8 months down, 8 weeks to go!

So I suppose I took a little hiatus from posting to the blog lately.  Perhaps it was due to the decline in my energy level now in the 3rd trimester or the oppressive heat and humidity we endured in May or a combination of both.  Anthony may contend that I've been 'distracted' by a certain trilogy of books I've been reading lately (yea, you know which one), but I beg to differ!  Well, I did finish all 3 books in less than 2 weeks, so I guess I have been busy reading lately.  I just needed some mindless books to indulge in for a while..so sue me!  Lol!  No worries, I'm slowly but surely switching gears back to childcare magazines and books (I recently downloaded a new one that came highly recommended to me, Baby Wise). 

Less than 2 months to go--I can't believe it!  Our little guy will be here before we know it! 

8 month belly shot

Here are some other profile shots from the past few weeks...

Profile @ 30 wks

Profile @ 31 wks

Physically, I'm feeling ok, but starting to get more and more uncomfortable.  It's getting harder and harder for me to get up from the couch and out of our bed during the night to go to the bathroom.  Anthony has been lovingly referring to me as a 'stink bug', because sometimes I'm stuck on my back and need his help to get up!  And if the temperature and humidity spike again like they did around Memorial Day, I will not be a very pleasant preggo.  My knees and ankles swelled up that weekend and for the first time, I almost didn't get my rings on.  Luckily, I was able to relax and cool off a bit, floating around in a pool with my big ol' belly out in all its glory that weekend, thanks to the Conlins...

Also, for the first time in my pregnancy, I had to break down and get this...

This goes with me wherever I am now!

As for how I'm doing emotionally, I have to admit that I'm feeling mostly excited but also a bit scared.  I've been trying not to let others' experiences impact how I feel, but sometimes it's hard not be influenced by their 'horror stories'.

Now that I am unable to nonchalantly walk around without drawing attention to myself, I find that I am being bombarded by people's questions and comments.  Sometimes these interactions are very sweet and simple offerings of well wishes, often from complete strangers.  More often than not, I'm simply asked when I'm due, to which the common response is a surprised or even sympathetic expression or comment.  I know I'm waddling a bit and look fairly big, but I'm not making that date up people. And I realize it is not guaranteed, but it's all I got to go by!  At the wedding we attended this past weekend, a woman who asked me when I was due responded in turn by saying (after doubtful expression), "Don't worry, my husband is an obstetrician.  He'll be here; he's just parking the car".  Good to know, thanks. 

At the Fleck-Albert wedding - Philly Cricket Club (32 wks)

Other times the interactions slip into a download of their labor and/or childcare horror stories.   I understand that it's completely natural for people to want to share their experiences with each other, but all too often I have found that this storytelling turns into a way to instill fear or project their scary challenges on me. Oh, just wait...you'll see!  It's sort of a pre-emptive commiseration.  It's like "I had this experience, and I'm assuming my experience is universal and you'll have the exact same one. And mine was like this, so yours most likely will be too, and then we can bond over how awful it was together." But rather than telling horror stories, it is always much nicer for others to share their lessons learned in a positive and helpful way.

For instance, many have said "Get your sleep while you can because you'll never sleep again after your baby is born! HA HA HA!"  Some few others have gone further to actually give helpful, constructive tips on how they felt they were able to improve the sleep pattern of their infants and/or cope with the diminished sleep and offered some books they had found helpful.  This is how we found out about the book, Baby Wise (thank you Meagan L. and Lauren R.!), and the video, The Happiest Baby on the Block (thank you Kelly T. and Jillian L.!). 

And if those methods don't work, then we can always resort to the bedtime story that Aunt Krista got us:

Haha...Hilarious!

Yes, I am excited, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was scared too.  I'm not so much scared of the actual labor though.  I have had my fair share of hospital visits lately for various reasons, and I am surely not a fan of hospitals, but I'm fairly optimistic about labor.  I know it won't be a walk in the park, but I have faith in the hospital staff, the knowledge we have gained so far, my instincts and threshold for pain, and my wonderful, supportive hubby to get me through it.  And at the end of it all will be this beautiful little mini person in Anthony's and my likeness.  I often find myself fanticizing about the moment we first set eyes on our little one and hold him for the first time.  Even now I can't keep the tears from welling up in my eyes!  I just had to grab a tissue!  Lol! 

I guess what I'm scared most about is what happens after we're given the discharge paperwork and the hospital officially hands our baby over to us.  The extreme responsibility of having this little baby rely completely on me and Anthony for its protection and well-being seems overwhelming right now.  Despite the books read and videos watched, I know a lot of that well-intended preparation will fall right by the wayside and natural instincts and general "winging it" for the most part will take over.  While part of me fantacizes about holding our little angel for the first time, the other part is nervously thinking of the first night we are on our own with him and looking at each other with the same desperate expression, "What the heck do we do now??"

I absolutely know we'll be fine and our excitement is by far outweighing any anxiety we might be feeling.  We can't wait for him to get here and I have a feeling he may be wanting out early too!

Well, I'm off to my routine Dr's appointment, so we'll see what she has to say.  Then, after that, I have another Reiki treatment (Thanks Jen E.!), which I'm really looking forward to!  Hopefully I will be able to sleep more peacefully tonight.

Love,
Ulana & Anthony