As if I could possibly forget that I’m pregnant, a few things lately have reminded me that I’m absolutely in the final stretch. So here are a few humorous musings from the large and gestating – you might be 35 weeks pregnant if…

– You catch yourself thinking “I wish we weren’t going to the beach this weekend. I’d rather stay home and wash baby clothes.”

– Your daughter starts to heave and moan whenever she gets up off the floor or the couch and you realize that she’s imitating you.

– Your husband glances up after not seeing you for a long day and the first thing he says is “I think you grew.”

– There is a dance party in your abdomen almost every night from 3 to 5 am. OK, so this isn’t funny but it’s true. It’s actually an improvement from a few weeks ago when I would wake up furiously angry (and I mean LIVID) for no discernible reason. I would have to calm down before I could go back to sleep.

– You’ve started to refer to your baby as Mr. Monkey Toes due to him wedging his feet and toes into your ribs.

– A co-worker looks at your with a confused expression during a meeting, and you realize it’s because your shirt is jumping up and down with the rhythm of Mr. Monkey Toes’ hiccups.

– On many of the 3 to 5 am awake times (sort of a reverse nap), you catch yourself making a mental list of all of the soups, stews, casseroles, muffins, breads and other foods that you MUST make and freeze IMMEDIATELY. If you don’t cook and freeze TOMORROW there will obviously be no way for your family to possibly eat after the baby comes!! You’ve also caught yourself googling whether or not you can freeze peanut butter sandwiches.

On a serious note, I’ve started to get really excited about meeting the baby soon. I wrote in this post a while ago about being content to just be pregnant and wait on the baby. However, now I’m getting antsy to meet this little guy, seeing what he looks like, and seeing if his movements and actions are similar to how they feel in my tummy. I can’t wait to see J with a new baby to snuggle and I am really excited to watch Clare fall in love with her brother. I’m starting to imagine kissing little baby fingers and toes, fawn over every yawn and facial expression, snuggle and smell into his little neck, and generally fall in that intoxicating new baby love.