Coming into the home stretch

My belly button continues to teeter on the edge of being an outtie. Heartburn strikes several nights per week at bedtime. Strangers freely ask me about my pregnancy--even when I'm wearing a jacket and think that maybe, just maybe, no one can tell.

Welcome to the home stretch of my pregnancy.

I now have to seriously consider whether squatting down is necessary, and if it is, who is going to help me stand up again. My toes have become particularly agile at picking things up. Dropping the razor in the shower? No problem. Dropping the razor in the shower and having the blade come off? Time to call it quits on shaving for the day.

I can no longer see the lower half of my belly unless I sit down and really stretch forward, or if I look in the mirror. For now, I am working under the assumption that all is well down there.

Rooster continues to be an active mover, roller, kicker, and hiccupper. When he's on the move, it looks like there's an alien moving around beneath my skin. He likes to push either his head or his bottom (tough to say) against the right side of my belly so that it sticks out. His kicks are increasingly aggressive. The other night, I was lying on my side in bed, and he was jumping on the bed and pushing his head up in the other direction. I tolerated this activity for as long as possible, and then I rolled over to my other side. Sorry, Rooster, but as long as you're inside me, I'm in charge.

His movement used to be gentle and somewhat soothing, but now it is mostly uncomfortable and wince-inducing. I feel a little like I'm being beat up from the inside. I know, I know...just wait till he wants to come out...

I'm avoiding thinking about that, for a few days more, at least until our all-day childbirth class this weekend. I know that it's a good idea to be prepared for childbirth, but part of me doesn't want to know what I'm in for. I am least looking forward to watching graphic videos of other women's birth experiences. I've seen those baby story TV shows on TLC, and they are graphic enough for me.

I'm trying to prepare for life with Rooster by reading books recommended by family and friends. I've read about hundreds of events for which a doctor is needed and twice as many events for which a doctor is not needed. How on earth can anyone keep all of this information straight? It doesn't help that every book offers different advice. Maybe figuring it out on our own would have been easier.

It seems that figuring it out on own own is how parenting goes, anyway. Of all the millions of books written on parenting and taking care of babies, not one is written about your very own human, so all you can do is keep trying until you figure out what works.