T minus 3 weeks

Pregnancy is in full swing, and I felt great this weekend. Perhaps it was the charm of a short week last week (Monday holiday and working from home Friday), or maybe it was just the fun I had hanging out all day Saturday with Dave as we rearranged the guest room - and when I say "we", I mean "him". We sold some furniture, got some new furniture, repainted the walls, and Dave has a cool idea for a ceiling painting. I love that while Dave rarely paints on canvas these days, he's able to use the walls and ceilings in our house to create beautiful projects. The guest room has been a formal guest room since we moved in, with a big double bed and a mirrored dressing table. This weekend, we said goodbye to all that and moved in a futon. Dave will start seeds up there, and we're talking about moving my sewing space in as well. I'm looking forward to a room that we actually use, instead of one that that cats hang out in. Plus, the best part is that we can still have friends or family stay over, and I'll bet the futon is more comfortable than the guest bed ever was.

Babycenter.com reports that the baby is roughly 19 inches, or the length of a stalk of Swiss chard. That's helpful, but I've begun to doubt the predictions from babycenter. If the baby is already over 6 pounds and 19 inches, then what am I waiting the next three weeks for? I really should turn back to the books that I enjoyed so much at the beginning of the pregnancy. They too go week by week with updates, but I haven't picked them up since some time in the mid 2nd trimester. I've been relying on these online sources instead, and it would probably do some good to go back to the books.

I've been reading fiction instead. I just finished Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read a few of his books, and this one was no disappointment. Thanks to Dave, I picked up the Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood again, and was a little dismayed to be reminded how long it is. I don't expect to have too much reading time this spring, so I might put this one back on the shelf for now and pick up something a little shorter.

For now, I'm planning for 3 more weeks of work, and continuing to get things ready at home. There has been a rush to get everything all prepared by 36 weeks, so there's little left to do. I've got the birth announcements addressed and stamped, just waiting for name, date, and weight to be filled in. The birth supplies are all ready, except for a few little things we need to pick up at the drug store and grocery store. Everything has fallen mostly into place, and while I keep telling people it could be "any day now" there's been no indication that the baby will show up in February.

That reminds me of a phrase that I need people to stop saying. "You look like you're ready to pop!" Seriously? What am I - a water balloon? Are you concerned about your shoes? Stand back, she could blow at any time! I think it's a weird and slightly gross thing to say, and I wish that strangers did not feel the need to state it. My belly isn't about to blow open, showering spectators with goo. If that was how birth actually happened, I bet maternity leave would start a lot sooner.