January 2010

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At the end of this week, it’ll be just a hair over 3 short months until Olivia is here.  Now comes all the final tests at the OB, the hospital tour, our prenatal classes and a plethora of to-do’s at the house.

So, for us, Spring Cleaning begins in February.  Hopefully by then all the furniture will be gone from the guest room and I can tackle cleaning out the closet and getting the room cleaned and prepped for painting.  Our landlord sent his congratulations along with his permission to do pretty much anything we wanted in the nursery, which is fantastic.  I have lots of ideas but we’ll see what actually comes to fruition.

In the midst of Stephen’s job (which often extends outside the normal working day) and my need to pace myself so I don’t get too fatigued, we have quite the list of things that need to be cleaned, fixed, thrown out, reorganized, donated, purchased and baby-proofed.  Looking at it feels incredibly daunting but I know it’ll be worth it in the end.  I’m really hoping he and I can come up with a successful gameplan to get it all tackled in a timely manner because I know we will have hardly any time or energy to do any of it when Olivia is here beyond quick spurts of maintenance.

The next three months are going to be really busy and the reality of what lies ahead for us in May is settling in more and more.  It’s crazy to think I’ll have a baby in my arms sooner than I’m probably prepared for but awesome at the same time.  I’m excited to be a mom.  Scared as hell, worried, and anxious too, but excited nonetheless.

It’s going to be quite the adventure…

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6 Months!

Today Olivia and I hit another very important milestone in development – 6 months.  In another 2-3 weeks, we’ll be in the third trimester and the home stretch.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been pregnant for six months already.  It feels like only yesterday I was staring in shock at the little “pregnant” word looking up at me from the test stick.  Since then, it’s been a veritable whirlwind of activity (holidays not withstanding…).  We’ve received a plethora of advice, been regaled with birth stories, and it feels like a new little package from someone shows up on our doorstep every few days.  The baby clothes, toys, and books are piling up in the soon-to-be nursery.

Olivia has been doing quite a bit of developing on her own.  Her kicks are a lot stronger and she moves around a lot in the late morning/early afternoon and then again late at night.  When she really gets going, I can usually see a bit of movement.  Stephen has felt her kick a few times and he grins every time.  I think him feeling that makes it a bit more real to him.  I’ve started playing music for her either just in the room or through headphones on my belly.  She reacts to some beats and rhythms, much to our delight.

I have to say, in spite of the aches, pains, exhaustion and occasional cramps, I love being pregnant.  I love everything about it.  I love having a little life growing inside me, moving around, letting me know when she’s awake, when she’s hungry (she kicks more when she wants food).  Yes, I’m excited and impatient to meet her and I may not love being pregnant so much in the coming trimester but, right now, I really enjoy it.  And I’m determined to enjoy it for as long as I can.  It’s as much a miracle of nature as it is a normal part of nature so why not enjoy it, right?

The next few weeks are packed with a few very important things.  The next OB appointment is the dreaded glucose test.  For those of you who don’t know what that is, I have to drink a sickeningly sweet liquid, wait an hour, then they do a blood test to make sure my body is absorbing sugar okay and I haven’t developed gestational diabetes.  Not really looking forward to that but it’s necessary.

We’re also doing our tour of Northside next month and taking an infant CPR class.  I’m excited about both.  Getting to see where my husband was born and where our daughter will be born is very cool to me.  There’s a new daddy boot camp that Stephen is thinking of taking.  He hasn’t decided yet.

One thing that is really exciting next month is we are going on a Babymoon!  I’ve been reading in a lot of different magazines about it and they all say “Get away one last time, just the two of you, before you can’t anymore.”  So, instead of the pricey spa resorts that are usually advertised, we are heading to the mountains Valentine’s weekend and getting a cabin.  The cabin we’ve rented is in Elijay in the North Georgia Mountains and will be perfectly romantic.  I’m really excited about this weekend away.  Right after we get back, I’m at seven months and the third trimester and things kick into high gear getting ready for the baby.

Speaking of getting ready, we still have some furniture up for grabs and we need to get rid of it in the next week or so.  I’m hoping we can get rid of it by beginning of February so we can clean the room and get it prepped for painting.  I have a grand plan for the nursery to which Stephen rolls his eyes and gently reminds me we rent this house, but we’ll see what happens.  I’m excited to finally get the room ready and get her furniture in there so I have a place to actually put all the presents we’ve been getting.

Whew!  A lot going on and even more to come.  We’re getting closer so here’s to another happy, healthy 4 months!

*holds up glass of OJ*

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In an effort to keep my brain from turning to mush, I’m going to do a LOT of reading.  I have realize there are a bunch of books on my shelves I’ve never read so I want to tackle them and see what I discover.  Yes, anyone who knows me well knows that I already love to read and do so avidly but I wanted to keep track of what I was reading and how much I’ve read this year so far.  Who knows, maybe I’ll introduce you guys to a new author?

I’m going to try to get Stephen to do the same thing.

First we  need a goal.  My goal for 2010 is 100 books.

I think that’s an easily attainable goal.  I read quickly depending on the genre.  Of course my reading time will go down once Olivia is here but I’ll do my best!

Books Read

  1. Less Than Dead – Tim Downs
  2. Ends of the Earth – Tim Downs
  3. Cemetery Dance – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (FBI Special Agent Aloysius  X.L. Pendergast is one of my favorite literary characters, by the way)
  4. YOU: Having a Baby – Dr. Mehmet Oz & Dr. Michael Roizen
  5. 206 Bones – Kathy Reichs

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