Week 35: Quick Update

Yesterday marked the official one-month-away date. Truth be told, I'm still not in a big hurry at the moment to jump off the high dive and take the plunge. I recognize that the greatest reward at the end of everything is that I will be to hold our little guy. A precious new life. But since I've never done this before, it's hard for me to really and truly know and appreciate with every atom of my being how this ultimate reward will compensate for all of the other things that come along with it. So, I'm focusing now on positive things that I *do* understand.

I put together this small list of things that I can look forward to post-pregnancy. While they don't dramatically alter my reservations and alleviate my fears, they help me move ever closer to the end of that high dive.

Getting through it all means that I will:

1. be able to wear a belt again. It seems like a small thing, but I am sick and tired of constantly pulling up my pants. If I find a pair that accommodates my circumference, it's too large in the legs. As a result, they're always falling down and I'm always hiking them back up. I have never appreciated how much critical an accessory the belt is.

2. get up from the couch in under 3 minutes without the use of a winch or other mechanical devices. In the last month I have gone from just having to give myself and extra oommph to get up to needing a lever and fulcrum... or the strong arm of Joe. Either way, it's embarrassing and demoralizing.

3. have a single chin, as opposed to extra one that I've gained along with jowls.

4. close up ALL the buttons on my coat, as opposed to the single one at the top. I'm not exaggerating--it looks ridiculous.

5. walk around the block without getting lapped by a slow moving neighbor and her 3-legged dog. climb a flight of stairs without getting winded. no further elaboration needed.

6. reach my feet well enough to clip and file my own nails. these days I can just barely reach, even sitting on the floor, but I have to hold my breath and get to work as quickly as possible before I need to "come up for air" again.

7. enjoy a fully functioning digestive system. no one likes to talk about this, but it is a reality. no more burping or bloating, re-gained ability to eat more than 5 bites of food at one time, and the glorious return of peristalsis

8. wear underwear that has a letter other than "L" on the tag. the "L" does not stand for Liz. cute as it may be, none of my garments have my initials in them.

9. recognize my legs as legs and not summer sausages.

10. shed the baboon breast syndrome, meaning that my breasts will once again be supported by a flattering, shapely bra instead of permanently resting on my basketball sized stomach like a baboon's.

Here's to getting through the next four weeks and leaping off that board with anticipation, courage and overwhelming excitement.