This need hasn't just set in for me, either. My husband, who has been even more afraid of losing his daughter than I have, is feeling it, too. In fact, on Sunday evening he announced her impending arrival on facebook, which was a big step for him!
Many of you know that Talia and I lost our stillborn son this past March, after several years of setbacks and discouragement in growing our family. While she has been relatively open about events in the months since, I have been much more circumspect. But things have been humming along and we are reaching "safe" ground, so it is with tremendous happiness and excitement that I acknowledge that we're about two months out from welcoming a baby girl.— feeling blessed.
He then included one of the 3D pictures of our daughter.
For him, this is a huge step in emotionally preparing for the birth of our daughter. When he posts just about anything, there's a reason for it. Generally, his posts are Civil War anniversary snip-its or links that he's sharing that he finds humorous or informative. To share something as near and dear to his heart as my pregnancy let me know that he's as ready as he'll ever be.
But we still don't have a name!!
My sewing materials are almost completely relocated to the basement. There are just a few odds and ends left as well as my serger, which I'll move down as soon as I have the space for it. Anyone who has ever "moved" within their own home knows that sometimes you have to make a really big mess before everything comes together. We're past the worst of the mess, but I have one more shelf to install and then I can move the last few fabric bins into position.
And the diaper sewing will begin once that is done!
I have 2 days to get this done. Why? Well, Saturday the weather is supposed to be decent, so we're going to the storage unit to get all the boxes and bins of Christmas stuff. In order to make room for that, the crib needs to be in the baby's room, rather than disassembled and taking up space under the stairs.
My husband insists that the Christmas things will stay in their boxes until after Thanksgiving, but if I just happen to find space to put the tree up . . .well . . . it might just make it's way out of the box a during naptime next week.
I've made some helpful changes in my routine over the last week and feeling the improvement. I purchased a larger yoga ball and inflated it fully. It's just a little big, but as it deflates a little in the next week or two it will be perfect. I'm using the ball to do some of the exercises I do at the chiropractor each visit. One of them does a really good job of stretching my psoas muscles and the impact on the muscles in my abdomen is noticeable! Most evenings, the muscles are still tight, but not anywhere near as painful as they've been the last couple of months. I'm doing the exercise every 4-5 hours during the day and sometimes just sitting on the ball when the tv is on, rocking in an X motion, stretching my back from side to side, or generally staying in movement.
Movement is getting more restricted, but I want to make sure that as many of my muscles are limber as possible so that I can achieve any position I want during labor and delivery. The most restrictive motion right now is bending over, which is understandable considering the size of my belly. If you've ever tried to bend over and tie your shoes with a basketball or soccer ball in front of you, it's not easy! But with the new exercises, I'm finding that I can bend in other ways that compensate for my inability to fold myself in half. I had lost my ability to look fully over my shoulder when backing up my van but realized today as I left Home Depot that I could do it again and that it was quite comfortable, too.
It's amazing how such a simple thing can feel so good! I hate relying on cameras and mirrors when I back-up, so that ability to turn my torso put a big, dopey grin on my face that nobody saw but me!
I was fortunate enough to be given a bunch of maternity clothes, some to keep and some on loan. They fit great, but since my daughters all carry out front, I have hit that point where most of my clothes no longer cover my belly and I'm left with a 2" section where the stretchy part of my pants shows. This striped shirt is one of just a few that stay completely down. The black one below, which is what I was wearing earlier to day, is a prime example of what most of my wardrobe is now doing. It's too short!
I don't even want to think about how badly these clothes would fit if I were carrying twins.
I don't remember having this problem with my other daughters, but I was due in July and summer shirts during those years had a longer, blousey cut to them and I wore a lot of summer dresses because they were more comfortable than capris.
If you look closely at the two pictures, you can see the difference in the shape of the top of my belly. The pictures were taken about 15 minutes apart and during that time, she switched from head up (in the black shirt) to head down (in the stripes). Head down is much more comfortable for me and gives me a lot more breathing room!
The only other "noteworthy" mention would be my contractions, which have absolutely picked up in the last 4 days. Oh My Word. I'm having over a dozen a day and some are enough to have me running some of my hypnobabies phrases through my head because I simply can't do anything else until it subsides. These are normal for me and should make my labor easier, or at least the induction portion.
So here's to a few more weeks, we hope!
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