The Pregnant Pause

I had always assumed the term "Pregnant Pause" came from the fact that the "pause" in question was just a bit larger and a tad more awkward than it needed to be....kinda like us full term mommies :)
No, I now realize it comes from the pause that most moms enter once they hit full term at 37 weeks and still have up to 4 weeks of the waiting game to play! (for those not familiar with pregnancy time lines, "full term" is 37 weeks, which is where they get "9 months of pregnancy" but the due date actually marks 40 weeks of pregnancy - yes that makes 10 Months, not 9! And most practitioners will induce after 41 weeks, which gives the baby a 4 week window in which to make their appearance.)
Sunday marked 37 weeks for baby and I and she could come tonight or she could decide to extend her reservation and stay another 4 weeks! So in the mean time we wait. Life gets all but put on pause and we wait. There's only so much nesting, rearranging, etc that you can do and so we wait. Because we didn't know if this little one would be coming earlier or later, I cleared my calendar for the next three weeks, just to play it safe....now I'm bored! But I know better than making plans and getting too busy and over doing it, I already can't sleep (which is why this blog gets updated at 3am!) and I'd really rather not get too worn out before the baby gets here! So, we take it easy and wait.....I know, I know, life will get busier than I had bargained for in just a few weeks, and I'll be wishing for this boredom back, yada yada! That's easy to say when you're not the one held in the midst of a pregnant pause. :) I wonder if it's any worse for the 2nd baby because everything is "done" and there's less 1st time anxieties to pass the time fretting over!? Or is it worse the 2nd time around because I have a 2 and a half year old that realized she wasn't experiencing her "terrible two's" to the fullest and decided to make up for lost time! :)
I keep getting asked: "Are you ready?" Of course not, that's why I want the baby to get here! We learned last time that you're never really "ready" to have a baby, so I'm as ready as I'm gonna be! So, "Baby Balcom, Come on Down!"
For all my other pregnant mommy friends out there, I hope you're keeping busy (but not too busy!) during your pregnant pause and enjoying the quiet at 3am if you can't sleep either! 3am will look a whole lot different in just a little bit. :) And let's hope these pauses don't last longer than they need to! I think9 months is long enough and 10 is more than plenty! :)