Worry, anticipation & urgency have really set in now.
We made the 33 week point yesturday. I don't know why I'm so worried. That was one thing that everyone seemed to forget to mention about pregnancy. You worry just as much as if your child was out running around in the yard.

The worry started in the very beginning when I first found out that I was pregnant. I remember thinking, "This is the beginning of worrying for the rest of my life". I would think about the things that I did, like the beer & roller coaster rides at Six Flags before I knew (somehow others knew because they made comments as we were waiting in line "If you are pregnant, you're going to scramble that baby in there"). Then I would really worry about miscarriage (as my sister-in-law was 3 weeks behind me in her pregnancy & miscarried) & neural tube defects, like spina bifida. The hell that I went through in the first trimester never helped either. I always thought about the time I was in the hospital getting re-hydrated with 3 different medications pumping through me, my blood pressure dropping to the point of being scary. After he started kicking, there was one day that I wasn't really paying too much attention to how active he was (I guess I was just used to it & oblivious that he was jumping around). I thought to myself "Has he been moving today? I don't remember!", so I did a kick count. You're supposed to be able to feel 10 kicks in 2 hours. I got to 10 before 15 minutes was up. So he's been OK so far. I tell myself not to worry, as does Bill, but that's like telling your cat not to scratch. It's instinctual.

The anticipation & urgency really hit me yesturday when I got my 33 week email update from Baby Center. Topics included, "Don't Be Caught Off Guard, Have A Birth Plan Ready", "Packing For The Hospital, What You Really Need", & a bunch of financial advice. The thing that got me was looking ahead at next weeks information. If I went into preterm labor, 99% of babies born in the 34th week don't have complications due to prematurity. They're lungs are fully developed & mom's should start saving their energy for labor & delivery. So the Doctors most likely wouldn't stop labor at this point. Holy crap...

So I finished the maternity pre-adminitration registration for the hospital, got a list of CD's that I want to listen to while we're there & started working on the birth plan. I'm going to start packing today. This weekend we should have his room finished too. Now watch, Logan will be born 2 weeks into February (due date is 2/1/2006). I guess it's better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.