The Last Phase

This entire pregnancy has seemed like it's happening to someone else, in a way. I mean, not physically, of course. I am getting bigger and I can feel my new daughter kicking and squirming, but other than the physical realities that point to the idea that I'm pregnant, it's taken me awhile to wrap my brain around the notion that at the end of this pregnancy there will be a real, live, outside the womb baby. And it's that concept that has felt unreal and unbelievable.

But now I can tell I am getting close to the end. This pregnancy which, in its own weird way, has felt like it was happening to someone else, is feeling more real. I am starting to not only look forward to having my pre-pregnancy body back (or, realistically, some semblance thereof) but I am starting to get excited about the idea of a sweet newborn baby to hug, nurse and kiss.

I will be meeting my newest daughter in about four to six weeks (though, officially, next Thursday marks my thirty-seventh week of pregnancy, full term by most accounts) and while there is still much, much to do, the reality of little baby Caroline's arrival is growing more and more real and, dare I admit, exciting?