What it Feels Like to Complete 36 Weeks as a 46-year Old

Maybe you want to just slap me for always bringing up my age, but it just dawned on me - as I looked at my calendar - that I made it to 36 weeks in the 45-50 year-old age group and I feel ever so fine!  The baby is kicking. I have no malaise whatsoever, except the huge gravitational force that is my belly, aching feet for any walking over four blocks, and founder-like symptoms after eating more than five bites of anything.  I had a clean bill of health on Wednesday's doctor's appointment:  a strong blood pressure, no trace of protein in my urine, no gestational diabetes, no signs of pre-term labor or preeclampsia.  But the scale indicated I have gained 40 pounds. My doctor could care a less.  He sees some behemoth mothers-to-be come in and just sends them to a nutritionist.  He thinks I'm a stick. Oh my gosh, is he wrong. I am going to probably gain 55 pounds all told.  (Yesterday I covered a blueberry bran muffin in loemon curd and ate the whole thing.) I think my doctor needs to tell me to watch it this last month.  I'll need to lose a lot of weight after the baby is born (not an easy task when you're fortysomething!) but I guess that's not his problem. He was more concerned if I wanted to do a tubal ligation at the birth.  "What's that?" I asked. "Tubes tied," he responded. Does he actually and honestly think I can get pregnant again?  He told me if I did, he and I would both become famous.  He's still my biggest fan club on the whole spontaneous pregnancy-at-my-age thing.  It seems I amuse him.  Anyway, these Fridays in November are big milestones because I'm reaching the full-term stage.  Let me say that it has been quite a truthfully stressful pregnancy where I have managed to manage my stress in a healthy way.  I kept one foot out of the emotional pregnancy, if you will, because of the statistics of miscarriage and other dangers in my age group. But now, today, I am going to put both feet in, then kick them up and feel the rush of excitement of my impending second motherhood in my forties. I washed the rest of the baby's clothes this morning. Baby daddy brought up the crib from the basement and he's putting it together tomorrow morning. Yippee...I can now do my favorite part, which is getting the cute baby layette all organized and labeled in drawers.  I am going to nurse these last four weeks for all it's worth.  That includes getting spoiled any chance I get.  Wish my grandmothers and Prairie's grandmothers were here now to wait on me hand and foot! No, that's a bit too self-indulgent.  I know, I will let myself have a mug of caffeinated tea every day.  I adore tea, and I miss it.  Although I imbibed last Saturday at my tea party, I did feel guilty about it. Well, no more guilt. I am 36 weeks and counting. Hoorah!