Today I did a stupid thing. I went to Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart on Saturday is never a good thing, but Wal-Mart on Saturday during the holiday shopping season is a total nightmare. I needed a few groceries, and I wanted to buy one last Christmas present, but about halfway through my list I was nearly in tears. I was feeling terrible pressure on my bladder, and so crampy and sore that I could hardly walk.
My husband and the girls were shopping too (for me…cute!) and they took their stuff to the car and then came to help me. By the time I got in the car, I was in tears from the pain. When we got home, I rested on the couch, but I just haven’t felt right all day, so I looked up prelabor symptoms. I have 5 out of 8, and according to the Mayo Clinic, this means that labor is probably 2-4 weeks away. I started the 34th week today, so that would put me right at term. My body is definitely getting ready for the big event.
I told my husband this, and he got so adorably nervous. He’s outside right now, changing oil in the van, and he’s been diligently doing laundry all afternoon. He even asked me if I thought he should stay up tonight and get all of his work caught up?
I told him that the baby isn’t coming tonight, so I think he should calm down and not worry. But how cute is that? It’s kind of like in the movies when the woman goes into labor, and the husband gets so flustered that he takes off in the car with the suitcase, leaving her behind.
I must confess that I’m just really starting to want this child out, and if I ever had any doubts that he was a boy, they’re pretty much gone now. All of the weird changes in my body are a good indicator, but also…the kid kicks like a boy. Sometimes it really hurts, and occasionally he gets to wiggling so vigorously that my entire abdomen shakes back and forth. Last night, I was resting on my side, with the TV remote balanced on my huge tummy, and he kicked it right off!
I have a feeling that raising a little boy is going to be an amazing adventure.
Last night was our date night, and my husband and I took advantage of the child-free time, and stopped at Target to get the girls’ Santa present. As always, when we walked into the store, I set the alarm off. I say “as always” because for some unknown reason, since becoming pregnant, I set the alarm off at every single Target store I go to. This has happened 4 times now at 3 different stores, and I joked to my husband that the alarm system must be a “baby detector.”
Seriously though, it’s so weird. The first time it happened, the security guy came and checked me over, and he couldn’t figure out what was causing it to happen. I had no handbag or belt with a buckle, no metal anywhere really, and nothing else that would typically set the alarm off. He asked if I was wearing or carrying anything “new,” and I pointed to my belly. “Just this,” I joked.
He stared at my midsection for a minute, and said, in all seriousness, “No, I don’t think that’s it.”
I’m not so sure anymore.
