The BB Update blog:
My belly button has officially metamorphosed and now you can see it through
my clothes. There's simply no
getting around it. My non-pregnant
belly button was pretty deep so I thought maybe I would be one of those women
whose BB’s didn’t bulge out.
False. No such thing. Now it looks like an imprint of a tiny
palm tree leaf with a bubble on top.
When I laugh it kind of works like a puppet’s mouth, very awkward.
Never try to reason with a hungry
pregnant women: After a few instances of humorous
(after-the-fact) marital dialogues that left me in tears and Dan questioning
his own sanity, I thought about elaborating but decided not to for fear of
sounding like a complete basketcase.
I’ll just leave it at a friendly reminder to all expectant parents out
there: nutrition is important, never postpone feeding time, you must feed the
beast often and consistently.
The ‘how I'm feeling’ blog:
Two
words pretty much sum it up: achy whale.
Moving on…
The checklist blog:
- After much much research and only two interviews, we found a pediatrician that we like a lot. Check!
- The nursery is completely painted and all furniture is assembled and I’ve started to put things away.
- Still need to finish packing the “Go” bag, which means shopping for a few things and washing all the baby clothes.
- We’ve completed our Bradley classes, including several weeks of labor rehearsals. That means we officially have lots and lots of information about everything that could possibly happen during pregnancy, labor and birth. So um now I just get to do it. Yay, and Yikes.
- “Birth Preferences” document (a.k.a. birth plan) is finalized and approved by my OBGYN). I’m happy to share it with anyone who is considering a natural birth and wants to see a sample. Send me a note or leave a comment.
- Bought the carseat, just need to install it into the car. We went with Britax after a strong recommendation from brother-in-law Brandon, whose input we value very highly on all things safety (among other things!).
The ‘my husband is the best husband ever’ blog:
Daniel has been so amazing throughout my third trimester. He has been a painting maniac; working on the nursery, the furniture, and even a giant elephant painting for the baby. He’s been increasingly attentive and helpful around the house as it is getting increasingly difficult for me to do things like vacuum and carry things up and down the stairs. He has been so giving with back rubs and foot rubs. And his unyielding patience towards my pillow fortress in our bed and the variety of ice cream that has taken over the freezer… I’m so grateful. Oh, and he even indulged me with a red, white and blue photo for Independence Day.
Thinking Outside the Baby: A
few weeks ago, Daniel was pondering life, our lives, as a couple and as
individuals, and how life will change when we become parents soon. He brought
up to me that while our family life is the most important thing to us above all
else, it is also so important that we balance who we are as individuals with
who we are as parents. He
suggested that we take the time to make a list – a place to capture things that
we want to do in our lives beyond raising our children. A sort of bucket
list. Things we don’t want to lose
site of during the wonderfully all-consuming mission of caring for a baby (then
a toddler, then a kid, then maybe other babies and toddlers etc.)… so throughout
our lives now-and-then, and when we’re empty nesters some day we can look to
this list for a reminder of the passions and goals that made/make us who we
are. Things on this list include
me teaching piano again at some point, Dan starting or getting involved in a
small business, us traveling to Japan (slash pretty much everywhere else cool),
me getting more involved in the pro-life movement, Dan getting his masters
degree, and a bunch of other things.
I really appreciated this spousal brainstorm and I’m sure it will be
great to reference this long list throughout our lives, for perspective or
maybe just for a chuckle.
The blog where I share pictures:
When I was about 30 weeks pregnant, we did some
‘Expecting’ Family Photos with Jane Zarzynski (Jane also did our wedding). She came to our home in Gilbert and shot
some intimate portraits in the nursery of me, my body, and Dan with me. Then we headed over to the Agritopia
pool for the opportunity for me to show off my adorable new polka-dot one-piece
swimsuit. Here are a few
favorites…
www.janezphotography.com
