At the moment, my life feels like the last chapter of a novel where suddenly everything seems to happen very quickly: loose ends are tied up, outstanding issues are finally explained, mysteries are at last revealed, and....swoosh...you are surprised to find yourself reading the final page of the book.
Which would be incredibly wonderful...if I had more things done, in place, and ready to go.
They're...uh...not.
Baby is definitely doing his part.
I take these belly photos, download them, and I swear, they make me look half-as-big and I look in real life. At least to me! For the last week or so, it has felt like baby boy has been trying to expand his physical boundaries. Push, push, push! Stretch, stretch, stretch! Ow. And he has been exceedingly active.
The result is that I am now moving into the "uncomfortable phase" of my pregnancy. Sleep is a commodity I get little of. Back aches are common. It hurts to bend over or sit up straight for any length of time. And for goodness sakes, he's not even crushing my lungs or karate kicking my ribs! I realize that I probably have it a lot better than many.
Last night after work I attended a breastfeeding class. I learned some things that were quite useful and/or interesting. For example, the foods you eat will flavor the milk. As a result, breastfed babies tend to be less picky eaters as toddlers because they have already experienced varying flavors. Formula-fed babes are used to a single flavor, so may be more picky when they switch to solids. Makes sense, eh?!
So now my DH wants to take more classes. A safety class and a CPR class. Honestly, I'm tired of classes. I particularly don't like night classes after work. I'm tired and uncomfortable and just want to be home, relaxing. I told him I will teach him infant CPR, and he seemed satisfied with that.
What else? Oh, we finally got around to ordering the crib and dresser/changing station only to find that delivery will take a minimum of 6 weeks. Yep. It's my own fault for not taking care of this sooner. But I feel like these pieces are the starting point for the room. Until they are in place I can't really set up much else in there. So....the room is now on hold. Waaah (that was me, whining).
No, I have not yet drafted my maternity leave plan (did any of you mommies write one?), nor have I told my boss that I'd like to take 6 months of leave. Um, I think I'd better get to this soon.
No, we haven't visited daycare facilities either. I know, I know. Waiting lists. There's a day care about a block from my office, so I need to get on the stick and call them. Hopefully my mom will have moved here and will be settled in and ready to take over day care for a while by the time I am ready to go back to work, so it will buy me some time to get a commercial daycare plan in place. Maybe (fingers crossed) we won't need day care until 2011.
No, we don't have a car seat yet. Wacky P wanted to buy us one. Well, okay, thank you very much, but I'd like have it no later than 4 weeks from now. I mean...you've got to have the car seat!
No, we don't have a co-sleeper or bassinet. I think we could pick one up over the weekend.
My three baby showers are scheduled for February 3rd, 20th and 21st. I have this fear that everyone is going to buy clothes (as though the 20-pound box of clothes my mom sent isn't already too much) and my registry lists will be untouched. Which is fine - I mean, nobody owes me a gift in the first place and I am grateful for each person's thoughtfulness....but I'm anxious to go buy everything so that I am sure we have the basics - just in case people would rather spend $20 on clothes than on, say, butt balm.
So...I've got a lot on my mind these days. No wonder I can't sleep! All this swirling in my thoughts before I even get to work. Work?! You mean I'm expected to produce work too?
Well, one fun thing is that this Friday we've schedule a 3D/4D ultrasound. Of course I want to see my little sweet pea - it will have been 2 months since we had a peek in there! - but I also want to see what position he is in.
So, friends, it's a busy time, and there are precious few pages remaining in the pregnancy story of my life. I am so incredibly excited though, to pick up and begin the next story: parenthood!
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8 comments:
Ohmygoodnesslookatyourbelly!!! You look gorgeous, lady! And I can seem why you can barely sleep - beyond the physical discomfort, there's so much running through that brain of yours! You have so much to do!
In the event that it might be helpful, I am going to share with you my fabulous method for prioritizing things that need to be done. You'll need 4 different-coloured high-lighters and a sheet of looseleaf paper. Write down everything you have to do. Then, go through with the first colour (I use yellow), and highlight everything that needs to be done immediately. Next, in another colour (I use pink), highlight whichever things should be done once those are done, and so on until you have a big rainbow of a list. Next, all you need to look at and check off are the first priority items (yellow, in my case). Once those are done, move on to pink, etc. If it gets messy, or there's more to add, simply create a new list and re-prioritize. I find it reduces my stress to work through my list this way.
Love the tidbit about breastmilk babies trying different foods - makes absolute sense!
Take care and can't wait to see a pic of your sweet pea on here!
Love,
Maddy
I can't believe there's only 8 weeks left!! You'll be my seocond blog friend that I followed since the beginning of the pregnancy! Wow! Your belly is soo soo big and nice! No wonder you can't sleep or sit up straight. I love the fact that your husband is now soooooo involved he wants to take classes for everything. Much love, Fran
you'll love the 3/4D scan, it was some of the best money we spent.
Have you thought of going to a chirporactor for your back? My chiro totally got me through.
8 weeks :D so exciting :)
DUDE!!! You have a lot to do!! I picked up a bassinett the day our little one was born at Target. That's all you need in the beginning ;) Don't put too much pressure on your sweet self. BTW-you look RADIANT!!
I love that you have all this stuff to do and Dh wants to take classes. Maybe he could take a class on getting priorities in order!!
8 weeks, really? Wow. It has gone by quickly and you have hardly had a sour word to say, what an inspiration.
Thanks for all your support and here a slice of order back at you - now rest!!
This is both the uncomfortable, but the fun time. I felt like I could really moive ahead and do things without feeling like I was "tempting fate".
One thing I found - you don't use the nursery at all in the beginning, so don't stress if that's not done before baby arrives. I would highly recommend you get a nice glider/ottoman set. We use it so much, we got 2 - one for upstairs, one for downstairs. Then, instead of getting a bassinet, I got a pack n play with a changing table (and diaper/wipes/ointment holder) built in. We use that as the bassinet and changing table in our bedroom. Once we move Aysia to her crib, we will have a pack n play to take places with us, instead of a bassinet that will get no more use.
I did do a maternity plan for work that I shared with my bosses. If you'd like, I'd be happy to email it to you, just reach out to me at runner0011@yahoo.com. I also have an extensive questionaire that I took to the 3 daycares I visited to compare their responses. I can send you that, too. And then I also have a to-do list that I worked off of - color coded in excel, along with other lists to get ready for the big day (what t pack in hospital bag, diaper bag, etc.).
Great belly shot!
Wow - you look wonderful! i wish I looked that good at 32 weeks. Sheesh.
This is an exciting yet stressful time. And the urge to nest is simply impossible to resist. Try to stay calm - all of those things you need can wait until after the baby arrives. (except a place for him to sleep!) enjoy the last few weeks and try to take it easy.
Uhm...wow! Breathe?
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