Full-term-itis

We braved an almost-38-weeks-pregnant photo shoot yesterday with Sadie and here's one of the products. We learned a few things during our photo shoot, namely that Sadie will probably much more amendable to the whole thing if we do it before 6:00 p.m., which is not her most cheery and cooperative hour. To be perfectly honest, it's not mine either. But, I love the picture, which really captures something of Sadie's obsession with my belly. She's actually obsessed with her own belly and Jeff's belly, too, but mine is easiest to kiss.

Sadie's been a real sport about the changes we've already instituted. As the pediatrician suggested, we finally weaned Sadie off the bottle. (I will note we were supposed to do it about 9 months ago.) So now she's officially a sippy cup user and no more bottles. I am curious to see what she does when she sees her little brother drinking from a bottle at some point in the future, but since he's not here, that's not a top priority worry. Actually, the whole reason we spurred ourselves to action to wean off bottles was because we notice that when Sadie says words her tongue often gets in the way. And, while it may be a coincidence that she sticks her tongue out in the exact same way when she is drinking a bottle, the last thing I need on my resume is "Gave Her Daughter Speech Impediment Because Too Reluctant To Let Go Of Bottle Routine."

Here's hoping it's not too late.

As for this little brother of hers, may I just say, "Where the hell is he, already?" I had two very satisfying contractions on Saturday night at the Capital Grille, where Jeff and I went for a little date night. Right as the entrees were served, my whole stomach tightened up and I felt that familiar memory of pain. Painwise, it was only a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10, but it certainly woke me up and reminded me that this is all very, very imminent. Since there, there have only been a few Braxton Hicks, the jokers of the labor world.

At our doctor's appointment yesterday, I was hoping to have dilated even more, but the doctor said I am really only at 1 cm still. She said it was a very "soft 1", but still only a one. I tried hard not to be disappointed that I wasn't at 4 cm and 75% effaced. My doctor, who is on to me and how much I want to control this, reminded me very gently that there is nothing else I need to be doing and nothing is wrong, but my body is just doing what it has to do.

Jeff and I celebrated MLK, Jr. day by going to see a starchy British movie, the King's Speech. When I wasn't worrying whether Sadie would end up having to have a speech therapist like King George, I was able to appreciate the marvelous acting of Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth, who has never done it for me. It was so fun to spend the afternoon at the movies with Jeff that even if he insisted we see some inane boy flick starting Vince Vaughn, I will would have enjoyed it. It might not have inspired me like the King's Speech, but I would have enjoyed it. We also got to spend some extra time with Sadie and friends, Frank and Joyce, who stopped by to expose Sadie to their goodness since she may wake up one day soon and find them helping her out of her crib instead of me and Jeff when Project Labor Part Deux commences. We are blessed to have friends who love Sadie and want her to be comfortable when we can't be there.

So, this is the vista from 38 weeks. The childcare plan for Sadie is taking shape, my belly is rounding evermore (as seen above) and I have developed a new and curious symptom: jaw pain. What the hell jaw pain has to do with pregnancy is beyond me, but a quick internet survey indicates that jaw pain during pregnancy is distressingly common. It started on Friday night and it's mostly on my left side. Some of the internet information indicates it may have something to do with sinuses. I have never really had jaw pain before and it's super intense. It isn't stopping me from eating, but it's slowing me down. I had the fantasy that maybe my body was so confused about what it needs to do, it may have thought that the baby was coming out of my mouth. Last time, afterall, I had hip and pelvic pain. For now, I will give my body a little more credit than that, but I'm nervous about the provenance of this jaw pain, as well as the duration.