Weekly Pregnancy Post

It’s the final countdown… four weeks to go!

Is it acceptable to start feeling incredibly anxious at this point in time? Please say yes because that’s the one word that best describes the multitude of emotions I am experiencing with just four weeks to go until our due date. Everyone keeps asking if we’re excited and yes, we are very very VERY excited. We’re excited to meet our baby girl and I’m excited to no longer be pregnant. But on top of all that excitement is pure anxiety and for an already overly-anxious person, this added anxiety is causing me to feel a bit neurotic and act a lot like a crazy woman. Just ask my husband. I’m a planner and an organizer. It’s just what I do and who I am. Not knowing exactly when I’m going to go into labor or how much longer we have until she arrives is driving me a bit crazy. I have been feeling this overwhelming urge to just be ready, completely and totally ready, even though I know that you really can’t ever be ready for a baby’s arrival. This weekend we cleaned the house from top to bottom – every floor was scrubbed clean, the shop-vacuum came out for a good dust clean-up, cabinets were cleared out and contact-papered, and toilets were scrubbed. Not that she’s going notice any of those things, right? I just feel so much better knowing our house is clean. We finished her bedroom with the exception of the lamps that I’m still waiting for Land of Nod to deliver to my front door. My hospital bag is packed with the exception of a few last-minute items to be thrown in on the day-of. I woke up about 50 times last night after having dreams of my water breaking. I'm sure this is normal but if she doesn't arrive for four more weeks I may just drive MYSELF crazy! I think Dave will be thankful when she arrives for the simple fact that I’ll regain some of my sanity and he’ll be able to watch his weekend sports without the constant dictation of his next task. Then again, he WILL have a baby demanding lots of attention and dictating diaper changes and feedings (sorry, my love, but your sport-watching weekends will never be the same again :)).

How Far Along: Thirty-six weeks

Well, Hello Bags: By bags I mean those lovely bags that form under your eyes that tell the rest of the world just how tired you're feeling. I could get 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep and still manage to have those dark bags under my eyes. I can't even remember the number of people who told me that I looked tired last week. That's an understatement and a feeling that I'm sure won't subside for a very long time. Ironically enough, I'm getting the most sleep now that I've gotten throughout my entire pregnancy. I think this nasty cold virus I'm trying to fight off may have something to do with it. Either way, if you happen to notice the bags, politely tell me that I look wonderful and move on :) Make a pregnant lady feel a little better, would ya?!

Food Cravings: This week I had two very spontaneous and random grocery store purchases: chocolate milk and Frosted Mini Wheats. I haven't had chocolate milk in a very long time but I managed to finish off the gallon in a day and it tasted delicious. I've never had Frosted Mini Wheats in my entire life but for some reason that bright orange box stood out to me as I walked down the cereal aisle and they just looked too deceptively delicious on the cover I had to have them. Unfortunately, they didn't live up the hype but I do plan on finishing that box.

Just the Two of Us: Dave and I have really been trying to savor our last few weeks as a family of two. Last weekend we enjoyed a little night out at the movies, seeing The Dilemma. On Saturday night we spent our last Christmas gift card on dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Despite some terrible service and my pizza being delivered covered in onions (I'm mentally allergic to those nasty little things), it was a nice night out. We even did a little browsing at Baby Gap and both agreed that once she's born and we know just what size she is we'll be heading back for some adorable spring and summer outfits! We know it'll be a while before we get some time together, just the two of us, once she's born so we figure we should make the most of the time now. Although, I will admit we spend most of our time talking about all the things we plan to do with baby girl and really, we're just so excited to become a family of three!

Superbowl Bound: Dave has informed me that I am not allowed to give birth on Sunday, February 6th now that the Packers are Superbowl bound. And if I do happen to be in labor during the Superbowl, it will be on in my room and he will efficently multi-task in cheering me on while cheering on the green & gold. I politely informed him the last thing I want as background noise while in labor is football but there's no reasoning with a man who loves sports. While it's highly unlikely I'll go into labor two weeks early, I did tell him that she might just decide to arrive that day to prove to her daddy that she will always come before sports :)

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Realizing that in less than a month we'll finally be parents. I've been pregnant for over a year now in theory (give or take a few months) and I'm more than ready to hold our baby girl in my arms. Knowing we're this close to that day makes me feel like a kid on Christmas morning!

Weekly Pregnancy Post

Our laptop is on its last leg and isn’t letting me upload pictures so you’ll have to trust me when I tell you the belly has grown since last week. Consider this a warning that this post is likely to be incredibly long. I keep having this fear that I’m going to go into labor at any minute (yes, I know our due date is still nearly 5 weeks away) and I don’t want to miss any of the last-minute details of this pregnancy.

How Far Along: Thirty-five weeks

Pregnancy Symptoms: Swelling – especially in my feet, ankles, and lower legs. I hadn’t really noticed it until last week when my doctor pointed out that my ankles were swollen. Sure enough – that would explain the pain in my feet and legs recently. Guess it’s easy to miss when you can’t see your feet and you hide under long pants and winter boots!

Food Cravings: I had a miracle craving this week – broccoli!!! I have never ever liked or even really eaten broccoli in my entire life. Unfortunately (or fortunately when I was a kid), I didn’t have parents who forced me to eat my vegetables in order to leave the dinner table. I always try to incorporate more vegetables into my diet but I usually mask their true nutritional value with some melted cheese or something else rather unhealthy. I thought living with a vegetarian during grad school would help but here I am, still refusing to eat my vegetables. Periodically through this pregnancy I’ve wanted some veggies – mostly carrots or other crunchy veggies that can be dipped in ranch so when this urge to serve broccoli with every meal came across a few days ago, I started planning our weekly menu accordingly. Last night we had some delicious chicken and rice with steamed broccoli and I didn’t even pick out one bit of the broccoli. A miracle! I’ve also been craving spicy foods. Again, I’m usually not much of a spicy person but I found myself stocking up on spicy sauces this week to incorporate into this week’s menu. Unfortunately spicy food leads to horrible heartburn but I just can’t put the fork down!

The Belly: I got my first “you look like you’re about to pop” comment this week…from the nice old man bagging my groceries at Pick N Save, nonetheless. He must’ve been in his late 70’s and he is the most methodical, organized bagger I have ever met. He made my job of sorting and putting away groceries much later. Anyways, here I am trying to get my bottled water back into my cart when he says “Oh my goodness dear, you look like you’re about to have that baby any day!” Thank you Mr. Bagger for noticing. I assured him I still had five weeks left but he insisted the baby looked like it could come any day now. After all those months of hearing people say “You don’t even look pregnant” this was a welcomed comment because trust me, I certainly feel more pregnant than I may look. You can bet I’ll be heading to his check-out line if I ever see him again.

Nursery Progress: She has a mattress! And her room is officially baby-ready. We still have lamps and a small table to purchase and her pictures haven’t been hung but the essentials are all there – tucked away in their neat little storage spaces. I spent Saturday washing all her itsy-bitsy clothes and turning our disaster of a guest room into a functional space again by putting all her baby stuff away. It feels good to be organized and I feel better knowing that we’re less than five weeks to her due date now. I have her hospital bag all packed and a long list of things to pack in my own bag – that’s next weekend’s task. I promise some pictures when I feel like her room is truly finished.

Showering Continues: As if our two wonderful baby showers weren’t enough, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League I am involved in at church decided to throw me a surprise baby shower at our meeting last Tuesday night. It had been a long day at work and I was still so exhausted from the weekend’s showers, I contemplated not going. Thankfully, I went or else there would’ve been a bunch of ladies eating cake and opening baby gifts without me! I was so thankful for this surprise shower and for all the beautiful gifts we got. I’m still amazed that my mom managed to keep this a surprise from me – I am certainly not a surprise person. Unfortunately because it was a surprise I didn’t have my camera on hand but trust me, the cake was beautiful and so incredibly delicious and baby girl received some of the cutest outfits from her LWML family.

Bonding: I am still so amazed at how much Dave and baby girl have bonded. The second he touches my belly and opens his mouth she responds with strong kicks and movements. He’ll have whole conversations with her and she listens and responds as if she already understands how to hold a conversation. It’s so different for me. She listens to me talk all day long and I feel her kicks constantly – I feel like my bonding with her is a slow, continuous process and I think I’ll actually feel that attachment once she is physically here. If I were to guess though I’d say she is definitely going to be a daddy’s girl and it melts my heart already.

The Name Game: Yes, we have a name picked out. No, we are not sharing it :) It’s the number one question I get these days from everyone, though. Even from complete strangers. We had a long list of baby girl names picked out and one baby boy name. I can tell you that when we found out she was a girl, Dave instantly started calling her by one of the names and hasn’t stopped since. I don’t usually call her by her name because sometimes in my mind I wonder if we’ve picked the one that will be best for her. I feel like I want to see her first before I can officially say, “Yes, that’s her name.” I will tell you that the name we picked sounds elegant and sweet and it’s nice and short for a last name like Irish.

It’s Personal: For so many months we’ve been putting all our energy and money into baby girl. I was talking with a girl friend the other day and asked if it was selfish to look forward to not being pregnant anymore so that I could have a bit of myself back. After all, this tiny human being has hijacked my body for the past nine months. First she assured me that I’d have a completely new normal, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Then she told me that it is absolutely necessary that I look forward to doing some things for myself after she’s born so that I don’t lose my sanity as a new parent. It may be weird to say but I look forward to brushing my teeth without bleeding gums and going to the dentist for a good cleaning that doesn’t hurt. I look forward to finally coloring my hair dark again and getting a fresh cut. I look forward to going to the gym and being able to exercise like before. I think I look forward to all of these things because they will make me feel good about myself again after months of not having the energy to make myself look more than just presentable. Ask any pregnant lady and they will tell you it’s difficult to feel beautiful when you’re watching the numbers on the scale continuously go up, you feel and look like you haven’t slept in days and your clothes never seem to fit or look just right. I know I won’t be ready to venture out and do any of these things for quite some time after she’s born but it’s fun to have a few things just for me to look forward to

Weekly Pregnancy Post

How Far Along: Thirty-four weeks

Pregnancy Symptoms: Thinking I can do everything just as I did pre-pregnancy and learning the hard way that sometimes that just isn’t possible. Okay, so maybe that’s a long, made-up, random pregnancy side effect or maybe it’s just my stubborn personality, but last week I learned the hard way that my body definitely cannot do the things it did before I was pregnant. Long story short, I learned that it really is best to bend at your knees when you’re pregnant because if you don’t you might just pull a back muscle. While I’m continually told that I have a tiny belly, to me, it’s significantly larger than it was a few months ago and bending over to pick up your husband’s shoes (that he so graciously leaves lying in front of the door) can be a daunting task. Lesson learned: make hubby pick up his own shoes and always bend at the knees, not the waist! Other than a few pulled muscles and learning how to maneuver my body with this baby belly, I am feeling really good. I think I’m well-adjusted to the minimal sleep because I feel less tired and annoyed when I wake up in the middle of the night now. In a way, I look forward to my mid-night feedings with her in a few weeks. It’ll be nice to have some company when I can’t sleep!

Cravings: I can honestly say I haven’t had any weird cravings this entire pregnancy. Recently, my cravings consist of foods I see on television commercials. The past week it was Pizza Hut breadsticks. We never order Pizza Hut but this very persuasive commercial came on and convinced me, at 9 o’clock at night, that I needed to have breadsticks (with marinara sauce of course). While the hubby offered to drive and get some I insisted it was completely unnecessary and the craving for them passed….until Saturday night when the sister-in-law decided to order us some Pizza Hut and I finally was able to indulge in a breadstick and a half and it was everything I had hoped it would be the night I saw the commercial. I’m still enjoying dairy products, especially cheese and milk. I’ve eaten far too much leftover baby shower cake since the weekend and I’m already declaring that our house will be junk food-free after she’s born. What I find most interesting is that Dave has been having some cravings of his own these past few weeks. I doubt that he’s gained any “sympathy weight” because he probably couldn’t even gain weight if he tried. BUT whenever I announce that I must have a certain food item at a very specific time, he always responds with “I could really go for some…(fill in the blank)”. It’s usually some random and it never relates to my craving. Sometimes you’d think HE’S the one carrying the baby!

Weight-gain: Why do people feel the need to ask how much weight I’ve gained during pregnancy? Is that ever an appropriate question to ask a woman? While I can admit that I’m on the lower end of the pregnancy weight gain spectrum, I still feel like a big old cow on most days. I don’t need a number to make me feel that way. I tell Dave everyday I just want my body back. I can’t wait for her to vacate the premises so that I can feel like myself again. It’s impossible to say no to any form of chocolate while pregnant, my legs are swollen and I refuse to wear anything but long pants, and my face has exploded to the size of a basketball (much like my belly). Everyone keeps telling me that my belly is so tiny for being 34 weeks along – I’ve heard this throughout my entire pregnancy. I think I’m supposed to feel lucky!? Perhaps compared to some others at this point it is on the smaller side but trust me, it’s pretty big when compared to where I started at. My maternity clothes are slowly getting too small. Pregnant or not, no woman wants to feel fat and no woman wants to share how much weight she’s gained. Now, in a few months, feel free to ask me how much I’ve lost because I’m sure that number I will be more than thrilled to share :)

Nesting: On Saturday morning I had a very hormonal breakdown, over clothes of course. I locked myself in our closet while Dave lay in bed, declaring that nothing fit and that I was going to look terrible for my own baby shower no matter what I put on. When I finally emerged dressed I still wasn’t satisfied and declared that I looked like a teacher-mom in my outfit. Dave, still lying in bed, so wonderfully said, “You ARE a mom.” To which I quickly responded that no, I was not yet a mom (just a mom-to-be), therefore I didn’t have to dress like one yet. I proceeded to then lock myself in the bathroom because let’s face it, when your wardrobe fails you there is always hope for a good hair day. The point of the story is, I was wrong – I am a mom. I’ve been a mom since the moment we first found out we were pregnant. I’ve been taking care of our daughter -protecting, feeding, and nurturing her - for nearly nine months now and even though I’ve never held her in my arms or seen her face, I am still her mother. All the nesting I’ve been doing, all the time I spend in her room, touching her clothes, planning her future – that’s the stuff that makes me a mom. So we’ll let the hubby be right this ONE time...although I still wasn’t satisfied with my outfit that day.

One Year Ago: A year ago yesterday, on January 10th, we had found out that we were pregnant with our first baby. Dates tend to stick in my head and always hold some sort of significance for me. I remember we both already knew that I was pregnant – we had a strong feeling that turned out to be right. It was an incredibly joyous day for us and the weeks that followed brought so much excitement and joy to our families, too. While that pregnancy didn’t end in the way we would have hoped, I don’t ever want to forget that excitement because you only have that first time once. And we know that someday we’ll get to meet our sweet baby in heaven and we’ll be reminded of those feelings of excitement all over again.

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Our baby showers. You can read my last post for all the details and pictures from our two baby showers this past weekend. It’s a little bittersweet that they’re over because I hear you only get them with your first child. Either way, it was a significant highlight from our pregnancy and we appreciate everyone who helped us celebrate.

Showered

We were so blessed to have two beautiful baby showers this weekend! Our house is officially overflowing with baby gear – in fact, I think that somehow baby girl’s stuff has managed to infiltrate nearly every room in house in one way or another. Having all of this baby stuff around certainly adds to the excitement of her impending arrival and makes it feel so much closer and “real” than before!

Saturday was the Irish shower, hosted by my mother-in-law and one of her friends. It was extra-special that Dave’s sister was in town still visiting from Peru so she was able to share the day with us. This was Dave’s first baby shower experience and it was a great one. We had a delicious lunch and cake and opened far too many presents to even remember what we all received. We got some more of our essentials including diapers, baby bathing products, Dave’s ever-so-desired Diaper Genie (actually a different version but he still calls it his genie), the must-have Boppy and lots of cute baby clothes. I was so thankful that one of my closest friends, Kelsey, was able to come in from Madison on her birthday to help us celebrate this special time in our lives. We had an extra-special present for her that day which will be an entirely different post at a later date but we appreciated her spending her own special day with us. We got to spend extra time after the shower with Dave’s sister before it was time for her to head back to Peru. Next time she sees us, we’ll be parents!

Parents-to-be and the delicious cake


Dave, Me, and Kelsey


With Dave's aunt Karen


Sisters


Irish Family


My mom had her shower on Sunday, although this one was strictly girls only (Dave and Dad kept each other company at Home Depot and camped in front of the TV for some football). I was so thankful that all of my family and some of my closest friends were able to be there. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that so many people at the shower have known me nearly all my life or close to it. Many of the guests spent time recalling what it was like nearly 25 years ago as my own mother was preparing for my arrival. Such special memories! We enjoyed delicious cake and snacks and I think I broke some sort of world record for fastest shower ever because I had all those presents open in no time (there was a Packer game quickly approaching and I feel so weird opening gifts with so many people staring)! We again got so many of the essentials (and fun items!) we’ve been watching disappear from our registries – baby’s swing, bouncer, Pack N Play, Baby Bjorn carrier, Moby sling, Baby Einstein Jumperoo, and lots of diapers, wipes, bath products, and toys. Both my grandma and “aunt” Holly handmade beautiful blankets for baby girl which will be so warm and cuddly when she first arrives home. And yes, I got everyone out the door with plenty of time to spare before the Packer game even began :)

Me and Jenny


Katie, Me, and Emily


My mommy friend, Chrissy and sweet Emma


Me and Laura


Me and Katie


Me, Mom and Dad


It felt like we were kids on Christmas morning when we walked into our house last night to all these gifts scattered about. I’ve got a big old pile of baby clothes to wash next weekend, lots of diapers and wipes to be stored away for future use, and so many miscellaneous baby items to find a home for. We couldn’t wait to put all of the new fun baby toys together. In fact, I even managed to distract Dave during a Packer game long enough to get baby girl’s bouncy seat, swing, Pack N Play, and Zoo activity mat all put together. I will point out that Dave learned the importance of reading directions when it comes to assembling baby equipment. While looking at a picture and guessing may work for men in most cases, baby gear is highly complicated and you don’t want to risk your child’s safety. We had a few laughs while assembling and when all was said and done, we sat back on the couch and realized all we needed was a baby to put in all of those new things!

Next weekend will be dedicated to organizing all these new gifts, doing her laundry, purchasing her mattress, finishing decorating her nursery, and packing her bag for the hospital. I want it all to be done so that we can sit back and relax the last few weeks as we enjoy our last time together as a family of two and wait for the arrival of our beautiful daughter!

Resolving

I’ve never been one to make resolutions at the start of a new year. Exercise more. Eat healthier. Spend less, save more. To me, these resolutions seem destined to fail right from the start. This year must be different, for whatever reason, because I’ve thought long and hard about a few resolutions of my own. I vow though that my resolutions aren’t so superficial – they are practical things that I fully expect to be able to achieve. Not just that, but they are things that I’ve already been working on for a while. I’m not going for a body makeover here; I’m going for a change in my thinking, my actions, and who I am as a person. I’m simply reminding myself this New Year of these things I’d like to change about myself and re-dedicating this year to working even harder to achieve them. So, in no particular order or without any real logic, here are a few things I’ll be working on in 2011:

1. Not sweating the small stuff. Sounds so simple, right? Maybe if you’re a go-with-the-flow, relaxed person. I’m the complete opposite. I’m that over-anal, Type A, neurotic, planner type of person who manages to always make a big deal out of something so small. Like cleaning. When I say “don’t sweat the small stuff” I’m referring to my need to keep my house spotless by constantly cleaning as if I’m waiting for the Queen herself to ring my doorbell and invite herself in for an inspection. I’m referring to my need to grocery shop on the same day each week, but only after the laundry is sorted and in the wash. I’m referring to my need to be a bit more go-with-the-flow. To cross out things in my planner and schedule time for myself. For the things that I enjoy. This year, I vow to have a messier house, a messier planner, and a less jam-packed schedule. This will be no small task, let me tell you, and I am well aware of it. But I think that now, more than ever, with a baby on the way and a complete change to my lifestyle, is as best a time as ever.

2. Standing up for myself. I’m a people-pleaser. I have been for as long as I can remember. I think I am mostly responsible for making myself this way – the pressure I put on myself to perform academically, to be a good daughter, and to live up to other people’s expectations of me. During all of this pleasing other people, I often forget that I have a voice and opinions that matter. In the past few years, I’ve noticed that I find it easy to use my voice when it comes to advocating for the things that are important to me. But the instances in which I do that are limited. Take my blog for example – I find it easy to stand up for my beliefs around adoption and orphan care. It’s easy for me to stand strong in my Christian faith. But in times of conflict, confrontation, or when I come head-to-head with bullies or those over-opinionated, always-right people in my life, I back down because it’s easier to just let them have their way than fight. This causes me a lot of internal conflict and stress. So this year, I’m going to stand strong in my opinions and values and make my own wishes known. I’m not going to scour in the face of conflict or disagreement but rather I feel confident in my ability to articulate my feelings. This one makes me feel so childish but if I’ve learned anything since becoming a “real” adult, it’s that there are a heck of a lot more bullies in the real world than any elementary school playground.

3. Finding purpose in my work. I struggle with this one the most. I do not doubt that Social Work is the right profession for me. I am confident that my passion and purpose in this world is to advocate for and be a voice for the disadvantaged. I sometimes struggle with seeing this gift of working with the underprivileged, the “least of these”, as a GIFT rather than a burden. The work is hard, the pay is terrible, and the hours are long. This year especially I am struggling with how I am going to reconcile my career path with my new life as a mom. Working in child welfare is emotionally, mentally, and physically demanding and draining. The average length of time in a position is a year, if you’re one of the lucky ones to not experience an immediate burnout. Add a new baby on top of things, the emotions that come along with being a first-time parent and working simultaneously in field of child welfare and it is even easier to lose focus, passion, and purpose in this work. With that, I struggle with wanting to be home with our daughter instead of spending my days focusing on the welfare of other children. I don’t want to miss those important moments in her life. I want to find balance between being a mother and being a Social Worker. There are many decisions to be made in the next few months when it comes to work as I struggle to prioritize my work as a professional with my work as a mother.

4. Reprioritizing. This ties into the last one a bit. I won’t go into extreme detail on this other than to say that I’ve really been taking a long, hard look at my life and where I want it to go in the next few years. Having a baby certainly causes you to reflect and reprioritize…it’s going to be a long process to get to where I need to or want to be at but I’m open to the challenge.

5. Be the best parent and wife I can possibly be. It’s that simple. I don’t expect to be perfect – I expect to struggle with the demands of being a new parent and I expect our marriage to have its ups and downs as we adjust to this new little person in our lives. I want to be conscious of this and intentional in my actions throughout the next year of transition (and beyond) so that I always show my husband and daughter the love they deserve.

6. Learn to say "no"! I think this ties into the people-pleasing and standing up for myself. Dave always reminds me that my plate is full already and that I have to learn to say "no" to people and things sometime. This one is for me personally to not feel guilty about saying "no" once in a while which should help with the whole reprioritizing thing.

Weekly Pregnancy Post

Dave and I debate whether the next seven weeks will go fast or slow. I’m going with slow. We did learn that an acquaintance couple of ours (friends of our friends) just had their baby girl three weeks early on Christmas day which actually sent a bit of a panic through me (after all, four weeks sounds a lot sooner than seven at this point!) but I’m well aware that it’s not normal to have a baby THAT early and I certainly can’t count on it. I’m still convinced our baby will be the one that arrives fashionably late anyways. Either way, it’s 2011 and we’re officially in the homestretch.

How Far Along: Thirty-three weeks

Pregnancy Symptoms: My feet and legs are officially starting to swell and ache. If I didn’t have a real grown-up job I’m pretty sure I would live in my slippers and forgo putting on shoes unless absolutely necessary. Now that I’m at my permanent office full-time, I’m noticing more back pain which is likely a result of sitting all day. Acid reflux has become a constant occurrence which makes eating so very fun. My belly appears to be growing by the minute because I can no longer turn over at night (that may have something to do with a certain bed-hog as well) and as soon as I lay down it becomes nearly impossible to breathe. People tell me it’s normal to feel absolutely uncomfortable towards the end of pregnancy but I guess I never knew when “end of pregnancy” really began. I suppose now that we’re in 2011 the end is most certainly in sight which would explain the constant discomfort.

The Waddle: There are mornings when Dave wakes up and stares at me and so proudly announces, “I swear your belly grew over night!” He may just be right. I notice each day that my pregnancy shirts and sweaters get just a little bit shorter. While I’m well aware of the fact my belly is growing (which rightfully it should be at this point as she gains most of her weight these last few weeks), Dave also so kindly pointed out that I have that pregnant woman walk. Or waddle as he referred to it. He demonstrates it so well – boobs pushed out, a slight lean backwards. I tried explaining that I must be trying to re-center myself since my body is all of a sudden so front-heavy but he just laughed. He said he gets it but it’s still too funny to him.

Nesting: Dave and I like to spend time in her room. I’m hoping the room will be completely finished by the end of January just in case she decides to arrive early. With our showers this weekend, I’m sure her room will feel fuller in no time. Even though he room isn’t quite ready and she’s not even here, we’ve taken to spending time in her room – trying out the rocking chair, listening to music, and reading to her. It’s also become our ironing headquarters. Dave likes to let all his ironing needs pile up so last night we whipped out the ironing board and iron and set up camp in her room for an hour of de-wrinkling the hubby’s wardrobe. Who knew ironing in a nursery could be so relaxing!?

Food Cravings: Ranch dressing…I enjoy dipping just about anything in it but especially bread, french fries, and pizza. Dave found it especially weird that I wanted to dip my pizza in ranch yesterday. I assured him a lot of people eat ranch with their pizza and other random foods but he found it rather weird. He has no clue the deliciousness that he’s missing out on! I’ve mentioned it before but I’ve also taken to breakfast foods throughout my pregnancy which is unusual for me because I’ve never been a breakfast person before. This week it’s all about waffles (sometimes with a few mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top – so very healthy, I know) which is a refreshing change from my pancake and bacon cravings I’ve had for a while.

Birthing Plan: We’ve officially mailed our birthing plan and registration information off to the hospital where we’ll be delivering. I had heard other women talk about creating a birthing plan but never really understood what was meant by that. My plan is to go to the hospital, have an easy labor and delivery, and take home my sweet baby girl. Apparently it doesn’t work like that. Okay, so I wasn’t that naïve to the fact that labor and delivery wouldn’t be a walk in the park but it wasn’t until our birthing class that I really stopped to think about what I wanted out of this whole giving birth experience. I would say that I must have written one of the simplest birthing plans as our wishes and plans are pretty simple and flexible. I know that I want an epidural and possibly IV pain medications – I’m not in denial about my low pain tolerance and feeling the pain of childbirth terrifies me more than the pain of a needle being stuck in my back. I also requested to be able to use the fabulous Kohler whirlpool tubs that they have available in the early stages of labor if I am already at the hospital – I hear they are quite relaxing and can help speed up the early stages of the labor process. My final request was that no visitors are allowed in at any point while I am in labor. Dave and my mom will be with me as support throughout my labor and delivery but other than that, the hospital staff knows not to let anyone past security. Some people like visitors while in labor – I know myself well enough to know I’m a conservative, modest person who gets overwhelmed and stressed easily. With that said, it’s best that I focus on the task at hand (you know, having a baby) instead of feeling the need to “entertain”. We have also requested that no visitors be allowed until an hour or two after she’s born. We want time to try and breastfeed, time for Dave to have alone with her (we learned in our class this is essential shortly after birth), time to be a family of three, and time for me to get showered and have some food. After all is said and done, we’ll notify the rest of our family so that they can be the first to visit once we’re ready and following that, we’ll let our friends know, too. One thing I am aware of is that I may potentially have a difficult time letting others hold her in the very beginning. I feel so strongly that babies need constant cuddling and attention from their parents during those early hours to form those secure attachments and trust (which helps with successful breastfeeding and better sleeping, too!) that I’ll want to keep her close. Other new moms assure me this is a normal reaction but it’s one that I’m afraid others may not understand. Either way, it’s all in our birthing plan and I hear the staff will be wonderful at accommodating to our wishes and needs when the time comes.