Ready to Launch

I can't believe I'm posting this picture of myself. But here's how I look at it: I have 6+ weeks left to have a valid excuse to look like crap, so I am livin' it up.
In case you can't tell, I feel huge (I'm not even sure this picture does me justice). As in back spasms when I stand for more than a few minutes. As in I have to cook dinner, clean and do my hair while sitting on a stool. As in grocery shopping is going to become either A. Brian doing it for me (which he is totally willing to do, but I have control issues) or B. me cruising the stores in a motorized cart. As in very few of my shirts actually cover my entire stomach anymore. As in LOTS of comments from those I know and those I don't. I actually have been getting comments for a couple of months. Here are a few favorites:

1. While shopping with my friend at the beginning of March (I was only about 25 weeks) a sales clerk at a store said to me, "You look like you've dropped! How much longer?" "Three and a half months," I responded. She didn't say anything else.

2. Someone looked at my stomach a while ago and said, "that's not a basketball, that's a missile!" So, I wondered, if I don't go into labor, would that be a failure to launch?

3. When I was at the CPR class with my mom, one of the health-care providers commented that I looked like I was REALLY close. I told her I had 2 1/2 months left, and she was stunned.

4. I ran into someone I know at the rec center, and she asked me to remind her when I am due. I told her my C-section is June 17, and she said, "Wow, you're huge! I hope I didn't offend you."

5. I have had several people ask me recently if I hurt as much as I look like I hurt. Yes, I do.

6. Then there's the old "are you sure there's only 1 in there?"

7. Connor told me the other day that if my stomach gets any bigger he's afraid it's just going to split open.

It's a good thing I can laugh at the comments. I can't, however, laugh at the stretch marks that have turned my stomach into a veritable road map. Not that it already wasn't. But now it's way worse. I mean, I love atlases, but come on!

On the flip side, with my C-section just 6 1/2 weeks away, I feel like I am in the home stretch (no pun intended). I have been dreaming about the hospital stay. You KNOW you're a mom when a 4- or 5-day hospital stay sounds like a dream get-away. I can order what I want to eat whenever I want to, they offer massages, what's not to love? OK, maybe the round-the-clock vital checks, the IVs, and the whole surgery recovery thing. But other than that...

In reality, the best part of the hospital stay is bonding with that precious new child. Oh, I love those moments. Taking in every detail, memorizing each feature, getting to know that new person who will be with us forever. There is nothing like it IN THE WORLD.

And I really can't wait to see my kids with a new baby brother. The excitement is really building. Connor can barely stand the wait. He loves to engage in naming conversations with Brian and I. It cracks me up when he sits down by us and says in a very serious, adult-like manner, "OK, guys, let's get this baby named!" and then will throw out suggestions. And while I have a name in my back pocket, I've still been considering other options. But not his ideas. Because I don't think Derek Jeter Howell is going to be a viable option.

I think Isabel is still suffering occasional repercussions from not getting a sister. This is just going on the fact that she pretends to call all of the Princesses on her Princess phone and then reports that each of them is expecting a baby girl. Isabel is all the girl I need.

Last, a major shout out to Brian. He has been selflessly, quietly and tirelessly serving our family to make up for my current inadequacies. He has been my buoy, keeping me from sinking entirely. I am extremely grateful to him.

So, here we are. This pregnancy has gone with lightening speed. Am I really going to be mom to 4?