how much longer....really!?

Ok folks, there are 12 more days to go before our lives will be changed dramatically, once again! Now to all of you, I'm sure, 12 days does not seem very long. However to the pregnant women still attempting to carry her 25 lb, 21 mth old, 12 days is VERY long! So now that I am officially 38 wks the prayers have become stronger that I will go into labor a teeny bit earlier than Sept 22nd (though that is still a full week of pregnancy less than I had with Ellie).  

It's getting tough over here.  All of my ligaments are stretching and loosening (as I suppose they should) causing sever discomfort mostly in the lower back/hip area.  Lifting Ellie in and out of her carseat is actually painful (like sharp, stabbing pains....painful)! UGH!  Thankfully, I only have 2 more shifts of work left!  Those 12 hour days are hard to do these days and usually end in me limping to the car, literally limping! 

Ellie has been fairly kind to me I must say.  She understands that I have "owies on my back" and therefore can not hold her, however she seems to take advantage of the fact that I can't run over and physically stop her from doing things she's not supposed to do.  Needless to say, she is learning how to respond to and obey verbal commands.  This makes nap time and bed time extremely important as any amount of awake time over the tolerated amount results in defiance which equals LOTS of frustration for mom.

I do believe this discomfort is necessary however.  Who in their right mind would happily welcome labor and child birth into their lives otherwise?  Or in my case, who would gladly say, "yes, please cut me open while I am awake and rip through my abdominal muscles and pull this baby out!" but a horribly uncomfortable pregnant women?  So now you know where I'm at, ready and willing to be ripped open even knowing the recovery I face.....bring it on!