39th Week Appointment and Top 10 Lists

This morning I had my last scheduled appointment before my due date. Not much new to report, both the baby and I are doing well. She tried to work out his exact positioning today, and he is in a good spot still. But I have been instructed to not recline backwards anymore, not even to lean back against my chair, and to spend 20-30 minutes at least 3 times a day leaning forward or on my hands and knees to encourage the baby's back to lay against my belly. This will help prevent back labor. She said the menstrual-like cramps I have been having the past few days are practice contractions; so my body is getting ready. I wonder when the big day is going to be...we are ready for it!

Before I am no longer pregnant, I wanted to make a couple top ten lists about things I enjoyed about pregnancy and what I am looking forward to about not being pregnant. I think they will be interesting to look back on in a few months.

Top 10 Things I will miss about being Pregnant:

1. Feeling Mattimeo move around and stretch and kick inside me. I've gotten so used to being two people and feeling his presence, I think it will be strange going back to being just me.
2. Having so much time to myself (the easy pace of life). I have been really fortunate that I am able to spend as much time relaxing, exercising and reading books as I want. It has been wonderful to be able to really listen to my body's needs and take things at an enjoyable pace. Soon I will be a mom and I have a feeling I will never have that much time to myself again, so I really appreciate this time I've had.
3. Being treated so nicely. Not that I was treated poorly before, but in general people are so much friendlier, polite, cheerful, and generally helpful around me since I've been pregnant. Just yesterday some guy ran up to me on the rocks on the beach as I was awkwardly making my way down to the water to give me his hand to help me (but didn't offer to help my mom who was also struggling a little, though I suppose not obviously). Pregnancy has allowed me to see a different side of people that makes me happy.
4. All the back massages and scratching sessions. Robbie is always really great about scratching my back (it is like my favorite thing in the world) but since I've had occasional back aches throughout pregnancy, I have been even more pesky about asking him to help me out and of course he has been obliging me. I guess I'll miss being spoiled so frequently in this way.
5. My big, firm belly. Sure sometimes it gets in the way and at this point I have trouble finding shirts that completely cover it up without being to big everywhere else, but I think my belly is so beautiful and it just has been an amazing experience to witness the changes my body has gone through throughout pregnancy. I am also really lucky that I haven't gotten any stretch marks or pimples on my belly; it's just a big happy ball of baby.
6. My prenatal exercise classes. Both yoga and water aerobics have been so much fun throughout my pregnancy, and it has been really great to bond with the other pregnant women. I will miss that sense of comradeship and hope that I will be able to stay in touch with some of them after the baby is born. Plus, exercising so much has really made me feel happy and healthy.
7. My thick, healthy hair. My hair has gotten so much thicker since I've been pregnant, and I heard that as soon as the baby is born and those hormones are gone, my hair will start falling out and going back to the way it was. I am bummed about this, but my hair was really healthy before (just thinner) so maybe it won't be that bad.
8. Feeling so comfortable with my body. Before I was pregnant, I was often distressed with feelings of being too fat. Now that I look back at pictures of myself, I think that was pretty foolish of me. Now I am so comfortable and confident with my body. I feel healthy and happy. I hope that just because I am not pregnant anymore that I will lose those feelings. I hope that I continue to take care of myself really well and am happy with the body I have afterward. 
9. Not having to clean the cat box (as well as some of the other chores that Robbie has taken over because they have gotten too difficult or uncomfortable for me to do).
10. Just the overall experience of "watching" Mattimeo grow and develop all these nine months. I've loved learning about the changes that he goes through each week, and feeling so happy that he is healthy and strong. It has been fun wondering what he is going to be like when he comes out and who's features he's going to have. It just has been a really awesome experience growing a little person inside me, and I bet it will be just as amazing growing a little person outside of me too.

Top 10 Reasons it will be nice not to be Pregnant anymore:

1. To be able to do some of the activities I love to do that haven't been able to do for months such as horseback riding and riding my bike places.
2. To not have to go pee every couple of hours (especially at night- although I do realize I still won't get much sleep because I have to nurse the baby).
3. For my feet and hands to go back to their normal size! I have been wearing my wedding ring on a chain on my neck for months to avoid having to have it cut off my hand at some point. Fortunately I only have been dealing with swelling in my feet and hands for a couple of weeks, but I already miss my long slender digits and how flexible/dexterous my hands and feet used to be.
4. To not feel nauseous in the morning anymore and have more options of what I can stomach eating.
5. To be able to lay on my back and stomach! I'm tired of always laying on my side.
6. To go back to my normal weight. This past week I started to weigh more than Robbie, and I like it better when I don't.
7. To be able to breath more easily. The baby dropping down has helped, but I still get winded pretty easily.
8. To not be so hot during the summer. Usually I love being really hot in the summer, and for the first time the heat has slowed me down a bit.
These next two things won't really come into effect until after I am done nursing, but I am going to write them anyways:
9. To be able to drink coffee as much as I want. I've been restricting myself to one or two cups of decaf coffee a week, and trying not to drink any Pepsi (except as an occasional treat when we go out to eat).
10. To drink alcohol. I am by no means a big drinker, I probably only would drink once or twice month before I was pregnant, but I think it would be fun to be able to have a couple drinks with friends again. 

Of course, I am most excited that the end of my pregnancy means that I will be a mom, that I will get to meet Mattimeo, and  that I will get to spend each day watching him and helping him to grow and develop. These lists are intended to reflect the changes I am specifically excited about that only really affect me and my body.