My original due date

Today, August 29 2011, was my original due date. Hard to believe that I already have a 3 1/2 week-old son at home, while if he hadn't come early I could have still been VERY preggers! I asked John yesterday if he thought Evan would have gained more weight in the womb than he has since his birth, and his vote was for more in the womb. Makes sense because he'd get constant nutrition from me, wouldn't have to exert calories to eat or cry, and thus even though we're guessing Evan's somewhere between 8.5-9 lbs now, he would have probably easily been over 9 lbs if he hadn't been born yet.

I also wonder just how big, and stretched, my belly would have become. As it was, I felt like I had a huge basketball in my belly before he was born and I wasn't able to avoid stretch marks around my poor belly button, which had been stretched til it was literally inside out! So, if he'd grown yet another couple pounds I would have surely been one of those miserable pregnant ladies just wishing for the birth to hurry up and happen.

Side profile pic of my pregnant belly at 36 weeks...just 4 days before having to go to the hospital for Evan's birth.

Me and my pregnant belly in our baby nursery (36 weeks).

Luckily for me, I was still able to do about everything that I had all summer. Sure I wasn't able to go golfing, ride my bicycle, or do any strenuous exercise, but I was still able to go for walks, and wasn't that uncomfortable. I walked back and forth between the two buildings I worked in almost every day, and still took the stairs over opt'ing for the elevator. I'd always heard stories of baby's feet kicking women in the ribs--signs that the baby was really getting too big for the belly--but I didn't have any of those discomforts. And I even escaped the dreaded "cankles" or even too much swelling of my feet in general, except for the occasional time when I would sit for too long. Overall, my pregnancy with Evan was wonderful. He didn't give me much nausea, heartburn, or aches and pains. If he'd gone full-term this may not have been the case.

Now, 3 1/2 weeks after having Evan, there are still some lingering discomforts from the delivery and pregnancy, but I'm feeling pretty good over all. While strenuous exercise is still out of the question, probably for at least another week or two, I've lost at least half of the baby weight I gained. I do still get the overnight sweats, which is one postpartum side effect I had never heard of before, but isn't that bad to deal with. The most annoying lingering issue from the pregnancy, though, is that my wedding ring still won't fit onto my finger! It started getting tight in June, so I stopped wearing it worried that it might get stuck on if my hands got swollen. However, I don't know what happened to me during the pregnancy, but the ring won't even fit over the knuckle on my ring finger now! John tells me to give it more time, but I want to know why would my knuckles have gotten bigger, and will they really go back to how they were before? If not, I suppose I'll be making a trip to the jeweler to get the ring resized, so at least it's a fixable problem.

In the end, while I sit here and reflect about what could have been, I am still just overjoyed about what has been. John and I are so blessed with Evan. He sleeps well, eats well, and is healthy. While he was technically born early and his birth story didn't go according to my birth plan (not sure who's does tho!), he arrived right on time in our lives and we couldn't be happier!