Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.

Friday, July 02, 2010

39 weeks

39 weeks today... As a comparison, I'm going to start with the 37 week picture (these are not pregnancy clothes, by the way -- they were my pajamas, actually):



Now here's 39 weeks. Notice that this time I didn't wipe down the mirror...


One thing I've been struck by is how much posture makes a difference in how I carry. Here's a shot of me slumping:
Suddenly baby looks much bigger. The moral? Stand up straight.

As I strolled the other evening, I indulged in a pretty little fantasy that this might be the last time I'd be nine months pregnant. I have other mind games I play: I've predicted the day baby will be born based on the steady patterns of the last four. This is a dangerous frame of mind to be locked into, as if there's one thing that can't be predicted it's a birth, and yet it's always worked this way in the past... But once I start questioning my scheduling predictions, everything is up for grabs. What if baby has six fingers on one hand? What if she's deaf? What if she's born with Down's Syndrome or Tay-Sachs disease or a tooth? This is the dumb stuff that keeps me up at night.

And then, on the night of the full moon I laid in bed and watched the moon glowing behind the clouds that blew in wisps and masses across the sky. Every now and then a pair of bats would swoop past my window, darting and twining. How appropriate it would be for baby to come tonight, I thought, especially since her name is connected with the moon. But the hours passed and baby slept resolutely, and finally I did the same.

4 comments:

TS said...

Wow you are close. Although not based on the photos.

I predict either St. Thomas's day or St. Maria Goretti's as the delivery date.

Jordana said...

I know babies are always a gift and always quite lovely, but I do have some fanciful daydreams about never being 9 months pregnant again. And then reality slips back in and I know that is highly unlikely -- our track record not being so good with the whole NFP thing.

As for predicting an actual delivery date -- my only prediction for myself is that it will be after my due date.

BettyDuffy said...

You are Tiny! I can't believe you are so small with a fifth baby.

Emily J. said...

Ditto BD. It looks like you're about 17 weeks. Are you sure you didn't miscalculate?

Blessings for an easy delivery -- looking forward to hearing news of the arrival!