37 Weeks

I'm 37 and a half weeks now (will be 38 weeks on Friday).  I'm finally starting to kick this cold and feel a little bit more human.  I was pretty sick for about 15 days, which is by far the longest cold I have ever had in my entire life.  I'm still congested, but I don't have the pressure in my head and the coughing fits, and I have finally been able to get some sleep at night.

I had my 37 week appointment on Friday, and they said that everything looks great.  My blood pressure is 100/50, which is really good.  I'm officially considered full term now, so Lucie (the midwife) said that I can have this baby whenever I am ready.  It's weird to think that she really could come at any time (or up to 4 weeks from now!).  I'm starting to notice some swelling in my hands and feet.  It's still nothing compared to the swelling that I had with Miles and Vivienne, though.  The strange pain that I have over my ribs has long since passed (similarly to my first pregnancy).  I'm still not sure what that was.

Between the cold and the extreme heat that we have been having (over 100 degree heat for a couple weeks now), I haven't been doing much walking at all lately.  One night last week, it was cool enough for me to walk about 4 miles.  Tonight, I went for a slow 2 mile walk. 

My walk tonight was wonderful.  I love being outside - it just makes me happy.  I very rarely walk or run without my iPod, but tonight I just wanted to experience the calmness of nature.  I felt the drizzle on my face as the storms rolled by.  There was a fresh breeze in the air, and I just enjoyed God's creation for a while.  I took my time and soaked in the outdoors, passing by an adjacent subdivision's pool, where they were having a swim meet.  I enjoyed watching a few of the children in a short butterfly race and wondered whether our family would be cheering on our kids in the water someday.  I stopped to watch the clouds a few times and appreciate the awesome power of weather and nature.  It was just so nice to have some quiet time outside with my thoughts.  I asked Baby C what her name was a few times, but she still hasn't answered me.