Today marks the first day of baby's 37th week in my womb, and still I am in disbelief that my body has carried him, sheltered him, fed him, and protected him for basically what has been the entire year of 2017. It is so hard to sit here and think of a way to properly express what a rollercoaster of a ride these past eight-going-on-nine months have been. It was February 9 when Ether & I discovered that we were 5 weeks pregnant; today is September 19 and we only have 3 weeks to go before baby is due! I cannot tell you where all the time goes! It makes me even more flustered to think that my baby will be big and grown up before I even know it.
(Side note: It is a good thing that I have a husband who reminds me that baby boy isn't even out of my tummy yet and that I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself! Just the other day I commented on how baby will be getting his driver's license before we know it, going off to college before we know it, etc. Ether had to pull my reigns back a tad! My mommy mind just keeps running on and on and on into the future.)
Anyways, I am so glad to finally have this little space up and running for me to be able to write about this home run stretch, about baby boy, and about the happenings in me and Ether's life. I've always been really good at keeping a journal, but somewhere in between the first 13 weeks of nausea and constant throw-up, the following 13 weeks of energy directed towards obsessive nesting, and these last 10 weeks of really feeling what it means to be in the third trimester (... haha... haha), my journal-writing habits became practically non-existent. But here's me trying to get back into the record-keeping of things because I don't ever want to forget this time in our lives and how excited-nervous-happy-scared Ether & I are about everything: from trying to decide on which stroller to buy, to learning how to install an infant car seat; from not being sure if we should wash baby's clothes in regular or "baby" detergent, to me obsessing over whether our house is clean enough; from feeling baby's very first movements to now very visibly seeing his feet kick out against my body... Everything. I never want to forget everything- every little emotion I have felt for my baby and with my husband. I never want to forget what it means and feels like to grow a family.
They don't call these last few weeks of pregnancy a "HOME RUN" for nothing. Yes, it's tough to sleep. I can't sleep on either side for too long before I wake up with shooting pain from my buttocks down to my calves. Yes, I don't do the dishes now; Ether does. I can't stand up bent over the sink for too long before it feels like my back is about to break. I can't clean the bathroom either, and I can't vacuum the house. I am so thankful for a husband who never once complains about picking up these chores. I am also grateful that he still goes on walks with me around the block...walks that only used to take 10-15 minutes but now take us an entire hour. Hooray for aching + swelling body parts!
All sarcasm aside, however...
What a blessing that my body has been able to give life to this tiny babe inside of me. Pregnancy is full of discomforts, but I love my baby so much that I would go through it all again for him. He is ours, and ours to keep, and Ether and I cannot wait to meet him.
love, Kim
