Day ~240
Times up to pee: 4

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted, Miss Belly. So much has happened since then!

First, you will note the return of the "Times up to pee" count at the top of this post. You have grown so big, my poor bladder is squashed into some little corner of my pelvis. It's worst at night. I wake up every couple of hours, and it huuuuurts, it's so full! And turning over is harder and harder - the belly is difficult to manuever, I have to do some very ungraceful rolling around to swing my feet toward the floor, and then somehow get my arms underneath me with enough leverage to sit up .... and with each movement, my bladder is squashed and mushed and I have to go now. I shuffle waddle to the bathroom and usually end up with a very unsatisfying trickle.

Second - I met my online friend! She's great. We connected through Urban Mamas, if I remember correctly. She's due with her little girl just a week after you. We finally made a date, and had yummy chocolate delights at Pix, and commiserated about the discomforts of pregnancy and all the well-intended (yet really, really annoying) advice from people. It will be fun to get together with her again - for a playdate with you wee ladies!

In other news - my nesting instinct has been raging. The kitchen is painted, thanks to your daddy. He pulled some very late nights to get it done for me. I can't believe how good he is to me, sometimes. (He calls us "his girlies" and loves us so much. We're really lucky. He had a dream about you the other night - about how totally cute you are. Which I thought was very sweet.) We also had a big garage sale, so the basement is clear of the junk that was driving me crazy. Now we just need to build some shelves in your room, put things away, clean the house ... we're getting ready for you, and it's more real every single day. Sometimes, though, I get very overwhelmed at the thought of actually having a little person in this room we've been assembling for so long. A third person in our home! It has been the two of us for so long ... I hope we can meld right into a threesome and give you enough of everything you need.

We have finished out birthing classes. They were ... okay. I guess we got something out of it - the basics of what to expect and look for, some techniques for distraction during contractions. I wish there had been more about how to care for you and me after the birth. The instructor was a real piece of work. She actually used props, like smiley faces on sticks! I felt kind of sad because none of the other expectant parents asked us for our phone number. I was sort of hoping for that, since we are all due around the same time and live in the same neighborhood. And I felt too shy to do it myself.

I think I am almost as ready as I can be for you to get here. Another week or so, and I will probably be very anxious. I still have this vague sense of terror, hoping that I can do this well ... you are going to be so important to us, and I always want to feel Very Prepared for anything new that I take on. This time, it is like leaping off a very tall cliff, in a jump that will last forever. And it will be wonderful, everyone tells me. As long as I am not too hard on myself. I have always been so afraid to fail! How does one become a confident mama? How do you know you're doing it right? How do you keep from beating yourself up and questioning yourself constantly? I guess I'll find out.

I know you will make us laugh and smile like never before, and I can't wait to watch your daddy - and nonna - and aunties and uncles - love you up.