The last week of pregnancy is a wild place to be

 The last week of pregnancy is a wild place to be.

Everyone’s checking in “any baby yet? “ their excitement wrapping around your own swirling mix of emotions.

There’s so much joy and anticipation, but also this quiet, gnawing anxiety.
What day will it be? What hour? How will it all unfold?
Will your baby be safe? Will you be okay?

It’s a strange thing to stand on the edge of the unknown like this, knowing that any moment could change everything.
That your life will never be the same again.

So you wait.
You nest.
You try to soak in these last fleeting moments of feeling them inside you, their kicks and rolls and stretches.

You hold your breath every time the phone rings, every time a wave of tightening wraps around your belly.

And you remind yourself it’s all part of it.
This is the sweet ache before the beginning.
The final chapter before you meet the love of your life.