Made in Reykjavik: Full Term... "the waiting game"

As of this week, Tumi is officially finished with school, I am officially finished with the UN University project I have been working on, Elsa is officially settled-in at her playschool, and I'm officially 38 weeks pregnant...full term.

Women are considered 'full term' at 37 weeks, which means that if the baby is born after this time it won't be considered 'pre-mature.' While the due date is still a couple of weeks away, this is the period in which medical professionals like to tease and torture most pregnant women by suggesting that the baby could come along 'any day now' and be perfectly healthy. We bloated, insomniac, hormonal, cranky, swollen souls hold onto hope that it really *could* happen any day now...maybe even today! Then we wouldn't have to be so pregnant anymore! Imagine, being able to reach your feet to put on your socks, to sleep on your stomach, to walk (not waddle) down the street without a bowling ball bumping up and down on your bladder! My leg-shaving, beer-drinking, forward-bending, innie-belly-buttoned days are so close!

I am trying to enjoy what I know is my last few weeks of pregnancy, possibly (probably) ever. I love feeling my son kick and wiggle and get the hiccups in my belly. I love watching the weird bubbly-alien-esque bump make its way across my stomach as a foot or elbow or knee moves from one side to another. I love the excuse to sleep whenever I want or eat whatever I feel like. I am also enjoying the fact that Elsa goes to sleep at 8 o'clock every night with very little support work from us and then wakes up 11.5-12 hours later. How nice to have such a reliable pattern! As I long for relief of later third trimester ailments, I savor the good things in my life that are about to change (albeit temporarily) when there is a brand new baby in the house. She was at least nine months old before I had eight hours of solid sleep...so those times are over for a while.

We are taking care of some small things around the house during the calm before the storm. Still settling in and deciding where things should go and sorting out lights and closets and storage and all that lovely moving-in stuff that will be so much harder to get around to when there is a new wiggly one.

Some videos:

Elsa exploring the new apartment

Elsa smelling basil

Some pictures from recent goings-on in Reykjavik:

Elsa had the flu for about a day after she started playschool. She spent about 24 hours in this position on her Pabbi's shoulder...