like 2 pigs fighting under a blanket.

38 weeks today. I'm surprised the books & websites actually say anything besides "Seriously, you haven't had that baby yet? Geez." No real baby updates, just reminders of what to bring to the hospital with me (my hospital bag is a little out of control at the moment, I need to remember this isn't a luxury weekend in the Poconos).

My colostrom has come in, which scared the bejeezus out of me. I knew it had to come some day but did it have to appear while watching a Family Guy episode where it was basically 30 minutes straight of Peter singing "The Bird is the Word"? I will forever tie my ability to breastfeed my poor child to that god-awful song. No actual leaking or messiness yet so that's good.

All else is good too. Just large and scary and am prone to nap at a moment's notice. I'm finally kind of out of work mode, but I miss it. I can guarantee that I would be less than useless if I was still working this week. I don't have the brainpower to deal with Dr. Phil and Oprah let alone real people. I only watch cooking shows and Antiques Roadshow because they're mindless pleasure.

My mom gets here in 2 days and I'm super excited!!! I need to get some energy to straighten this place up a bit and get the guestroom looking a bit more inviting. And I get my hair done tomorrow, which will be very nice & relaxing. I have a very selfish hope that I'll go into labour on a good hair day so I will look nice in photos but I'm not holding my breath and am packing a headband in my hospital bag just in case. Maybe a jaunty scarf would be better?

Okay, I'm off. There is some sort of bird rebellion going on in a palm tree in our neighbours yard and those birds have been screeching for 2 hours straight. I'm about to find something to throw at them.

the final countdown

So I'm on maternity leave now. It's freaking me out - it just feels like I'm taking fake sick days and I feel guilty when I leave the apartment until I remember that I'm not playing hooky and I'm not sick so I don't have to be on the couch all day. I also feel unemployed and that's breaking my heart because I love my job. We watched Wolverine on Sunday, followed by the Logie Awards (Australia's Emmy's basically) so RGM's clients were everywhere and I just felt sad that I'm out of their lives for 12 months. I'm going to have to stay in the gossip loop or I'll go crazy.

The baby has finally dropped, which is awesome. No more rib beatings and less heartburn, better breathing, all sorts of fun stuff. Now of course all pain and discomfort is much lower so every time there's a cramp or a pressure I think "Oh, here it is. Here we go - I'm going into labor." But then it passes in 30 seconds and I feel like a drama queen. It's going to get old very quickly.

Our family had the big Skype baby shower on Sunday morning (Saturday night US time) & it was fantastic - I had such a great time! It was so so so exciting to see everyone but it did make me very homesick ... and also very hungry. Loved the presents I got and can't wait to actually get my hands on them!

I'm just in the middle of washing my future son's clothes. I have bought too much but he still has no pants for some odd reason. Lots of onesies, shirts, jackets, socks, etc. but nothing for his legs (except for long-legged onesies) so I'll be making a shopping trip for those soon so he doesn't freeze here in winter. I am also finally going to purchase some maternity/nursing bras so my lovely lady lumps can breathe again. Why have I been so stubborn as to not buy one before now? I don't know. I'm cheap or lazy or something. I did my own home measurements and realise that there is good reason for the pain of my bras since I am at least one cup size bigger and a couple of inches around the band as well - I really didn't think there was that much of a change but I should have paid more attention to Marcel's "Ah-ooooo-ga" noises and the steam coming out of his ears. I'm stupid.

My mom will be here on Sunday and I'm very very excited to see her! I hope I have some energy left when she arrives and I'm not a total mess. My dad arrives one day after my due date (my due date was different when we booked tickets) so I have no hope for myself at that point - I'll either be neurotically waiting for the baby to arrive or panicking over how to handle the baby that has arrived. Neither will be pretty.

Okay, I'm off to wax my stomach. Yes, you read that right - I have this hilarious peach fuzz all over my stomach that didn't exist before pregnancy and I have too much time on my hands so bye bye peach fuzz. Daytime TV is so bad in this country that I would rather rip hair off my body by its roots than watch what passes for entertainment (except Ready Steady Cook, which is also terrible but addicting).

I'll try to get new photos up soon of the stroller, basinnett, etc. but I feel a nap on the horizon so it might be tomorrow before I get around to it. Sorry.