I shoveled yesterday

Normally this would be nothing to speak of, but I haven't done any significant shoveling during my pregnancy until yesterday. The doctor said the baby moved down a little farther, but nothing else had happened. Since the baby is considered full term now, I figured that there would be no harm in helping things along. You have to understand that my mom shoveled the driveway on the day she was due with me and it put her into labor that afternoon. I'm under no delusions that I will go into labor early just because I shoveled, but I figure that it did something to help things along. If the baby moves down that much farther just because I did something a little more strenuous than usual, that is ok with me.

Now I'm sounding like I want this all over with, and I'm in the "get this baby out of me!" mode. That is not true. I'm kind of a chicken, so the fact that I've never gone through the whole childbirth process makes it slightly scary for me. I'm quite content to go on like this for awhile, though I frequently experience heartburn, lower back pain, shortness of breath, and charlie horses. Though I have extensive experience caring for children, including caring for a two-week-old at a crisis nursery, the prospect of parenthood still scares me. I've held an inconsolable baby for hours, potty-trained several children, taught one to walk, helped one girl through her first period and another through her first crush, and even had the sex talk. That doesn't prevent me from thinking, "HOLY CRAP!!! I'm responsible for this baby, which will soon exit my body in a very painful way, from the day it is born until it is an adult!" However, I can then take a step back and say, "Women have done this for eons, so I will survive." On top of that, I have a wonderful husband, and so the baby is not solely my responsibility. We are in this together and always have been. That is what reassures me.