Preparations for her arrival are in full swing. The baby clothes we've been given are all washed and put away. It looks like we may only need to pick up a couple of fleece play outfits and some baby leggings and she'll be set for the first few months.
My daughters have 3 different uncles whose names start with B. Last Saturday night, one of them came over and installed a much-appreciated electrical outlet in the basement so that I can plug my sewing machines and a lamp in without running a power strip around the corner from the outlet in the finished portion of our basement. The space is small, but it is going to work beautifully. In the next two days, it should be set up sufficiently so that I can start sewing diapers and a couple of other postnatal supplies that I'd like to have.
The normal minor aches and pains of pregnancy are slowly starting to settle in. The one I have the hardest time dealing with is that my hips start hurting when I sleep. It's deep in the joint, which makes me think it's likely the ischiofemoral ligament.
Ligaments in pregnancy soften to prepare for birth, so this isn't at all unusual, but it is painful at times. I roll over roughly every 90 to 120 minutes all night long because that pain wakes me up. "Roll over" is probably not the correct word. It's more like sit up, go to the bathroom not only because I need to but because walking eases the pain, drink some water, get back in bed while rearranging the pillows, then readjusting my position a little, and falling asleep as soon as I feel the baby moving again.
I've joked in the past that I get more sleep after the baby is born but it really is true. My girls both slept for 2-3 hours at a time within a week of their births, and if you've ever experienced sleep on either schedule, the difference between 90 minutes and 150 minutes is huge! I can actually feel rested if I get 2-3 hour stretches but the 90 minute ones feel almost useless.
But we're not ready for her to come, not yet. I really do want her to stay put, safely, until after Christmas.
At the growth scan last Thursday, Dash measured in at 2lbs 3oz, give or take a little. That puts her in the 64th percentile for growth, very close to the 69th she measured two weeks before and still well within the 10% margin of error most doctors will mention if you ask how accurate the growth scans are.
At my OB visit yesterday, my fundal height also measured just above 28 weeks, which matches what the ultrasound showed.
I decided to order a larger yoga ball. Although most of the charts I've seen show that a person my height should have a 65cm ball, even when it's fully inflated my knees are just above my hips, rather than being 2-3 inches below as is recommended for birthing. The 75cm beauty is now inflated and getting some use, knowing it will need more air over the first few weeks.
I spent the majority of my day making freezer meals and canning chicken stock. We have four new meals in the freezer, 9 quarts of chicken stock, and 10 pints of chicken broth. Last week I'd read an article about letting the bones simmer twice, rather than just once, and decided to give it a try. Even though the second batch only simmered for 18 hours, I was really impressed with the richness of the color and flavor. I mixed the batches together and canned the quarts at full strength then diluted the remaining for the pints.
The flavor is light but very tasty!
A lovely little chair and ottoman popped up on a yard sale site and I bought those, too. It isn't a rocking set, but for Dash's room, I don't need to rock. The ottoman top lifts up to make a second small chair, which will give my older daughters a place to sit when they want to spend time with me and the baby. If I understood the seller correctly, the chair had belonged to her grandmother and the design definitely seems old fashioned.
I love it. And as long as it holds up, it will get a lot of use! Once we have the chair in it's place, I'll take pictures and share them. I expect to spend many memorable moments in that chair!
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