thirty-eight weeks

...or, "It could be anyday now." (Alternate blog title.)

As of Wednesday, thirty-eight weeks. Doctor's laughing comment when he showed me the results of the ultrasound: "The baby's off-the-charts big." Confirmed again when, measuring my belly, he measured it at forty centimeters this week--two more than last week, making it the first time since he's been telling me how big it is that it has grown two centimeters rather than one in one week. Weight gain: an additional pound, making the total poundage forty-four so far. It doesn't make me feel so bad to know that I've gained that much since I've got a big baby (they advise twenty-five to thirty-five pounds total weight gain). Who am I kidding? I could care less how much I've gained. I might care later trying to take it back off, but now it doesn't phase me one bit.

And at thirty-eight weeks, a more, um, invasive exam. Cervix: softening, opening "maybe a fingertip width," he said, demonstrating with his finger. (Please, what is a fingertip width in centimeters? Probably one, if that, but I'm not a metric girl; I grew up in the U.S.) And then the kicker: "Okay, Rhonda, we'll see you next week--unless we get lucky. It could be any time now, you know." Any time now? I mean, I knew this, logically. I just don't think I really believed it until my doctor said it. This morning when I woke up, I had gone back and forth between shopping when I went out for my doctor's visit and waiting til Monday to shop when Al could come with me (not that it would go any faster, just putting it off, I guess). But that comment made me head to Target after my appointment just in case, even though I spent three hours on my feet this morning staining the changing table. (It, by the way, needs multiple layers and I'm praying it turns out decent looking.) Speaking of which, I should probably go stain the flip side since it's just past the mandatory six-hour waiting period and I won't ruin what I worked on this morning. You know, just in case.

I'm almost glad I'm going to be a hockey widow tonight. I can crawl in bed early, start watching Dollhouse, and record it on the DVR just in case I fall asleep...