Tick Tock

You know those days you are expecting an important package you have to sign for and you just sit around waiting for UPS to get there so you can go on with your life? It's like that, except the package has about a 3 week arrival window and you may have to stop whatever you are working on for several weeks or at least 2 days. That is how I feel waiting on this baby to get here. It's not just that I don't like having feet pushing on my ribs and a watermelon resting on my bladder. It's that anxious sense of waiting and expectation, of not knowing whether to make plans or go anywhere too far from home.
I tried to read all the information I have on going into labor and searched the internet for information on when that time is getting closer. I found what I thought was helpful advice, such as "Most first pregnancies go a full or even past 40 weeks" and "It's likely you will feel cramps or flu-like symptoms shortly prior to labor." Then, I came across the inevitable and much hated "BUT"- "but I gave birth at 37 weeks my first pregnancy," or "but I felt exactly the same with no contractions until all of the sudden my water broke". So now I'm back where I started, waiting and hoping she doesn't come at a time that is too inconvenient.
I've also come to the conclusion that maybe it is better not to read any of the advice found on online message boards. After reading several posts of how moms felt bad the day before going into labor, I thought I would consider that as a warning sign. I neglected to consider that feeling bad is relative, especially when almost 9 months pregnant. Is it possible to be carrying a 6-7 lb baby around inside you and feel fantastic? For the past couple weeks, I've been feeling a little worse each day, so how much worse do I need to feel to know it really might be the start of labor soon?
I don't know if this inability to know when the baby is coming is to prepare for an inevitable lack of communication between mom and daughter during her teenage years, but I don't like it. I also can't do anything about it. My bags are packed, the nursery is ready and we have all our supplies. I think at this point the best way to combat this ever-looming birth day is to ignore it. So this week, I plan to put up some fun, not necessarily pregnancy-related posts. Maybe I will share some favorite recipes or some fun stories about life lately. Enjoy!

Finally Complete!

The nursery is officially done - vacuumed and everything. I now want to destroy whoever invented styrofoam. A hurricane couldn't rip those stubborn white pellets out of carpet, but I did my best. After my epic struggle, it was photo time!

Dresser/Changing table

If I can avoid being exceedingly frustrated by whatever crazy auto-formatting is putting these photos in all the most terrible places, I will tell you a little about some of my favorite things. I will try to put what I'm talking about next to the text but we will see when my patience runs out.

One of my favorite elements of the nursery is the rocking chair. As soon as I realized rocking chairs were a must-have in any complete nursery, I knew I wanted an old-fashioned beautiful wooden piece. We found this at what has to be the world's largest thrift store. I told Ben it would be a quick run-in, run-out type deal - oops! It was the size of a Super Walmart - HUGE. Hard as it was not to get distracted, we managed to find this pretty quickly and I loved it. Also, that tip about rubbing nuts to get scuffs out of wood that I see on Pinterest all the time actually works. Some almonds, lemon oil and a soap scrub on the upholstery got this chair looking almost new!

This picture also shows off what I like to call my "how to work around rental agreements that don't let you paint the walls" trick. Ours wouldn't let us use decals either and those things can get crazy expensive so that was out. I knew I wanted trees on the wall to tie the room together though. Thanks to a great fabric sale at JoAnn's and a very helpful husband (who got to go to Home Depot as a bonus), I created my own canvases to make trees on. Actually, Ben made the canvases... using electric drills can be tricky and my stomach kept getting in the way. I did spend several nights painting trees though. Getting these guys on the wall proved to be the tricky part. But after some tears (or complete emotional breakdown that I blame on pregnancy), 3M strips, screws, kitchen twine, picture hangers and a very patient and dedicated husband got the job done.

The last handmade touch I wanted to mention was the crib mobile. I wanted something that looked natural and woodsy to blend with the room but the ones I found for sale had so much plastic and bright colors. I decided I could easily make my own for cheaper. I was right about the cheaper part but trying to sew the ribbons to the birds at the right angle and with the end inside the bird proved to be much more challenging than anticipated. But if anyone is up for the challenge, all you need is an embroidery hoop, ribbon, fabric, thread and poly-fill. A sewing machine may or my not be helpful. I used one but it would have been much easier to line up the ribbons properly by hand. Fortunately, once it is all finished and hung, it's very forgiving. After making one bird, I was sure the project was a failure but I'm pretty happy with the end result.

All in all, I really enjoyed putting together my half DIY nursery. There is no way I would have had energy to do all that had I still been working in the restaurant though. But all these fun projects were a great way to fill my time off. One thing I learned, however, is everything is way more complicated than it seems when you set out (especially if you have a pregnant belly to contend with). We really only had a few major projects (and Ben did most of the hard stuff) but it took hours spread out over several weeks to culminate in this. Our baby probably won't even notice the difference but I'm happy I took time to give her such a special place. I really poured my love and excitement for her into this room.

This is my Bathtub

To the untrained eye, it may look like just a normal tub that happens to have claw feet that make it slightly charming. Until today, I saw it as just another inconvenience of my small bathroom. By the time you put two liners in there (whoever designed the bathroom didn't bother to put tile against the shower side wall), it makes for a very cramped shower space. I, in my quite pregnant state, must use the radiator to help me get in and out since it is higher off the ground than your average tub. But I like having a lot of space for relatively low rent so I put up with it... until today.
Today, feeling very pregnant, sleepy and slightly nauseous, I decided to take a bath. Now, that tub may be my favorite thing in the entire house (including my husband). It was designed in an era when baths, not showers, reigned supreme and people were shorter just like me. Actually, I don't know about the short thing but this tub happens to be just my size. The back is the perfect angle for reclining and a towel under my neck makes the perfect pillow in the small space between wall and tub. Best of all, I can move the water controls with my feet so if I'm too hot or cold, I can easily adjust it... or I can reenact that scene from The Notebook.
So if you ever have a choice between two bath tubs, I would highly recommend a claw foot one. The experience is legendary. Of course, if the other option is a jacuzzi tub, jets trump pretty much anything so go with the jacuzzi. I, unfortunately have never been faced with such a choice. More on pregnancy and babies and such tomorrow or later this week, but I though we all could use a break. Speaking of breaks, I might make this bath thing a weekly ritual. I am so relaxed and happy now.

Loved

Yesterday, I had the last of three lovely showers before our daughter arrives. I honestly don't know what we would have done without all the wonderful gifts that were given to us. Our daughter has not only what she needs for the next year of life but perhaps the cutest wardrobe I have ever seen and some great nursery decor to boot. I cannot thank everyone enough for everything. We could never have afforded all that on our own.
Perhaps even more than the physical items, the true gift of these showers has been the reminder of all the people who care about our daughter's health, happiness, and well-being almost as much as we do (special thanks to Teresa yesterday for pointing out that God cares even more). From the cute thumbprint "who loves you" tree picture to the notecards of advice and encouragement, down to every hat and sock that someone picked out especially for our baby, I will be constantly reminded of the community of love and support that I have. That reminder takes a lot of stress off of this soon-to-be parent.
So to all of you who have come to a shower, given a gift, or read this blog "THANK YOU!" You let me know that I can do this because I'm not doing it alone. When I am freaking out because I am running out of clean diapers, have no food in the house, and am trying to calm a screaming baby, I will do my best to remember there are so many people I can talk to or get help from. Taking a few hours off from "mom-duty" does not mean failure. It means I'm blessed enough to have others to help and a whole world outside of baby.

A Brave New World...

I'm going to be a young mom which means I'm one of the first of my friends to experience pregnancy. I believe I have a duty to inform my friends of some of the unexpected pleasantries of being pregnant. Everyone knows about morning sickness and that labor can be long and very painful but there is a lot more fun stuff in between that really took me by surprise.
For starters, you may start feeling sick, impossibly tired and just plain strange before you even know you are pregnant. It is a very odd feeling. And the exhaustion is kind of ridiculous. The worst part: people don't know you are pregnant yet so you have no excuse to start dozing off in the middle of conversations or burst into random tears.
Speaking of crying, I think I have suddenly started bawling for little or no reason an average of once a week for the past 8 months. At first, Ben was concerned. Now he just kind of shakes his head, lets me snuggle and (on a good day) promises to get me donuts. Yay Donuts (my one consistent craving throughout pregnancy)!
While we are talking about cravings, I should mention the strangest thing that has happened the entire pregnancy (if not my whole life). Those of you who know me, know I LOVE cheese, especially in the grilled form. One day I was deciding what to eat for lunch and I didn't want grilled cheese... not only did I not want it, the thought of ooey gooey delicious melted cheese disgusted me. I wanted to gag thinking about it. I don't think I touched cheese for a week. I normally hardly go a day without it. This really did worry Ben, much more than the random crying. Apparently food aversions are even more common in early pregnancy than cravings. Who knew?
These past couple of months have brought on a whole new host of problems. I can't bake without getting flour all over my stomach. Some nights I sleep on the same side all night because turning over is too much of an effort. Apparently not all husbands are thrilled about having to clip their wives toenails (can't imagine why not). The other day, I was sitting tying my shoes and Ben asked if I was okay. I said, "yeah. Why?" "You are making a lot of noises." Oops. Guess I've gotten so used to my random grunts, I don't even hear them now.
Most of these are minor inconveniences and a pretty small price to pay for making another person inside you, but a lot of them took me by surprise. Guess I was just expecting to get sick, eat pickles and ice cream, and pee a lot. Thanks Hollywood.

(Disclaimer: I have been sick, eaten excessive amounts of both pickles and ice cream - not together, and peed a lot... but all this other stuff happened too)

As Promised...

Here are some pictures of the things I have been knitting. I try to challenge myself with a new stitch or technique every project. This has led me to my next task of knitting a sweater. Eeek! We'll see how it goes. One of the nice things about knitting baby things is they are small so it isn't as sad if you get to the end of a project and realize it looks terrible. Also, because they are small, you can finish a project so much sooner which is great for people like me who have a habit of leaving half-finished things in corners for a year or two before tackling them again. Anyway, here are the hats and booties I've done so far.

It's Been Awhile Since 7th Grade

I was going to do a nice, cute post with pictures of all the fun baby things I've been knitting but I went to my prenatal class at the Kaiser Permanente medical center tonight. Remember in 7th grade how we all had to watch that video with the live birth in it (at least anyone my age who went to public school did) and everyone in the class kind of closed their eyes. We watched a similar video tonight except it was much more informative and helpful, and consequently more graphic. And while no one closed her eyes or laughed or made immature 7th grade-esque comments, it reminded me that birth is not pretty. In fact, it's downright ugly.
Don't get me wrong, I am so excited about being a part of the miracle of life, but it is a pretty gross miracle. I know I'm not going to care about any of that when I have a beautiful, healthy baby girl in my arms, but I think I needed the reminder. When my baby comes out a little alien-looking, nothing is wrong. If her heart is beating and her lungs are taking in air, that will be one of the most precious and beautiful moments in my life. I am thankful the internet allows me to share this amazing experience with all our loved ones who can't physically be in DC with us, but please do not expect pictures until at least a few hours after our daughter is born. You're welcome. We will share with you all the glamorous post-recovery photos where I am not sweaty, exhausted and in tears and our daughter is a normal color and bathed. Unfortunately, if Ben decides his normal sense of humor is necessary during labor, his black eye might still show up a few hours later, but at least two of us will be looking good. Actually, I don't punch that hard anyway.
The prenatal class was overall great, but was a little longer than expected so you will have to wait until tomorrow for pictures of my knitting projects. I trust you won't mind too terribly.

Preparations

A lot of people have told me I will be a great mom. I like to think they aren't saying that just to be nice and I really hope they are right. In the past few weeks, we have been setting up the nursery, getting some of the last major purchases and figuring out what still needs to be done. And it has been a bit overwhelming. I discovered I didn't know how to hang up baby clothes which is probably much easier than putting clothes on a living, moving baby. I can't even put together Ikea furniture without pinching my finger and having to bandage it up before proceeding. Thankfully, Ben is better than I am at assembling furniture. Somehow I don't think that skill transfers to changing poopy diapers, but I have my fingers crossed. In the end, getting everything ready for baby's arrival has just shown me how unprepared I really am.
At almost 8 months pregnant, a lot of people ask me if I'm ready for the baby to get here. That is a very loaded question with a complicated answer. I usually reply, "Just about but we still have a few small things to take care of." Technically that is true, but I am going to have another human being totally dependent on me for survival. Am I ready for that? Is anyone ever ready for that? Does everyone else freak out about that as much as I do? I just can't really wrap my head around the fact that I'm going to be so responsible for someone else in just a month.
On the other hand, I am so ready to get this baby out of me. From the outside, I still look very small, but  I have something the size of a coconut and about 5 pounds in there. The amount of toilet paper I have gone through in the past month is astronomical. After walking slowly up the stairs to get to the bathroom, I often stop to catch my breath as though I've just sprinted 100m. My dessert each night consists of two Tums, maybe a third right before bed. I'm glad she is getting nice and plump and ready for the world in there, but I cannot wait to have my body back.
Anyway, If you were wondering if we are ready for our baby's arrival, there's the real answer. But the nursery is really starting to come together, I'm knitting lots of hats and booties, and (thanks to friends and family) we have almost everything we need and plenty of cute clothes. I've decided to get as much as I can ready and then baby Schwanda will get here when she gets here and we will figure it out from there. It seems that's what parents have been doing for generations and the world population is increasing so it has to work. Just be prepared and raise our daughter the best way we know how... and pray... a lot. That's the plan at least, but I am still freaking out a little bit.