Wait, we're going to have a baby of our very own?

31 weeks 0 days

This weekend, we took a tour of the hospital we're going to be giving birth at.  We can't think of it as this abstract place in our distant future anymore.  It's a real place with nice rooms, wood panelled bassinets, and a nursery.  Even though I hope to spend as little time as possible in this place, it's a place of great significance to us.  This is where we are having our firstborn, our little boy!  And it's going to happen in 2 months!

Baby has definately been real to me for several months (I have the acid reflux and lack of sleep to prove it), but seeing the hospital is like being shown a glimpse of the finish line.  It's a lot easier to visualize the birth when I've seen where I'm going to be for it.  No, I may not end up in that exact room, but it's a hospital, not a luxury hotel with 20 unique room styles.  If I have a textbook birth, I'm going to be spending a good amount of time getting acquainted with the room before the big debut anyway.

As we were looking through the windows at the nursery, a pregnant woman obviously in labor was wheelchaired past us.  It wasn't the stereotypical screaming laboring woman either.  Other than being red and sweaty, she didn't look much different than myself or the other 6 or so pregnant women on the tour.  She was actually texting on her phone, probably telling family and friends that it was time.  I couldn't help relating to her, automatically envisioning myself in her exact position.  I bet I wasn't the only one on that tour who did the same thing.

I feel a lot calmer knowing how things are going to go at the hospital.  For some reason, I also feel calmer having that sense of knowing that we're going to have an actual baby in our arms.  Maybe it's hormones of some kind, but I'm not anxious or over excited.  I'm calmly pleased by the thought.  Maybe I'm just relieved to be seeing proof that 9 months of all the obstacles of pregnancy will be worth it.

I'm in the home stretch.  I have every hope of making it to January 24, but in reality it could be anytime.  Every day gives him time to grow and be strong enough to be ready for the outside world.