I wasn’t quite prepared for actually making it all the way through week 40. We are still hanging in here, but definitely ready for this baby to make it’s appearance. S/he has a great heart beat and is measuring right on size; I’m trying to focus on the fact that it is healthy and doing well and just taking it’s time before joining us. The last few weeks have been pretty quiet. We didn’t plan a whole lot starting in late January, unsure of when the baby would arrive. We did host our third annual Super Bowl party for people who don’t really care about the Super Bowl. It’s quite fun. We have a ton of food, lots of conversation, and a little football. The last two years have been a little more football focused since the Seahawks have been contenders. This year Greg and I even got in the spirit (only because I happened to win two hats at a work event the week before). Clearly we are not good luck charms.

The biggest change for me is that as of last week I am now on maternity leave. I’m taking a six month leave of absence, with a return date in mid-August. I have no idea what will happen between now and then and am not stressing about it. We’ll make decisions that make the best sense for our little family. It feels a little like no man’s land right now – I’m eager to move on to this next stage of our life, but it’s not here yet. I spent the week walking, going to yoga, and reading. I’ve read five books already in February and am enjoying the freedom to stop in at Starbucks, have a coffee, and read for an hour. That won’t be the case shortly.

I’m only half joking when I say that my biggest accomplishment was painting my own toenails last week. At 40+2 it was not exactly an easy task.

You can find us on the couch most nights, watching Top Chef. We’ve watched seasons one, two, and three in the last month. I don’t have a ton of energy by the time Greg gets home from work, so our typical evening includes dinner (that I don’t cook because I’m over cooking right now) and two episodes of Top Chef. One night we watched four episodes and felt like awful people, so now we limit ourselves to two, then I read and Greg works on his Lego project or work. I have to say my husband is a saint when it comes to eating dinner. He ate a burger four out of five nights last week because that was the only thing that sounded good to me. I tend to stick to one thing for several nights in a row then move on. We’ve had a lot of Pho this pregnancy (we’re talking two or three nights a week sometimes); I’m curious to see if I ever want to eat it again once the baby is born.

The nursery is done, the bags are packed, we have a pack ‘n play set up in our room, and a changing station upstairs is ready. There’s really nothing left to prepare. Our house is more picked up then it’s ever been, laundry is constantly done and put away, and I’m even reading about how to re-season my cast iron cookware. I’m stretching for ways to keep busy.

I was surprised to see that I actually grew a little more over these last weeks. It makes sense as the baby is definitely putting on weight, but it doesn’t feel like I have gotten much bigger. I had even lost a little weight at my latest appointment (I’ve now gained exactly 30 pounds).

I’m 41 weeks today and have an ultrasound and NST scheduled around lunchtime. The ultrasound will ensure the placenta is still chugging along and the NST will ensure the baby is still doing well. We’ll repeat that again on Thursday at 41.5 weeks. At 42 weeks (next Monday) they will strongly encourage inducing. At the suggestion of my midwives, I have three acupuncture appointments scheduled for this week and my usual massage (she has started to do pressure points but clearly they haven’t helped). I’ve never had acupuncture done before but I’m willing to try anything to avoid being induced, so why not.