I am at 37+5 today! Feeling big and awkward, and definitely slowing down. I'm still working and am scheduled to end at 39 weeks. I may trim down from 3 to 2 days these last few weeks, as I find that instinctively it feels all wrong to be at work, putting energy out towards others when it feels I should be directing all energy towards nurturing my baby and myself.
Most thoughts these days are consumed with baby: reading breastfeeding books, securing the diaper service, finalizing the placenta encapsulation plans (yeah!). Finishing up the acquiring of stuff: it felt really weird ordering big items like the stroller and car seat online, but no stores carried what we wanted-- so, especially w/ the car seat, hoping it will all arrive on time. I pulled out the songs Lauren wrote down for my blessing way, and have been enjoying singing and humming them around the house and to my baby boy-- it makes me feel wrapped in a special sort of Sonoma county love.
My baby shower was this past weekend, hosted by my sister Claire, and my mother's two sisters, Aunt Jann and Aunt Jill. It was an excellent reminder what a wonderful circle of strong family women I am surrounded by here in Omaha, also. Jon's mother, his babysitter from 6 weeks old who is now like his second mother, and sister-in-law also drove up from Mississippi. There is nothing like collective crooning to lift a pregnant gal's spirits and confidence. :)
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| Mom, Claire and I at the shower |
Speaking of lifted spirits… with this past weekend's daylight savings time shift came a huge shift in the weather. Last week started out with highs still in the teens, but by the weekend temperatures soared into the 60s. This whole week has expected highs in the 60s and 70s. Hurrah! Combined with lengthier hours of light at nighttime, we now feel compelled towards being OUT of the house rather than the hibernation state we had settled into. Truly, Jon and I were both independently suffering from some version of dysphoria, which I guess shouldn't have been much of a surprise. There have been a combination of forces that have made things difficult: enduring 2 months of frigid cold and relative social isolation as we sort out a possible new life, anticipating an entire upending of everything anyway with the birth of our first child. I felt I'd adapted okay to the climate as it's my native land, but the increasing heaviness of my body weighed also on my mind. My poor husband grew up in a place where winter accessories were never needed; in Omaha, he has found the necessity of the feel of his fingertips on the steering wheel to be larger than the need to wear gloves. He's endured freezing hands all this time (which has been difficult for me to understand)!
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| Me feeling big and even a little grouchy, a few days before the weather improved everything |
But now sunshine brings forth the promise of springtime! More and more birds are joining in song to greet the day. Estrella finally finds it palatable to go outdoors to explore. And we've discovered yet-to-be-identified bulbs pushing forth through the soil in both the back and front yard. It's so great to see little nibs of green!! As I become only greater with child, this early springtime feels like the perfect season in which to give birth. I suspect I still have some waiting… in the meantime I have plenty of little springtime-baby-self care-planting-planning-dreaming projects to keep me occupied.
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| A finished project, flannel cloth baby wipes… although my sister warns me this may be somewhat overambitious and impractical… and perhaps the white background wasn't a good idea, even though the frogs were so cute? |
