9 months and miserable!

   I feel like I'm having a mother-was-right moment. In the beginning of pregnancy, I sometimes expressed concern over the ordeal labor was going to be. Every time, my mother assured me, by the time I went into labor, I'd be ready to do anything to get that baby out. Oh, man was she right! Right now, labor sounds like a welcome relief. One day of pain followed by several days of healing in exchange for constant backaches, headaches, aching joints, exhaustion and ill-timed kicks? Sounds like a great exchange to me!! I can't even sit through church anymore without a lot of back aching. I am so ready to be done with this, it seems to get more painful every week. Beyond the fact that if I go into labor, I get to finally meet this little one who is going to join our family! I know having Jace here won't be a piece of cake, but right now, just having my body back makes it sound much easier to tackle a challenge like a newborn.
    Fortunately, I have a husband who is very supportive, and helps the worst of my aches go away with massages every day--twice a day usually. We are both very grateful for my mother in law who taught him what he knows in relieving pains through massage. We are also very grateful for a working swamp cooler, which is very effective in keeping our house cool while the days get hotter and hotter here in Utah. I stay inside most of the time on these hot days, because even a little exertion outside can be very exhausting and require a nap.

Definitely looking pretty close here, right?

The Good News: (perhaps I should have started here)
   We are now exactly one month away from the due date!!! And the next three weeks look promising, as I have several things to do and keep myself busy during that time. We are so excited for Jace to come, and it really is so soon! I have several friends who are due this summer, and as I see each of them give birth, I feel like it's one step closer to my turn to meet our little boy. Earlier this week, I finished our baby shopping, getting all of the remaining little items we needed to get ready for Jace's arrival. I got burping cloths, baby shampoo, and other such odds and ends. The next morning I rearranged everything in the nursury, again... :) It was fun to go through everything and make sure they were all ready. Beginning of next week, I'm going to make sure the car is set up and pack the hospital stay bag.

Some funny experiences with being pregnant:
  One day, I was laying on the bed, with my belly towards the edge of the bed. I decided to get off, so began to roll towards the edge. But, having a large belly, I couldn't get past my belly and was soon stuck. Rod glanced at me and said, "you look stuck." "I am stuck!" I exclaimed... Fortunately he helped me get up. Watch out for them big bellies!
  The other day, I was sitting on the floor, organizing things, and I stretched to reach something. This reach threw off my balance, and after righting myself again, I flopped over backwards, unable to keep my balance. This has happened more than once now.. I feel a little like one of those rolling toys that don't stand up straight... :) The other time this happened, I actually was stuck there and couldn't get up again. I felt like a turtle who had been flipped over!
  Also, my dear husband is such a trooper. Many hot nights we have the swamp cooler going and the fan going. Rod always brings an extra blanket to bed now, and the other night, I woke up to find him completely buried under the second blanket. The fan had been blowing at his head all night, so he put the blanket over his head so that he could sleep. Personally, the room's temperature felt just right to me... he's such a trooper! Although, there have been other nights were it did get cold by mid night and I began dreaming about having a leg stuck in snow because it was cold, but I was too asleep to wake up and do anything about it.
  Many of the most amusing moments come from Jace. He often spends time sticking his feet up under my ribcage, or pushing against my belly button. One of these days it'll just pop out, thanks to him pushing on it. I'm kinda hoping it does, because I've always thought it'd be pretty cool to have my belly button pop out when I was very pregnant. The other day, though, Jace, in his effort to defend his limited space, waged war against the counter top. I was washing the counters, and he was viciously kicking the countertop that I was standing too close to. Finally, he gave a mighty push against it, and I literally felt my body rock back away from the countertop and Jace succeeded in getting the room he was looking for... I have a strong son!
   I routinely shower with my husband in the mornings, but the other day I skipped it because I'd taken a bath  the night before. So while Rod was in the shower, Jace stuck his butt out, as he usually does in the shower. It made me laugh, I'm not sure if it was because he could hear the shower, or if it was routine, but it was certainly funny!
Only a month, we're so close, I am so eager to meet this baby!

Jace's Personality

  We're hitting 33 weeks, almost time for that baby to arrive! All of this waiting is almost unbearable for me, except for the thought that if he arrived now, it'd be too early, and I don't want to pay the hospital bills for the NICU. So, I'll be patient and let him finish growing in the incubator mother nature gave us. As time goes on, I think we can begin to see some of his personality based on his kicking....
    He likes warm showers. Every time I take a shower, he presses his body right up against my belly and just soaks it in.
   He hates the mattress. Every time I lay down to sleep, he resumes a kicking fight against the mattress that he left off in the morning when I got up. I swear it must be his chief entertainment, because I get the most motion out of him when he's taking up the battle against the mattress.
   He doesn't like intrusions on his space. He's pretty diligent about kicking anything that presses close enough to my belly for him to reach. Books, laptops, my arms, Rod, countertops, etc.
   He does seem to do some exploratory kicking. Sometimes when I'm hugging or cuddling with Rod, he'll do more gentle prodding against Rod, as though he's exploring what's invaded his territory.
   He has also expressed preference for some of the outfits I wear. I know he hates the black capris I sometimes wear, because the waistband can be a little tight, and he'll spend all day kicking them...
   He gets the hiccups a lot. I'm pretty sure he gets them about twice a day. Apparently he hasn't quite gotten the breathing thing figured out. He's still ironing out the hiccups in the system. :)
   Based on where I feel the movement when he does get the hiccups, it feels like he's probably already in head down position, which is good. I guess we're not the only ones preparing for his grand debut. It'll be interesting to see if any of these theories on his personality are true when we actually meet him...