39 weeks 3 days pregnant...I still blink in awe as I type it. It is hard to believe I am finally here, a full-term pregnancy, and likely just days away from meeting my son.
Just a couple days ago I had a moment where I was lying in bed...in the same position I was in when I snuggled up next to JT and told him we were pregnant eight months ago. And even though JT wasn't physically there to share it, I had this overwhelming love, relief, and gratitude surge through me. How for we have come...how incredible the experience has been...how much we've grown through the process...how much we love this child who has been a part of me since January, but is still such a mystery to us...
It made me the tiniest bit sad that the pregnancy is nearing its end. Feeling our baby move, hearing his little heart inside of me, all the aches and pains and inconveniences of pregnancy that reassured me there was a little somebody in there growing...I wouldn't trade any of that for the world! Never getting to experience that is what made me most sad about the thought of not being able to conceive or carry our own child. It's what makes my heart break for others who are in the throws of infertility. Not having the chance to be pregnant was something I feared and cried about...a lot. Which maybe sounds weird. Yes, there are other ways to become a parent. Yes, I am sure they are incredibly rewarding. Yes, I could find a way to live happily-ever-after without ever being pregnant. But, I had people ask if my goal was to become a parent or become pregnant. I'm not mad that they asked, but that's a terrible question. Is it so bad to have wanted both? (Do you want a marriage or a wedding?? Okay, not exactly in the same ballpark, but sort of...)
I am so humbled and grateful that I got to be pregnant. And no matter what, I will always look back on this time in our lives fondly. I know it sounds a bit morbid to say "no matter what, "but even now...at the very end of the pregnancy...when I keep telling myself it has all gone fantastically well and has no reason to not end the same way...I am still afraid of that jump between being a pregnant parent and a parent of an in-my-arms-baby. I am eager to meet him and try to envision that moment, but just like it's been throughout the pregnancy, my happy thoughts are punctuated with irrational fears that something could go wrong....even though I KNOW it's going to be alright.
That all being said, I am going to soak up these last days of being pregnant. I am going to cherish every wiggle. I am not going to wish him out anymore like I was doing a week or two ago (I feel soooo much better this weekend than I have in awhile...maybe that's just knowing I don't have to go to work this week). I am just going to be ready to welcome him to the world when he decides to make his entrance. And I can't wait! But, I totally can.
