30 weeks down, 9 to go!

This week has been markedly different from the weeks proceeding it – and in mostly good ways. For one, I’m out of work now (not a good thing), so I was able to enjoy the last few days spending time with my stepdaughter, who is with us until Sunday and has been since last Friday. We’ve spent a great deal of time swimming, which has been a huge blessing to me, as it is the one exercise I am amazingly able (and very well-able I might add) to do.

Believe it or not, I think pregnancy has somehow made me a better swimmer! Michael jokes that my belly acts like a fin that gives me more traction in the water LOL but I honestly feel strong – stronger than I have in a long time! (Special thanks to Sherry for getting me off the couch and into the water!) Vanessa really enjoys pool-time, especially the fact that she can “lift” me up in the pool, with me laying on my back on the surface of the water. She gets a very big kick (no pun intended) out of the fact that my belly emerges from under the water like a huge iceberg oddly shaped like her brother. Noah’s kicks and turns can clearly be seen under my black bathing suit which lays flat like a triangle on one side when my belly comes up out of the water and then shows off Noah’s round little back on the other. I have been amazed at how my belly has contorted lately, especially during our pool-time. Needless to say, I will not be posting any pictures of myself to illustrate this entry. Suffice it to say that the only way I could look more like orca or a penguin at the pool is if my bathing suit had a little bit of white on the stomach. Fortunately, my waddle only seems to appear on dry land!

To date, I have gained 21 pounds and with 9 weeks to go, I wonder how much bigger my belly could possibly get. I had an appointment with the OB yesterday who assured me that I am right on target with my weight and that I shouldn’t worry that Noah is a giant given the enormous size of my belly. He said I should think of myself as “gloriously small” and Noah as normal sized. That said, my fundal height has me measuring 1cm big and the OB estimated that Noah is approximately 3 ½ pounds now! He has certainly been packing a bigger punch these days so I suppose that I should not find that surprising.

In other news, which has been very upsetting to me, Michael and I are back at the drawing board now in terms of deciding when to have Noah and who to have deliver him if the choice does turn out to be ours to make. We had all but decided on September 2 with Dr. Silas but much to my dismay, I learned yesterday that that date does not work for him. So now we must decide whether we should change the date or the doctor. I am extremely anxious about making this decision, especially because I had total peace about it before we got the news yesterday. I am hoping that God will answer my prayers quickly, though Michael reminds me that whoever is meant to deliver Noah will – something I don’t doubt.

The countdown continues…