37 weeks....

Here I am at 37 weeks. Some of you older moms will probably say that I've "dropped." I can't tell in how I look, but I can tell by how often I have to go the bathroom. =) The little guy's head is definitely pushing down on my bladder more. My doctor says that my cervix hasn't opened yet, and he's also saying that Seth isn't a big baby. He thinks he'll be a little over 7 lb. at full term. I was a little confused by this at first because I was an 8 1/2 pounder and my brother was over 9 lb., but then I talked to my mother-in-law. Even though David was 3 weeks late!!!, he was only 7 lb., and his brother was the same way. That puts things into better perspective, I guess. I'm certainly not complaining if he's small, as long as he's healthy. The picture's a little crooked here, not the pictures on the wall, but this was the best hurried shot I could get before I left for church.

It's a rainy, gross, grouchy day outside, but that kind of weather just encourages me to post blogs and write emails for some reason. So here I am, with my cuppa hot tea, avoiding the mountain of 8 loads of laundry that I have to do. Thanks to the wonders of apartment laundromats, it won't take that long to do, just a long time to fold. And I also really need to get started on some thank you notes today. Because I am thankful for your generous baby gifts; I just need to put feet on that gratitude.

It wasn't an exciting weekend, I'm afraid. David came down with the stomach flu on Saturday afternoon. I'd been merrily tripping around Arlington, running errands on a balmy, 70 degree day, and when I came in, practically whistling, I discovered that my husband had come home from work and was lying in the bed, miserable. Poor guy. He threw up a few times, felt better, and then spent the weekend eating saltines and 7-Up. I went to church without him on Sunday, but by Sunday night, he felt good enough to take a walk and watch a movie. I followed him around with bleach cleaner and rubber gloves, and I'm hoping that I don't get the bug. Hopefully Baby and I have escaped it.

One thing we did do this weekend was read baby books. Now, I'd already read plenty of pregnancy books, but a few weeks ago, it dawned on me that perhaps I need to read some books about how to actually care for the baby once it comes out. So... we pulled out some standards. David has been reading "Babywise" (spare me the gagging and horrified looks-it's just one thing to check out) on the Metro on the way to and from work. I have really gotten a kick out of him telling me things he's learning when he gets home. He's fascinated by the miracle of breastmilk. =) I went out and bought "The Baby Whisperer." I read it this weekend, and David finished "Babywise" and moved on to "What to Expect during the First Year" for practical things like how to bathe Baby and take care of his umbilical cord, etc. I enjoyed the Baby Whisperer, and I think I've determined that one thing that a lot of these books have in common is doing the eat, play, and then sleep routine. How rigid they are about how you do this or how long it should be between cycles is the difference in them, I think. Also, the Baby Whisperer doesn't want you to leave your baby's room while he cries in his crib on his way to Dreamland. She seems to pick up and comfort and then put down as soon as comforting has worked, almost 100 times a night if necessary. Both methods don't encourage letting your baby fall asleep in your arms on a regular basis, and they encourage putting your baby to sleep where you want them to wake up so they don't get disoriented in the middle of the night. I think I've come away from it all knowing that I want to have a form of schedule, but I'm not sure exactly how that will look for us. I also know that I don't want to do the "family bed" thing. I don't think I would get any sleep if I was constantly worrying about rolling over on Baby, and I'm a light sleeper anyway. All I know is that I now have all this information to use, and I like having that. It makes me feel more prepared. I know the baby will come, and I might panic and forget everything I read, but I have a feeling of slight control at the moment, and I'm going with that for now. =)