56 Days and Counting

Jason and I have been plenty busy the last couple of weeks preparing for little Baby Suitt.  After our two wonderful showers, we've been doing lots of laundry (well, I've been doing lots of laundry).  I've gotten through most everything except maybe 1 load of clothes.  And, the cloth diapers still have some prepping, but it shouldn't be much longer before everything is fresh and clean!


I also spent a long evening making some new burp cloths.  Once I "perfected" the flannel ones, I moved on to the more complicated (and more absorbent) cloth diaper burp cloths.  I found some great fabric at Hobby Lobby and I think they turned out pretty darn cute!  Please forgive my less than stellar iPhone camera skills.

We were also finally able to figure out the shelves above the changing table.  This had been driving me nuts, and I'm so glad it's finally done!  I had also seen a super fun idea on Pinterest for using planters as wall storage, but I could not find the half circle planters anywhere!  I looked at Lowe's, Home Depot, Chicken Holler, and Westwood Gardens.  I ended up randomly finding ONE at Jo Ann, but I really needed three.  I got my mom on a mission to find them, too, and she had much better luck.  Turns out, Big Lots had exactly what I needed.  I really like how it turned out.

Last Saturday was our "Childbirth Marathon" class at Washington Regional.  It was so interesting and informative!  I think Jason especially enjoyed learning about all of the ins and outs of labor and delivery.  When I first got pregnant, there was no doubt in my mind that I would want an epidural as soon as I walked in the hospital door, but now with the breathing and pain relief techniques we learned, I'm thinking I'd like to try going the natural route.  I had been feeling like I might want to try for awhile now, and the class helped to solidify that for me.  I think it's partially just curiosity, but I really want to give it a shot.  We'll see if I feel the same way once I'm actually in labor.  Next weekend is our Baby Basics class which I'm really looking forward to.  We'll get to learn all about what to actually do with the baby once we get her home.  I'm thinking that will come in handy!

Sunday was my first (almost) Mother's Day.  Jason and I didn't do much other than clean house and run errands, but he got me the sweetest gift! I had been eyeballing the stackable engraved rings that all of my friends are sporting with their kiddos names, and now I have one of my own.  Unfortunately, in my swollen state, it won't fit on my finger, so for now it is on a chain around my neck.  I can't post a picture of the actual ring since it has her name on it, but here is the sample picture.

Lately, the word comfortable cannot be used to describe me at all! One of my favorite pregnancy blogs, Pregnant Chicken, has a hilarious post about the Stages of Pregnancy (WARNING: Amy does not hold back, especially when it comes to language, so click with caution).

http://pregnantchicken.squarespace.com/pregnant-chicken-blog/2010/5/31/stages-of-pregnancy.html

Stage 2 was definitely my worst stage - so sick!  And she's right, Stage 3 lasts about 27 minutes.  I'd say I'm a solid Stage 4 right now:

Stage 4: You're starting to find it hard to breathe and things are starting to swell. You're sick of people asking you if you know what you're having, when you're due and if you've decided on a name. You're tired of wearing the same maternity clothes but you don't want to buy new stuff because you're almost done. Shaving your legs, putting shoes and tending to your lady bits is becoming difficult.

The only thing I think she forgot in my case is the pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome.  Yes, it is a thing.  Yes, I have it.  And yes, it's normal.  But it is also borderline awful.  My hands are either sore, tingling, or completely numb most of the time.  This results in me dropping LOTS of things and having even more than the normal pregnant lady level of difficulty when it comes to getting in and out of bed.  But I'm told this too shall pass.

Tonight, we had a good time going back through our baby registry and buying many of the things that we still need before the little one arrives.  I love getting packages (who doesn't) so the next week or so should be awesome!

So, here we are with 8 short weeks before we have a baby (Maybe 6 if God answers my prayers desperate pleas).  I can't possibly imagine that any one is ever truly ready for their first child, but I guess we're just about as ready as we're going to get.  We are so excited, and scared, and all kinds of other things. But we can't wait to meet our little girl!