Let's Do The Time Warp Again

This past week I was working on updating my Belly Book pregnancy journal, reviewing past blog entries to double check on certain dates and events when I came across this: "I am continuing to stay hopeful I will hold Snow Pea in my arms, happy and healthy very soon. 9 weeks down, 31 to go." Now take that time line and reverse it. Holy crap, right? I .mean, WOW! seriously, has that much time passed already? In all fairness, I am not officially 31 weeks until this Saturday but still, the time reversal applies. My baby girl will be here before I know it! And there have been lots of little ways I have been reminded of that lately.

Shopping for instance. I was at the store today and had lots of big reminders of my nearing due date in my face as soon as I walked in the door, namely lots and lots of Easter gear for sale. Snow Pea is due 3 weeks before Easter so seeing plastic eggs, wicker baskets and pastel candies everywhere really made me notice that she will be here sooner rather than later. Of course, I know retail sores do tend to push this stuff on to the shelves way before it's necessary, but even though I always mock the early holiday sales, those events do tend to get here quicker than I expect.

We also have finally begun preparations on Snow Pea's room. We live in a two bedroom and we've had quite a few guests in the past couple of months, so we delayed converting our guest room for a little while so that our visitors would have a comfy bed to sleep on. After visiting for two fantastic weeks, my little sister just left yesterday and by the end of the night our guest bed had found a new home. Today, I began boxing and moving all of our books and Friday we have painters coming to turn the wall from neutral to nursery. I can't wait to really get this room going and see it go from an office/guest room into our baby's room! I promise to post updates and pics.

Yet another reminder of just how close my due date is getting, tomorrow is our last childbirth class. It feels like we just started them and now they are already at an end. This past Sunday we also had a tour of labor/delivery and the mother baby unit at our hospital. It was so exciting to see the rooms that Snow Pea will be born in. The rooms are really nice and some even have gorgeous ocean views. I know I am probably a freak but I am starting to get so excited about the birth! Not just the end result of finally meeting my daughter face to face, I am also excited to experience labor and delivery itself! I know I might not still feel this way when it really does get close though, so feel free to remind me I said this. The tour made me realize I am a little behind on preparing though. Apparently I should have pre-registered at the hospital by now and I have yet to do that but luckily it's as easy as mailing in a form and a copy of our insurance card so I am not worried about getting it done.

Oh and last week I got to see my OB again, and this time I saw MY doctor and not his annoying alternate. This visit went so much better than the last. Dr. Casual continued to be true to his nickname and was very relaxed and laid back throughout the visit. We discussed how classes were going, our search for a pediatrician and touched on some basic labor preferences like whether I'd like an epidural. He did a short ultrasound that showed Snow Pea is currently breech but he said chances are she will turn head down in plenty of time for delivery since only about 3% babies that are breech at this point still are by the time they are full term. Then he pointed out the position of her head inside my tummy and showed Chad and I so that we could actually grab her head through my skin! It was crazy! Very weird and surreal but also kind of cool.

I am sure some of you are also wondering if Dr. Casual discussed the weight concerns with me but he didn't even mention it and I didn't bring it up. I am officially of the position that my last appointment had much more to do with water retention than anything because at this visit I was a full four pounds lighter than the last. This just reaffirmed for me that I will not be seeing Dr. Inconsiderate again if I can help it and that all of you were completely right when you told me not to worry. Thank you so much to everyone that sent comments of support. You have no idea how much it really did help.

Overall, though I just can't stop thinking about that blog I wrote at 9 weeks and how much has happened since then. It feels like some sort of crazy time warp sometimes. Honestly, it feels like just yesterday I was anxiously writing about my beta results, still in utter disbelief that this FET worked and now here I am anxiously searching for a pediatrician and hoping I can get the room finished in time. Part of me can't wait for Snow Pea to be here but another part of me will be sad to see this time come to end. As an infertility and IVF survivor I have definitely had a different and sometimes more anxious pregnancy than many others may have, but overall I truly have enjoyed being pregnant these past 7 months. It has been a dream come true. From seeing the 1st flutter of a heartbeat to feeling those 1st flutters to experiencing real kicks and the bonding that comes with them, there have been some amazing moments so far. Sometimes I wish I could take a jump to the left and a step to the right to relive some of those magical moments of this pregnancy all over again. Luckily, I still have 2 months left to enjoy and I will definitely soak up every second.



P.S. My hubby started a project 365 that will follow us in 2011 through a picture a day. Please stop by and take a look! It started on January 1st so feel free to scroll back see what we've been doing so far this year. http://greggpad.blogspot.com/

We also have a baby website with more belly and u/s pics as well as a timeline of Snow Pea's growth and a doppler video. I will continue to update it with news and pictures so please stop by if you're interested! http://snowpea.ourbabychannel.com/