Read / Write / Shoes

Things have been progressing nicely. Starting to finish everything up with the baby - all her clothes and blankets are washed, my hospital bags are packed, and today I will be packing the dog's going away bags. A few things left to clean and do and then we should be ready. I fear that I'm holding on to things to do (like that DAMN SHREDDING BOX!) because if I finish everything then I have to focus on the fact that she's on her way. Some days I feel like she's ready to burst - today especially. She's dropped a bit more and there was a little bit of blood when I went to the bathroom. I will not panic. I will not panic. All the baby books say that means it could be a couple weeks out. The increased Braxton Hicks have been painful. My mom said we were all a week early - does this mean my baby is going to be early too? And how early?! Ohhh how I wish I could see the future so I can plan for today! So it's time to buckle down and get everything done! On a happy no...

We are on baby watch people! I repeat - WE ARE ON BABY WATCH! Over the weekend she dropped in the most fantastic of ways - complete with pubic bone pain and lower stomach cramps causing me to run to the bathroom every 2 minutes. All signs point to IT'S ALMOST TIME! Panic ensued. Cleaning up a frenzy happened. And then she migrated back north again and life went on. Here we go with week 2. Day Eight My roommate from college was in town for the weekend and is also pregnant for the first time. Her and her husband had been trying for a few months to get pregnant when HTB and I found out we were expecting. They were preparing to move away and, as we had an overseas trip planned, we couldn't make the going away party. We decided to do a group dinner in which we were going to share with them the news. I was knee deep in mourning sickness and we ended up being 15 min late. I had texted her that I would explain when I got there. We walked in, I apologized and said that someone was...

What. A. Day. For a teeny tiny child who has yet to be born, I managed to spend my day doing her laundry, finishing the nursery and folding too many clothes, receiving blankets, wash cloths and bibs to count. But it's coming along nicely. HTB and I have minimal plans this weekend so I'm hoping we can get a few things cleaned - maybe next week I can do more relaxing! Today's down time was spent with my fur babies - went for a long walk through the park, snuggled and napped on the couch, and the general day to day care they require. The one thing that hovers over me was made worse today - I added a lot more papers to the shredding box! One day SB you will be MINE! Tonight? DATE NIGHT!!! This is the time we set aside to make sure that HTB and I are still connected without talking about the baby or what we have to do to get ready. Given that we are almost there, I'm thinking it will be easier to relax and enjoy. Happy weekend everyone! Reading: Momzillas by Jill K...

An outing! We had an OB appt today for our 34 week visit. But to prepare for it I had quite a laundry list of things to do, and all I really wanted to do was stay home and read! Curses! Day Four Tried to read as much as I could in the morning and then it was task after internet task - filing for State Disability, paying bills and researching what else this baby could possibly need. She's a month away from being born and yet our house has been taken over by baby items! We are actually doing really well as far as being prepared goes - we just needed a few more things that can wait until after she is born. HTB is speaking to coworkers about their experiences and comes home in a panic every night (trying to keep up with the Jones'?) One lady said her baby was born at 35 weeks, so now the fire under me to finish everything is stronger. My body, on the other hand, says otherwise. OB visit went...well? He came in, asked how I was doing and then proceeded to talk about ever...

Being on maternity leave has taught me that I just can't physically do whatever I put my mind to...and I have 2 lazy dogs who love laying around napping with me! No active puppies in this household! Day Two Call me the laundry queen! All day long - load after load. There were so many clean clothes the fur babies didn't know which stack of clean clothes to lay on first! The focus was on adult clothes only as HTB has this habit of liking clean clothes to wear to work.  My goal of shredding the last box of paperwork still looms heavily over me though. It's becoming my cross to bear. The laundry room is on our second floor and I was set up to nap downstairs, so I was getting winded like crazy. This left me with no energy to do much of anything else except to finish the books I was reading. And THAT may have taken more effort than doing the laundry! But I finished the first book and dove straight into the sequel. Cleaning off my bookshelves has never been more exhaust...

I'm the youngest of three. Both of my sisters have had kids - three to be exact. This makes my child the fourth grandchild to be born into my side of the family and the first on my HTB's side. What this means is that my parents are over it. O-v-e-r. I-t. With the first grandchild, my parents were not involved until after her birth. None of us were. She was completely cut off from us. But when she was born my parents took her in where she lives to this day. When the second and third grandchildren were born, there were quite a few complications, but the novelty of the first grandson was strong. Now? My parents have a 13-year-old they are taking care of and they just don't have the time for me. I asked my mom if she would help me in the delivery room and she replied "we'll see" which we all know still stands for a no after all these years. On my HTB's side? His mom passed away when he was young and his dad is overseas. Where does that leave me? Wishing ...

Yesterday I started my maternity leave after what felt like I was pregnant for 3 years straight. After the first trimester of horrible sickness and complications, during the second trimester I felt like a new woman. I remember thinking to myself that I wanted to go on leave the month before I was due so I could lay around reading, writing and watching Netflix (since I can't fit in my shoes!) It sounded like a grand idea. But then the third trimester came around and the weight began to add up. I'm a small girl to begin with - I am 4'9 and was only 10 pounds over my ideal weight when I found out I was pregnant. I'm now up 40 pounds in my hips, breasts and belly - unfortunately not enough in my belly so I'm feeling every punch, kick and squiggle in my belly like never before. The usual third trimester symptoms have settled in as well - the swollen feet, the swollen hands, the shortness of breath from her crowding my lungs and the wishing this could be over soon. I al...