Full Term!

We are good to go...18 days until the official due date! The past few weeks have been filled with interesting and amusing (and most definitely pregnancy-related) developments. First of all, my fatigue has returned full force. This is no doubt due to the fact that school is back in session, though my friends and colleagues at Rashi have made the transition incredibly easy. In our classroom, we currently have 13 students and 3 teachers. Given this ratio, the days are actually quite pleasurable and productive. However, a return to 8-10 hour work days (thanks to a few afternoons of Hebrew school every week) is definitely taking its toll this late in the pregnancy. Moreover, by the end of each day my feet are swollen to nearly three times their normal size. They are tender, sore, and sensitive to the touch. I can really only put them in flip-flops, crocs, or sneakers, and this only because I've gone shopping for bigger shoes! The swelling has been troubling. Besides being uncomfortable, it's making me feel very self-conscious. It's challenging enough to feel so large and clumsy, but the added "weight" of the fluid has made me puffy all over. I look in the mirror sometimes and can barely recognize my own face! I have to admit that I am incredibly anxious about returning to my pre-baby weight. I know it will take some time, but at this moment I feel very conflicted about my body. I wish I could wholly embrace the curves and swells that pregnancy has bestowed upon me, but it's not easy...probably because with the curves and swells have come new dimples, veins, stretch marks, aches, and pains! I'm sure many women at this stage find themselves wondering the same thing: will I ever be the same again? And, of course, the answer is a resounding no. How could a body that has literally built another person ever return to its former state? My unfortunate body image issues notwithstanding, I have to admit the process is remarkable and miraculous and simply incredible. I may be chubby, but I am also astounded. And having a husband that tells me everyday that I am beautiful definitely eases the sting of those moments when I feel quite otherwise! Yet another addition to the already long list of reasons why I love, adore, and appreciate Ethan.

The funniest development of all has been the noises that I have started to make in my sleep. I am not just snoring occasionally, but snorting and honking and even blowing raspberries! I have absolutely no idea what to make of this, but it wakes me up (another contributor to my fatigue?) throughout the night. Even more remarkably, it wakes up Ethan! Those of you who know him are aware that he can literally sleep through just about anything, so my nocturnal antics are that much more impressive. On the other hand, my noises have also been the source of a lot of laughter and good-natured teasing in our house, so I am not all that concerned about it. Hopefully it's one of those things that will come to an end once Wee-Dogg makes her debut!

And speaking of Wee-Dogg, we are getting very impatient to meet her! Many of our friends had their babies early, and the waiting game that we are now playing is torture. Being that I can be a bit of a control-freak, this has been an unbelievably powerful lesson in being literally out of control. I can't even say that I've "ceded" control in this matter; I have no illusions that what I say or do or think has any impact on her arrival whatsoever. I can only hope (fervently) that the baby decides she is ready to introduce herself to us sooner rather than later. I tell her everyday how excited we all are to welcome her into our family and the world. And I know that we should be enjoying ourselves during these last few weeks because, as everybody continues to point out to me, in the end there will definitely be a baby. Their assurance on this point is making it a bit easier to be patient!

Enjoy the photo and video of 39 Olcott Street's "gnarliest of dudes!"