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| 8+ month bump |
37 weeks down, hopefully no more than 3 to go! Although I had to be induced two weeks after I was due, as did my brother.
So did Chris. And his
brother. Oh dear.
“So, are you ready?” asks everyone who sees me these days. Well, I’m certainly ready to be able to do those
amazing things like talk on the phone without getting winded, tie my shoes,
wear my wedding ring, have anything in my closet fit, not have crazy dreams, pee
fewer than 20 times in a day, and sit up instead of roll out of whatever
position I’ve gotten myself into. Unfortunately, though, I think maybe people
are asking the much tougher question: “Are you ready to have your entire world
rocked?” Ummmm…. Am I ready for
labor? To be a mom? To leak breast milk? (Something, by the way,
no one tells you before you’re pregnant but then love to share ‘hilarious’
stories about when you’re about 7 months in!) To sleep in two-hour bursts at a time for
the foreseeable future? To not have
Chris to myself? Those things I’m not
ready for and am not sure I’ll ever be!
We’re just preparing as best we’re able.
The nursery is set, our tax return has been filed, I’ve frozen a bunch
of meals, and projects around the house are finished. We’ve taken a hospital tour and are in the
middle of an extensive first-time parents’ class. We’ve changed diapers, babysat, and picked
our parent-friends' brains extensively.
All we’re thinking now is ‘How hard could it be?’ (ß
Good gracious, I’m joking.) We had a really sweet moment at last week’s
Park Run, when a new dad pulled us aside and said “everyone tells you how hard
things are going to be and how little sleep you’ll get but the thing I was
least prepared for was just how much in love I’d be with her from the moment
she was born. It’s amazing.” Thanks, man!
We needed that!
The other question we get is “boy or girl?” We honestly don’t know, but EVERYONE thinks
it is going to be a boy based on my shape. People in places like the grocery
store will randomly tell me I’m having a boy, or “it’s a boy, right” and when I
tell them we haven’t found out they're quite thrilled to be the 'first' to tell me
that it’s for sure a boy. I’m now
saying I think it’s a girl just to be different from everyone! We’ll
find out in a few weeks, anyway, so we’ll see if the wives tales about carrying
out front are true. Mom said she carried
me and my brother the same exact way as I’m carrying this little bundle, so I
think it’s probably more genetics than anything predictive.
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| Side view :) |
The last question we get is if we've picked any names, to which we always look at each other and think, dang, we really have to do
that! Ideally we’ll go to the hospital with a few boy and a few girl names and decide
on one once baby is born.
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| Bailey seems to know something is happening :) |
We’ve been thrown two wonderful baby showers in the past
month. The first was thrown by two of my
best girl friends, Angela and Courtney.
Not only are they funny, supportive, kind, awesome people, they have
SEVEN amazingly adjusted, well behaved kids between them. Ang and Courtney are always great hosts but
they totally outdid themselves with food, games, fun presents, and hilarious
stories. Almost all of my American girl friends
in the UK were able to come, and family and friends in the States also sent amazing
gifts as well. I felt ever so loved!
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| Courtney, me, and Angela |
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| Ducky punch |
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| Measuring the bump :) |
Chris’ boss’s wife (and a friend of mine) Lyn also threw us
a shower, this one for all the med clinic folks we work with. She made lunch for everyone, Major Calderwood
baked some amazing cupcakes and cake pops, and Chris’ work mates brought some
great toys and clothes to get us prepared for the baby. We couldn’t be more thankful for a supportive
work environment! My favorite memory of
the work shower was 4 year old Tom-Tom tearing around the room at breakneck
speed when he suddenly stopped next to me, climbed into my lap, and pointed at my
belly, his eyes HUGE with concern. “What
happened to your tummy?!” He said, as he
rested both hands on my bump and looked straight into my eyes. (He’s been in an epic battle with leukemia,
so I’m wondering if he’s a little wise beyond his years when it comes to
nursing/caring/health/body). When his
dad said “There’s a baby in there”, his worried eyes got even more concerned as
he asked me “Why did you EAT a BABY?!”
We gave Tom-Tom a better explanation to lessen his worry but wow, we had
a good laugh.
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| The most gorgeous and delicious cupcakes I've eaten in years. |
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| Party set-up before everyone showed up. |
My running days are finally over (one week I could run, the
next there was no chance in hell) but I’m still walking the weekly Saturday
Park Run 5k’s and am still going to the gym a few times a week to sit on a spin
bike. Being there with Chris makes me feel a
little more normal, although the few people I don’t know at our tiny base gym
tend to give some weird looks. I will say
that folks tend to be really nice to
pregnant people. Strangers routinely say
“you look great” or “what a tidy bump” or “great job” when they blow by me as I
waddle around the lake at Park Run. I
miss being fast, and it’s taken a while to get used to getting lapped at the 1K
mark of our 5k. The difference in
perspective is sort of fun, though. I
get to see people of all shapes and sizes and abilities who truly work HARD
each week and it’s been fun to support them.
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| Waddling around with the tail runner at Peterborough Park Run. |
The next few weeks are poised to fly by. My last couple days of work are this week and
way more excitingly, my friend Steph is coming out to visit the first weekend
of March. I can’t wait!
