I am now officially 36 weeks, so the countdown until the baby comes has now commenced. It's just incredible to think of how far we have come, because it seems like just yesterday I took the pregnancy test. I am getting bigger by the day and am finding more common tasks difficult. It feels like I am always bending over a beach ball if I try to bend and do anything. I still sleep really well, and am always up for a nap. And for the most part am still really comfortable. I guess I expected to be more uncomfortable at this point so close to having him. I have been so blessed by God to have had the pregnancy that I've had. Even if the next 4 weeks are miserable, I have still had a great experience. We are both getting really excited. It's getting so much closer now, and it's hard to believe that sometime in the next 5 weeks or so, we'll be parents. I am getting torn between wanting him out so that I can see and hold him, and wanting him to stay in a little longer so he's not premature and has problems. I have been having contractions now for the last 3 weeks or so. They are still painless for the most part, but have picked up a little bit in the last week or so. Now hopefully they will start to do something, and even get more intense to help make it an easier labor for me by making me dilate before hand.
I am also officially disabled as of thursday the 17th. The state of California will start to pay you disability 4 weeks prior to your due date and it's a use it or lose it situation. So, I finished work at the earliest possible time I can, and I'm getting paid for it. I started my disability off with a wonderful pedicure to ensure that my disabled feet look good for the job. I probably wouldn't have left work at 36 weeks if I could have been guaranteed to work in OB, but there was no guarantee. There are a number of patients in the ER who don't care that I'm pregnant in their confused, violent, or belligerent state. Plus it's a lot harder to get around and do some of the things that I need to do at work. So, it works out. Now I have time to finish projects around the house and can get everything ready for the baby to come.
We have the baby's room pretty much decorated now. I made the curtains, and put together the bookcase. The crib and changing table my mom and I put together a month ago. I also made a few other decorations around the room. I am proud of how it turned out. We just have to get the bedset in the room and the comforter up on the wall. After that we plan to have one of our pregnancy pictures framed and placed in the room as well. It has been a lot of work for a child who will probably never remember his room as a baby, and will not really appreciate it. Although I did discover today that the chair we bought is a good chair for sleeping because when I sat down to take a break, I promptly fell asleep. I'm sure that some good sleeping will happen in that chair in the future.
So I will continue to be disabled, and we will continue to have dr's appointments every week from now until he is born. I have a baby shower on the 30th, when I am 38 weeks. For now my days will be filled with trying to do my prenatal yoga DVD, meeting my goal of walking 2 miles a day, and cleaning the house in preparation for him to come. All this while continuing to grow him.
