Monday, May 28, 2007

3 weeks left - that means any day now, right??

I know first babies are usually a bit late, but a girl can hope... Its sort of like the beginning of pregnancy all over again - before you know for sure, you over-analyze every little feeling in your body: was that morning sickness? are my pants getting tight? Its the same way now - was that a real contraction? do I feel crampy? has the baby dropped? (or am I just waddling because I'm huge!) I have been having a lot of practice contractions and am taking some natural remedies to help get my body ready so that I hopefully won't go too overdue. But really there's no use forcing Mother Nature... Have to try to be patient and pass the time getting things ready. But frankly, as far as the baby is concerned, everything is ready, except for him! Well, I should say, we have everything we need, but of course there's always a couple more things we want.

Anyway, perhaps to distract ourselves, we have also taken on a couple of other projects around the house. We replaced the awful glass shower doors (that were impossible to clean) with a fancy curved curtain rod just like in the hotel (ok, ok, they have them in Super 8.) I replaced the regular light switch in the dining room with a dimmer (oooooo, aaahhh!) And due to an untimely mini-flood in the basement, Dan had to haul the nasty carpet out of there and will be laying a fresh layer of peel and stick tiles down as soon as they arrive (they were backordered.) Actually, the basement situation really stank (literally, like mildew) and it will feel much less homey down there with a hard floor, but we can't risk ruining carpet again - what was there before was new when we bought the house. Sad :( Hopefully a large area rug will lend sufficient warmth when we need to use that space for a family play room as Gregory gets older.

In other news, we had a wonderful visit with Angela and Galiano from Germany as they passed through on their cross-country RV tour. Dan and I have also started to play golf, and we're finding its a good way to get some fresh air and exercise together. I'm not the only crazy pregnant lady who golfs, either - we have seen a few others out there on the links. My big belly doesn't get in the way of my swing like you might expect...and I'm hoping all the walking will do me some good, if you know what I mean.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

6 wks left!

Yes, we're now at the point where we are counting the weeks left instead of the weeks completed. As the baby gets bigger, I am feeling full to the max, and I have no idea how I am going to have room for him to grow any more! I guess thats where stretch marks come into play?...don't have any yet... Sleeping through the night is a distant memory at this point, but I suppose its nature's design to prepare me, huh?

Our childbirth class is winding down - it has been really great getting to know the other couples, but we all talk so much during class that our teacher has a hard time getting through the material! Everyone has either questions, experience, or knowledge to share - but that is part of the fun. It will be really neat to see everyone's babies as they come along - we are all due within about 6 wks of each other this summer.

Other preparations (on my part at least) include lots of eating, sleeping in, reading inspirational birth stories, and frequent relaxation practice - I'm even listening to a self-hypnosis CD. Last week we assembled some of the remaining needed items: our birth kit including medical-type supplies and a blow-up pool, the carseat (a generous gift), and a new minivan. 2 big dogs + a baby = need a larger vehicle! We finally said good-bye to the trusty Fix family 1991 Honda Accord - it gave over 200,000 miles of service and was still running well, but was showing its age in rust and disintegrating leather.

So, the household is slowly transforming into a family abode...but we have to have a little more patience... I've been getting inquiries as to the plan for notifying people - the plan is that immediate family will be regularly updated when labor begins, and shortly after the birth we'll send out a mass email with pictures to let everyone else know the vital statistics. If you want to make double-sure you are on that list, let us know! Otherwise, we'll also be posting an account of the birth here on the blog within a couple of days I'm sure. And I do intend to post a couple more times before then too!

Lastly, check out my latest belly pics in the link to the right if you are so inclined - I am getting huge!