I blew it

Just six days into NaBloPoMo and I blew it. Even with an extra hour in the day, thanks to the time change, I still didn't find time to blog yesterday. Blame it on a baby who suddenly doesn't want to sleep through the night, or on his runny nose. Blame it on housework. Blame it on shopping or a couple exciting football games. Or just blame it on my forgetful nature.

Whatever the excuse, I blew it. Now, I have to decide if I should just throw in the towel completely or try to keep blogging every day -- despite the excuses.

Wordless Weekend

Wordless Weekend

No foolin'

This month's theme over at NaBloPoMo is "Sprout." I think that's a great theme for the April -- even here in Colorado where Winter can rear its ugly head well into May and beyond (depending on what part of the state you're in). Out walking the dog, I've seen plenty of gardens with flowers beginning to poke through mulch. Some even have blooms already. And so far (fingers crossed) they haven't been frozen out by a spring frost or blizzard. (That said, we could use some rain, Mother Nature.)

I also think "Sprout" is a great theme for April because my own little sprout is due this month. Although I don't think -- and I hope -- I won't make it to the end of the month blogging every single day. Honestly, I won't be blogging from my hospital bed.

I'm excited to have a spring baby. True, I'd be excited any time of year, but a spring baby has lots of advantages. First of all, I don't have to be hugely pregnant during the hottest part of the year. I got to cover my bump with cozy sweaters, and Baby has helped keep me a little warmer than I'd usually be. I get to dress Baby in fun summer clothes or even just a onesie if it's really warm. I can work off the extra baby weight by taking lots of warm-weather walks with Baby strapped to me -- or strapped to the S.O. while I walk the dog. Baby might get to have outdoor birthday parties as he grows up -- something I never experienced with a January birthday. Best of all, being born in April means his birthstone will be a diamond, so lots of cool Mother's Day gifts for me!

No, really, best of all, he will be here before I know it.

Assistance*

My friend Kate sent me a link to a great post over at Gloria LeMay Birth Blog. It's called "After the birth, what a family needs." It contains a really good list of ideas for helping out a family with a newborn (hint, hint):

1. Buy us toilet paper, milk and beautiful whole grain bread.

2. Buy us a new garbage can with a swing top lid and 6 pairs of black cotton underpants (women’s size____).

3. Make us a big supper salad with feta cheese, black Kalamata olives, toasted almonds, organic green crispy things and a nice homemade dressing on the side. Drop it off and leave right away. Or, buy us frozen lasagna, garlic bread, a bag of salad, a big jug of juice, and maybe some cookies to have for dessert. Drop it off and leave right away.

4. Come over about 2 in the afternoon, hold the baby while I have a hot shower, put me to bed with the baby and then fold all the piles of laundry that have been dumped on the couch, beds or in the room corners. If there’s no laundry to fold yet, do some.

5. Come over at l0 a.m., make me eggs, toast and a 1/2 grapefruit. Clean my fridge and throw out everything you are in doubt about. Don’t ask me about anything; just use your best judgment.

6. Put a sign on my door saying “Dear Friends and Family, Mom and baby need extra rest right now. Please come back in 7 days but phone first. All donations of casserole dinners would be most welcome. Thank you for caring about this family.”

7. Come over in your work clothes and vacuum and dust my house and then leave quietly. It’s tiring for me to chat and have tea with visitors but it will renew my soul to get some rest knowing I will wake up to clean, organized space.

8. Take my older kids for a really fun-filled afternoon to a park, zoo or Science World and feed them healthy food.

9. Come over and give my husband a two hour break so he can go to a coffee shop, pub, hockey rink or some other r & r that will delight him. Fold more laundry.

10. Make me a giant pot of vegetable soup and clean the kitchen completely afterwards. Take a big garbage bag and empty every trash basket in the house and reline with fresh bags.

I'm definitely not one to ask for help -- even though I know I'll need it. So if you're one of my local friends, you can take this post as a call for assistance. Although, No. 8 is not applicable to me, it's a good tip for other families.

No matter how helpful it may, I'm definitely not going to tell you my underpants size.

*Assistance - help; aid; support

Week 36: Anticipation*

I am now 36 weeks pregnant and officially four weeks from my due date. However, at my appointment yesterday the doctor said she thinks I have about five weeks left. I'm really not sure what to think of that but I'm going to stick with my prediction of April 15.

My newsletter from Fit Pregnancy tells me:

Your due date just suggests a time when the baby's likely to be born. In reality, you could go into labor any time between now and six weeks from now!

They also say that Baby is about 6 pounds now and 20 1/2 inches. Obviously this is the "normal" size at this point. Based on measurements my doctor takes of my uterus, she says I am on track. So I'm not worried about him being too small or too large yet.

The newsletter goes on to say, "Five to ten percent of all mothers report that babies start to slow down as they grow larger and get more cramped for space." I have yet to experience that. Baby is moving as much as ever. I'm pretty sure he thinks he can make more space by pushing and kicking. It's a bit like sharing space on the couch with my dog -- she may be little but she thinks she needs lots of room.

Still, I think Baby's pretty comfortable in there at the moment because I haven't experience the lightening I keep reading about:

You may feel a lightening sensation on your ribs and organs as your baby descends into your pelvis. Breathing and eating will be easier, but you'll be running to the bathroom more often than ever, and the change in pressure may cause shooting pains in your groin or leg.

I still have trouble catching my breath and I'm going to the bathroom constantly. I think Baby is doing a lot of stretching out in there. Like I said, I think he just keeps making himself comfortable. Sorry, dude, you're going to have to come out pretty soon.

*Anticipation - expectation; hope (If today's title has you thinking of ketchup, you are a reader of a certain age.)

Touched*

I spoke with my aunt over the weekend. She's my mom's youngest sister and was always our "cool" aunt, the aunt that would play games with us and take us places and generally spoil us. She never had kids of her own, but that never stopped her from being like a surrogate mom to her nieces and nephews (and now, their kids).

Your blogger on her baptism day with her Aunt D

She lives eight hours away but had made plans to attend our baby shower. Unfortunately, like so many people this time of year, she was done in by bronchitis and didn't make it. She told me she was worried about me, even though she was told it was not contagious. She sounded awful even a week later, so I'm glad she didn't wear herself out making the drive here. Still, I was touched by her intentions. Not only did she send a cradle for Baby, she was planning to come see me and bring me a rocking chair. (Did I mention she was always our cool aunt?)

Aunt D, me and my brother in Missouri -- many years ago

I told her she needs to come and see Baby after he has officially joined the family. I have plenty of pictures of the bump I can share with her.

It's probably a good thing she didn't make it to the shower. I would have been so surprised I might have gone into labor right there.

*Touched - moved; stirred

Frustrated*

I have a Honda Element. It's been an extremely practical car, with its adjustable -- and removable -- rear seats, its easy clean floor, its spacious interior. We bought it a few years ago with kids in mind and when we've hauled around my nieces and nephews or other kids, it's been great.

I had some concerns about the clam-shell doors in crowded parking lots but haven't had a problem ... yet.

Yesterday, we went to install Baby's car seat in my Element. It fits just fine. But take a look at this photo again -- click here -- and check out where the back seat starts. (I'll wait.) The back seat is behind the door opening. That's great for bigger kids and awesome for adults -- look at all that leg room! Now imagine trying to get a squirmy infant into a rear-facing car seat. Ack! There's no room at all!

So, we're left to decide between me being constantly frustrated with my car, using the S.O.'s vehicle (which is older and doesn't have stability control or side-curtain air bags), purchasing a different car seat -- either a really expensive one that swivels or an infant car seat that comes off the base and would need to be replace when Baby reaches its weight limit -- or trading in my Element for a vehicle with normal back doors and back seats. The last one seemed the most appealing yesterday when I just threw up my hands and walked away. However, my Element is so close to being paid off, that option seems silly (and is, obviously, the most expensive one).

I was pretty excited about the car seat we bought because it converts from a rear-facing infant seat (that holds 5-35 pound child) all the way up to a booster seat that will hold a kid up to 100 pounds. And we used our rewards from Costco so we paid next to nothing for it.

I know the infant seats are convenient -- especially when the little one falls asleep in the car -- but I was hoping to avoid buying more than one seat. And while the idea of a new car is always appealing, we really are trying to save money. Baby will need to go to a good college to support his mommy and daddy someday.

At this point, I will probably let (make) the S.O. decide what we should do, and I will concentrate on these final few weeks of growing Baby. Although, dear readers, your advice is also welcome.

*Frustrated - disappointed; thwarted

Incompetent*

I came across this story this week: Breastfeeding Women Viewed as Less Competent. Less competent at what? you might ask. Apparently, according to this study, almost everything.

As someone who plans to breastfeed her baby, I'm shocked. So, the studies tell me my baby will be smarter if I breastfeed him but I'll appear dumber. Is there no way for a mom to win?

“A woman may not breastfeed because of worry over how she will be evaluated by other people,” the researchers conclude. “Data from the current project suggest this worry may be warranted, to the extent that breastfeeding is a devalued social category.”

I shouldn't be surprised by how judgmental we all are -- to ourselves, to each other. But it's sad that babies may not get what's nutritionally best for them not because moms have health issues or because the babies can't latch on, but simply because women are afraid -- with just cause -- of how they'll be viewed.

*Incompetent - not competent; lacking qualification or ability; incapable

Family*

My family lives thousands of miles away. We keep in touch by phone, Facebook and Skype. The S.O.'s family lives minutes away and, for various reasons I'll not go into, don't keep in touch at all.

My family has sent gifts for Baby. They have called and emailed to see how I am doing. In spite of the miles and some of them having their own health issues at the moment, they check in on me and Baby. The S.O.'s family has barely acknowledged our -- let alone Baby's -- existence. It's a sad state of affairs.

On the plus side, we have many wonderful friends close by who have offered help and advice, showered us with gifts, fixed us dinner and let it be known that Baby will have plenty of "aunties," "uncles" and "cousins" here in town.

Your humble blogger and her family--many, many years ago

I will do everything I can to make sure Baby knows his real aunts, uncles, cousins and grandpa back east, whether over Skype or through pictures (I have already created a family photo album for him) or actual in-person visits.

Still, it's nice to know we have people near us who will gladly step in to be Baby's family by proxy.

As he grows, I want Baby to learn that sometimes blood isn't necessarily thicker than water, and family -- like home -- is where the heart is.


*Family - a. a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not; b. a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for

Predict*

Based mostly on hope and little else, I'm going to predict that I have Baby on April 15. The only real logic in this is that I can't believe I will actually make it all the way to my official due date of April 28.

Anybody else want to make a prediction? There's no money involved and you don't get a prize. But if you're right you get to brag about being right.


*Predict - to foretell the future

Insomnia*

I am not naive. I know that once Baby is born, there will be plenty of sleepless nights, plenty of 2 a.m. feedings, plenty of crying and whining and fussiness (and not all of it -- or even most of it -- from Baby).

I know all that, but try convincing me of it at 2 a.m. when my hips hurt from the extra weight, my unborn child is kicking me for all he's worth, I can't get comfortable and the S.O. is snoring away like a band saw.

Is this sleeplessness just preparation for when the baby comes or is it just another symptom of my never-ending worry?

I am so grateful that I don't have a full-time job I have to get to every morning. I don't think they'd be getting much productivity out of me at the moment.

*Insomnia - inability to obtain sufficient sleep, especially when chronic; difficulty in falling or stayingasleep; sleeplessness

Portend*

I hope this isn't us.

I suppose it could be though if we don't change some of our habits.

*Portend - to indicate in advance; to foreshadow or presage, as an omen does

Week 35: Five

I can't believe I'm so close to having the little alien out here in the real world with me. We're pretty much set as far as having the necessary items to keep him safe, clothed and fed. But I'm still not sure I'm ready for this. The actual birthing process doesn't scare me nearly as much as all the what ifs yet to come.

• What if I can't deal with the crying?
• What if I can't breastfeed?
• What if he has colic?
• What if I drop him?
• What if he gets bullied in middle school?
• What if he's the bully?
• What if he gets some girl pregnant when he's 16?
• What if we can't afford college?

(Yes, I get a little ahead of myself sometimes.)

Regardless of all that, I have five (or fewer) weeks to figure out at least some of it. And my e-mail newsletter from Fit Pregnancy tells me:

At more than five pounds and between sixteen and twenty inches, your baby is becoming more ready for birth with every passing hour. She's the size of a small roasting chicken [again with the food comparisons]. Her nervous system and immune system are still maturing, and she's adding the fat that she'll need to regulate her body temperature. But, everything else, from her toenails to the hair on her head, is fully formed. If she were born now, she'd have more than a ninety-nine percent chance of surviving.

A 99 percent chance of surviving is pretty good. They obviously don't take into consideration the possibility of me dropping him.

As for myself, eight hours of sleep is a distant memory. If I'm not getting up every two hours to pee, I'm waking up to change positions because my hips are aching or my hands have fallen asleep or Baby is doing acrobatics. I am now convinced that lack of sleep now -- while seemingly unfair -- is preparing me for getting up every two hours to feed Baby once he's born.

At least then he won't be kicking me in the ribs or jumping on my bladder while I'm trying to get some sleep.

*Five - a cardinal number, four plus one; the number of weeks left in my pregnancy

Gratitude*

My friends threw the S.O. and me a baby shower this weekend. They made us feel special and loved and extremely spoiled. They showered us with gifts from practical to fun, items from our baby registry and lovely handmade items.

My friend Heather made an incredible cake that -- despite her protestations -- looked like it was created by a professional. In fact, it was better than many professionally made cakes I've seen.

This photograph doesn't begin to do it justice.

We even had one friend drive several hours just to spend the afternoon with us.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my own little world, thinking of what's happening inside me and what's going to be happening, that I forget how much this little alien, along with the S.O. and I mean to a lot of other people.

I am so grateful to the friends who hosted the shower and the friends that attended.

*Gratitude - the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful

Accomplishment*

My aunt and cousin sent a cradle for Baby so he can sleep in our room with us when he first comes home. I'm quite proud of the fact that I assembled the cradle all -- well mostly -- by myself. (The S.O. had to hold two pieces together for me while I attached them.

It's a beautiful cradle, too. The S.O. wondered what we would do with it once Baby's outgrown it -- which happens at 15 pounds. I'm envisioning it holding baby blankets and overflowing with stuffed animals.

And is it too early to imagine my grandchild sleeping in it someday? Yeah. It's too early for that.

*Accomplishment - anything accomplished; deed; achievement

Apropos*

I received a box of gifts today from my beautiful niece. This was the first thing I pulled out:

The box also contained receiving blankets, a sleep sack, more bibs, jammies and a copy of "The Poky Little Puppy." So sweet.

I am touched by the attention my family is giving me. We may be separated by many -- too many -- miles, but I know they hold me close to their hearts. And I hold them close to my heart. I hope they know that.

*Apropos - fitting

Melodious*

I had trouble sleeping the other night (no surprise there). It was 3 a.m., and my hips hurt, and my brain wouldn't turn off, and Baby was wide awake too -- kicking me in the ribs. I pulled out my phone and queued up Pandora to listen to some soothing music. After a little while, the earbud was uncomfortable in my left ear so I took it out and let it fall against my belly. Baby went still. I didn't realize he could hear the music through that tiny earbud, but the nurse assures me he can.

Because I don't have an actual subscription to Pandora (yet), we get ads. Just as I was starting to drift off, on comes a spoken ad for Living Social: "Hey Pandora Listener ..." Baby went nuts. He started kicking and throwing a little alien tantrum. Once the music started up again, he settled down. It was quite cute. Of course, it would have been cuter if it wasn't 3:30 in the morning and Mommy hadn't been exhausted.

Now I'm thinking it might be worth the $36 a year to subscribe to Pandora and avoid the interrupting ads. Baby seems to enjoy the Acoustic New Age station and will probably enjoy it here in the outside world. But he sure does not like his music interrupted by talking.

*Melodious - producing melody;  sweet-sounding; musical

Ancestry*

While the S.O. is half Korean, he also has Native American blood and English blood coursing through his veins. My lineage is mostly English, with some French and a decent helping of Irish. My maternal great-grandpa was born in County Kildare, Ireland (according to family and information I can find at Ancestry.com).

Our baby will be quite the little mutt. And I say that with all the love in the world for mutts.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

*Ancestry - family or ancestral descent; lineage

Slumber*

Grandpa ordered a crib for Baby from Babies'R'Us and had it sent to us .

Even though the woman at the store told him we weren't on the registry, we ended up with the exact crib we wanted. And when I checked the registry, it showed as "purchased." Dad mentioned that the salesperson was pregnant, so baby brain must have been doing a number on her.

Regardless, the crib is lovely. And the best part is it converts to a toddler bed, a day bed and a full bed, so it can grow as Baby grows.

And don't worry. We won't make baby sleep in it as is. We'll have the mattress soon.

*Slumber - to sleep