The Wall.

Okay, I've finally reached it.

I swore it wouldn't happen this time...but I've officially reached the point in my pregnancy where I am OVER IT.

I've hit the wall.

I am 38 weeks pregnant.  I am terribly uncomfortable and tired of waddling.  I wonder if my wedding rings will ever fit again.  Heck, I wonder if my SHOES will ever fit again.  (Don't even get me started on my pre-pregnancy clothes...)  My poor toddler wants to go outside to play, but all I want to do is prop my feet up (not that they even look like feet anymore) and pray that another episode of "Henry Hugglemonster" will somehow make up for the fact that I simply do not have the energy to pick up 48 different colors of sidewalk chalk from around my front yard (again).  I'm still working four days a week, though I move slowly and forget EVERYTHING.  (I never had pregnancy brain with Gavin -- but this little chickadee has sucked the intelligence right out of me.)  In short, I'm a mess.

It doesn't help that we put off a lot of baby prep until the last minute, and with an active little boy, two working parents, and Stephen taking a handful of difficult classes to boot -- last minute is a virtually impossible thing to pull off.  Take, for instance, scheduling a carpet cleaner.  Our carpets were disgusting -- it's incredible what nineteen months worth of milk stains can do.  So we decided that before Baylor made her arrival, we had to get these carpets in order.  Easy enough, right?  WRONG.  Our house is 95% carpeted, so we had to find a time where one of us could take Gavin out of the house not only while the carpets were being cleaned, but for a few hours afterwards (to let them dry enough to avoid instant re-staining).  To complicate things further, carpet cleaners give a THREE HOUR arrival window.  Three hours!  So our first appointment was with Stanley Steemer last Saturday morning.  The arrival time was between 9 am and noon.  We woke Gavin up early, fed him a quick breakfast, and Stephen took him to the mall.  At noon, three hours later, they still had not arrived.  We were quickly approaching Gavin's nap time, so I called Stanley Steemer, only to be told that they wouldn't be able to get to our house until nearly 1:30 because of a broken down truck.  (Uh, thanks for the phone call, guys...  Nice.)  With no other choice, I cancelled with them and had Stephen bring Gavin home for nap.  A grand total of four hours...wasted.  Carpets?  Still dirty.  Unfortunately, that meant we had to do the whole routine again.  This time, we went with Widmers, who not only showed up on time, but was super pleasant and efficient.  Stephen still had to take Gavin out for the evening and it still took quite a bit of orchestration to work around naps, meals, and other commitments...but it got finished, our carpets look wonderful, and one more thing is thankfully off our to-do list.  Also accomplished this week?  Fan installation in Baylor's nursery, another ultrasound/OB appointment, kitchen cabinet reorganization, and packing the hospital bags.  Somewhere in there, my parents also bought a new car and traded in my Mazda.  (I'll now be driving my mom's 2007 Honda Civic, which is not only in much better condition, but is slightly larger for carseats.  It has as many miles on it as the Mazda, but feels a whole lot safer.)  Oh, and the rock n' play and bassinet are officially set up in our bedroom, ready for Baylor's arrival.  Peyton and Eli are keeping them warm until then.

So it's time to break out the pineapple and yoga ball.  It's time for the spicy foods and acupressure.  It's time for all those things I know (from experience) do NOT work to induce labor...but at least make me feel as though I am being somewhat proactive towards accomplishing my goal to get this girl OUT.  We can't wait to meet her, of course...but I also can't wait to be able to put on my own shoes (and preferably, those shoes will actually fit.)  Little Miss has two weeks until I officially serve her an eviction notice -- but goodness knows, I wouldn't mind holding her in my arms (and not my belly) sooner rather than later!