30 Days and Counting....

The past several months have taught me a lot about myself and life in general. It has taught me tolerance and patience, selflessness and sacrifice, wonder and amazement, and that I still have so much to learn in all of these areas.

But most importantly I've learned that miracles do happen.

We are nearing the home stretch of the pregnancy marathon and we are eager, excited, energetic and eating a lot more. We can see the finish line; our heart rate, running strides and breaths coming into unison and increase as this wonderful event of pregnancy morphs itself into parenthood.

It truly is hard to believe that there are 30 days left until the stated due date, but another thing this pregnancy has taught me is that nothing is quite as it seems. So although there are 30 days left according to the doctor, this little Nugget can make an appearance any day now. The bag is packed, we have the car seat - that still needs to be installed, the nursery is ready, and now we wait. Wait...and wait some more.

FYI - We decided not to find out the gender of the baby, so I've been calling the baby, the Nugget (plus, that has been one of my favorite dining spots throughout the pregnancy - The Golden Nugget - AWESOME hash browns and grilled cheese sandwiches). I would like to take a moment and thank my husband for being so understanding in my wish for the gender to be a surprise. I know that he would have much rather preferred knowing what we will be having, so I appreciate the sacrifice he made.

While we wait, we thought it would be fun to capture this blessing, plus it will help pass the time.

Truth be told...I love being pregnant. LOVE IT!!! Every day there is something new that happens and I can't help but giggle - because most of these things are crazy. Today I will share with you my top 10 things I love about being pregnant...there are definitely more things I do love about pregnancy but those will probably surface in a later post.

Top 10 Things I Will Miss About Being Pregnant (in no particular order)

1. The ultrasounds - I love seeing the little Nugget. Funny thing happens in most of the ultrasounds - the Nugget is a mover and a shaker and the technician usually announces "You have a lively one in there..."
2. Hearing the heartbeat. WOW! Hearing the heartbeat makes the whole experience real. Of course I try to count the number of heartbeats to try to figure out if we are having a boy or a girl...
3. Feeling the Nugget tumble and kick. We are either having a gymnast, or a UFC fighter.
4. Feeling the hiccups. This makes me giggle...but many things in this pregnancy make me giggle - thank goodness.
5. Embracing the uncontrollable bodily noises. It is much easier to embrace the changes going on in my body then to fight it...
6. Embracing my body. Right now, my body looks like one of the Easter Island heads. I kid you not...
7. Warm baths.
8. Prenatal massages.
9. Ability to take longer naps, and not feel guilty. Before pregnancy, my naps would be 15 minutes, tops...now I can pull off at least an hour - solid sleep.
10. Eye contact with other expecting mothers. There is some bond that happens when you are pregnant and you pass another pregnant woman on the street. It is hard to explain but it is something like we say to each other "Hey, I know you are going to the bathroom every two minutes, too."

Thank you for reading...We truly hope you enjoy the days to come and feel the boon.