and now we wait

Days preceding delivery can be very frustrating. For me, it's mostly because of how crumby I feel. I am excited to meet our new little person but I realize there will be twice as much work when he's here. I would love to enjoy these lasts days/weeks by relaxing and resting but it's difficult to do when you can't sleep and every contraction has me biting my lip. We thought we might be welcoming our new one a few days ago (a bit early for my typical timeline) but it was just a tease. I powered through the false labor contractions at home and did not have to experience "the walk of shame" as my sister calls it-getting to the hospital ready for show time only to be sent home, tail between your legs.

As I am just over 37 weeks, I am ok with getting it over with or waiting for a little bit-hopefully not too long. Like I have heard and said before: unlike a good steak, better the kid be well-done than medium-rare. I guess I'll go wash newborn clothes for the third time...

Almost there

I can't really breathe, eat or sleep anymore but I still manage to feel pretty good. I have definitely entered the nesting phase and have been scurrying around trying to get things in order. It has been particularly cleansing to purge items we can no longer use-such as girl clothing and bedding. It was a sentimental journey but I have found happy homes for all these things! I wish I could say "only a week or two left" as I think wistfully of my friends who have delivered their babies around the 37-38 week mark. If he's anything like Elise I'm looking at another month...

Cosmic Girl

Elise has been very interested in all things space for the last few months. We are dangerously close to using the word obsessed. She, along with mom and dad's help, finished this model solar system we gave her for her birthday. We were so proud of her as she really did do most of the work and was so patient and determined to make it look "fantastic" (the word she used). She frequently corrects mom when it comes to phases of the moon: "No mom. That's not a crescent, it's a waxing gibbous." Yes, we can thank her dad for that one...

She frequently talks about what she would like to be when she grows up. Currently she maintains she would like to be an astronaut or a superhero. When Mike was in the third grade he wrote a very thoughtful essay (which we are in possession of) on that same topic. He then aspired to be a doctor or a scientist. How about both? Amazing. That surely is following your dreams. Around the same age I said I wanted to be an actress or a model and move to France. (?) I'm still slightly embarrassed about that and hope our daughter follows in her dad's footsteps as far as that is concerned.

Who wouldn't want Elise the superhero saving our planet?

Elise's Dictionary

"It snapped me up!"

translation: it scared me; took me by surprise

New Rant

sorry, these rants are the result of a cranky pregnant lady. I can't promise I'll stop when the baby gets here, but I will try.

Ok, my problem today: If you are vegetarian and feel SO strongly about not eating meat (especially for moral reasons) then why are you eating a veggie hot dog? That seems silly to me that someone would deliberately try to eat something that so closely resembles meat. Doesn't that still gross you out? How about veggie chicken nuggets? Come on, just eat something else-you are not fooling anyone...

Grrr.

If you have never been pregnant (or if you have for that matter) and are not an obstetrician, please keep all your comments about what pregnant women should eat, drink, look like and behave like to yourself. We have a hard enough job as it is without being lectured about caffeine by a 20 year old guy who works behind the counter of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. and it's decaf you idiot.

Happy Easter!

Elise was very eager to get her Easter loot. She came into our bedroom at 3am and said "Daddy, I know it's not light outside yet but my eyes are really bright so can I find my Easter basket in the dark?"

We made her wait until morning...she had fun dying eggs and going on an egg hunt in our backyard. We decided to skip the whole ham dinner and I made a very yummy brunch instead. This consisted of a quiche lorraine, roasted rosemary potatoes with asparagus and homemade bread with raspberry butter. Mimosas would have been ideal but I guess I can wait a few more weeks.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

and yes, we felt the earthquake today.