In case I haven't complained to you directly yet, my midwife told me to be prepared for Jonah to be 10 days late at least. Apparently, first babies generally take their time arriving. Am I the only one that was completely unaware of this? My body isn't really giving much sign that it plans on laboring any time soon, but I still stubbornly cling to my little hope that Jonah will be the exception to the rule.

Kevin and I went to a wedding last Friday for a guy that he works with. I felt a little weird at first about going to an event that would be packed with people I didn't know, but it turned out to be a good time. I dressed in black in hopes of seeming less enormous and awkward but I think that effort was entirely useless. The ceremony was held in the old chapel on campus (very pretty), the food was awesome, and Kevin and I even danced some, which was just as funny as it was fun. How do you dip a woman who is nine months pregnant? YOU DON'T. Lesson learned.
(Picture provided in case you thought I was kidding about being enormous and awkward. See what I mean about the snowman phenomenon?)

Things haven't changed too much since my last post. I'm still very pregnant - so much so that I cannot leave the house without a stranger or two making a comment to me. I have varying levels of patience for this sort of thing. Generally, if someone uses the word "pop" in reference to my stomach I react less favorably. I haven't told anyone that I hope I "pop" all over their shoes, but I sure have thought it.

I'm treating myself to a fancy haircut today in hopes that it will lift my spirits a bit - it's hard to feel presentable when my body is this awkward; with my big tank of a torso and stick arms and legs I feel like a snowman. A very uncomfortable, clumsy snowman. At least after today, my hair will look good...

The weather was finally warm enough to go swimming yesterday and though the water was still so cold it took my breath away, it was totally worth it. I finally had a break from this heavy load! It felt like heaven and I swam until I was too tired to swim any more (which wasn't very long). I told Kevin it was a life changing experience. Probably that's an exaggeration but it didn't feel like it yesterday.

I would write more but I'm almost completely incapable of writing or talking about anything except how ready I am to meet this baby I've been hauling around for so long! Cross your fingers for me that he comes next week (after Tuesday so my mom will be here).

It's been a couple of days and now I've adjusted to the new move-in date. I don't like being "displaced" while I'm going through such a huge change in my life, but there are certainly worse things than clean sheets and dishwashers and a whole extra bathroom.

We found a pediatrician that we really like. He's within walking distance of our apartment in a charming old house that he shares with our dentist. There are only two exam rooms and ancient wooden building blocks in the waiting room. There are four physicians in the practice, but Jonah would only seen this one guy unless it was a weekend or emergency visit. I like that the office isn't jumping on the trend of rotating doctors in an office. We much prefer our doctor to know us! He's a very patient, very engaged doctor and the only drawback is I can't for the life of me pronounce or spell his name. Small price to pay, though, for feeling so comfortable with the man who will be caring for our little boy for the next year.

Speaking of that little boy, still no indication he intends to arrive anytime soon. As I become increasingly uncomfortable (and grumpy), I have to remind myself that even if I don't know what day he'll be here, each day that passes is one day closer!

Things at the hotel have been moving right along.  The time has passed quickly and I found myself surprised to realize we've already been here two weeks.  Having hit the halfway point, the novelty has worn off and I find myself ready to get back to the apartment.

A bit of a wrench was thrown in those plans today as I recieved an email notifying me that our stay has to be extended due to "unforseen complications" in the construction project.  Kevin and I had prepared ourselves for this possibility, knowing that with big projects like this delays are almost inevitable.  Still, I was disappointed.  I thought I would embrace extra days of lounging poolside and taking advantage of a dishwasher, but the things is... we're not home.  This isn't home.  I'm going to be bringing my baby from the hospital to a hotel.  And it just doesn't feel right.  I know this isn't a terrible thing and that everything is fine and will be fine.  I just need some time to get used to the idea.

We're all moved into the hotel, which has been really great so far. The accommodations are nice, the staff have been wonderful, and having two bathrooms may be the reason Kevin survives this last month of pregnancy. I should really take up residence in one of the bathrooms because I don't think there will ever be a time when I don't have to pee until this baby finally comes out. The good news is that two days ago he officially dropped, which means I can eat and breathe better. I was hoping this also meant that I would deliver sometime soon. However the midwife says that while the baby dropping is a good sign, it doesn't really say much about when Jonah will be born. So more waiting ahead!

I'm 36 weeks and getting bigger by the second. I can definitely tell there's a whole baby in there now. Feet, hands, back and butt are all very apparent through my skin. Kevin's so excited to meet our son; sometimes I don't think he can handle any more waiting. He's always talking about how cute Jonah will be, the things they he will teach Jonah, the games they will play... He checked out several books from the library and has been reading up on parenting. It's all very, very sweet. I have been reading up on babies some, but mostly I have been napping. I have never been this exhausted!

Kevin's been good about taking me on walk every day. The hotel is very close to this park on the shore and when the weather is nice we drive the quarter mile or so to walk along the ocean. When it's raining (which it has been frequently lately), we drive the quarter mile or so over to Ikea and do a walk through that giant maze of a store. I'd like to do some swimming in the hotel pool but the water is still freezing and I'm worried it would be too much of a shock to little Jonah's system.

Here are some pictures of our temporary home. There's a bedroom and bathroom downstairs and then upstairs there's another bedroom/bathroom which we mainly use to store all of Jonah's stuff. It's pretty nice, right? The best part is the maid that comes every day. I hate to think of moving back to our apartment - I don't think I can learn to live without her.