that I think I'll be perfectly happy, no matter how uncomfortable the next 7-ish weeks become. Free as a bird, that's how I'll feel.

Now to go finish my program notes and get in a couple of hours of practicing...

32 weeks

Life is pretty crazy right now. I have my master's recital in two weeks, and before that I have to turn in my {hopefully} well-researched program notes and be prepared for my oral exam.

Stress.

When it's all behind me, I intend to think about my baby, my house, and getting a garden started for the spring and summer.

I also intend to sleep a lot.

P.S. Believe it or not, this shirt is not a maternity shirt. Bought it in the regular section of H&M on sale for only a few dollars.

31 weeks

My friends, I'm convinced that it is the best of times to be pregnant... at least as far as clothing is concerned. All those loose, drape-y, flow-y tops people are wearing? Incidentally, they will fit pregnant women just fine, I have found.

This top, for instance, is a regular old non-maternity shirt bought at Target on clearance. {Size small, no less.}

I still find that I can wear a lot of my regular clothes these days... although not pants. Definitely not pants. But skirts, dresses, tops, and sweaters? Sure.

So quick, before mini-shirts come back into style: this is the time to be pregnant, I'm telling you. Because you know all you have to do is mention the word "maternity" to double the price of an article of clothing, and why would you want to do that? And why would you want to spend money on a new wardrobe for only a few months of your life, if you don't have to?

{you can thank me later for the frugal maternity fashion advice.}

30 weeks

This week's pictures were taken in a hotel room. Yep, it's our annual "vacation," a.k.a. the time of year when Massachusetts music educators pay for Nathan to be the All-State chorus accompanist and put him up in a hotel room in Boston. Sure, it's only 30 minutes from home, but what kind of person would I be if I turned down a free hotel stay? So I like to pretend it's a three-day vacation, even though I have grad school, teaching, and the usual activities going on.

29 weeks

The problem with having a busy life is that I usually don't have time to snap a weekly photo until late in the evening, and let's just say that the bedroom ceiling light is not conducive to particularly good pictures. Oh well. I think my ever-expanding girth is apparent, even with poor lighting.

28 weeks

While there seems to be some disagreement about whether the third trimester begins at 27 or 28 weeks, it would seem that I am now most definitely in it no matter how you look at it. Third trimester, already? In the early weeks of pregnancy it all seemed to go so slowly; now the weeks are flying by.

{Hopefully you can't tell from the pictures that my nose is actually a shade of pinkish red from all the nose-blowing I've been doing lately. I'm so ready to be over this cold!}

27 weeks

You may notice that if the picture on the left is any indication, it's possible that I'll be outgrowing the mirror pretty soon.

Or maybe I just take crooked pictures when I'm not actually looking through my camera.

So I don't actually think I'll be outgrowing any mirrors anytime soon, but clothes? Yes. Over the past couple of weeks I've been taking clothes I have no chance of wearing in the near future upstairs to a spare closet. It's nice to have my bedroom closet a little more sparse, actually, and to know that the things in it are all things I can actually wear. Makes the morning routine a little easier.