My due date is two weeks from today, which means baby girl could arrive literally any day now. Since early in my pregnancy I’ve had a feeling she was going to come early, but so far there’ve been no signs she’s ready to make a move. That actually works out well, because we’ve been operating in overdrive trying to get everything in place for her arrival. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind.
We moved! In mid-December we closed on our new house in Beacon, New York.
While Johnny and I are both thrilled about our new town and a house with more space, moving at eight months pregnant was rough. I need to write an entire post about it at some point, because I definitely Googled things like ‘am I insane for moving a month before giving birth?’ beforehand. That said, I’m really glad we went ahead and did it rather than waiting, because we’ve had a few weeks to at least get settled before our lives are turned completely sideways by a baby.
Everyone has been telling me to get as much rest as possible while I can (genius advice, thanks), but between the challenges of sleeping in the third trimester and all of the things I want to accomplish before she arrives, that’s proving to be difficult.
Honestly, I don’t feel much like resting when I have downtime. Aside from straight up laying down with two pillows between my legs, most positions are uncomfortable right now and most days I’d rather cross something off the to-do list than try to force myself to nap. This is funny, because I’m typically a champion napper, but getting things done in preparation for the baby has done more to put my mind at ease than a few extra minutes of sleep will at this point.
The nesting instinct is real
By the way, did you know babies don’t sleep much and I’ll be tired when she gets here? Thank goodness for all of the reminders from everyone I’ve ever met, otherwise I might not have known. The pandemic may have shut down awkward social interactions like unwanted belly touching, but unsolicited advice has been in no short supply.
Physically, I finally understand what expecting women mean when they say “I’m ready to not be pregnant anymore.” It’s a polite way of saying it feels like you’re carrying a bowling ball between your legs, with all of the heaving and stretching and grunting that goes with it. Throw in a heavy dose of acid reflux and peeing every ten minutes and you’ve pretty much got the picture of where I’m at.
Speaking of being ready to no longer be pregnant: booze. I haven’t had much of a craving for alcohol during this pregnancy, but within the last week a margarita alongside some salty tortilla chips and chunky guac suddenly sounds like the best thing on the planet. So, that can go ahead and get here sooner than later.
Mentally, I’m in good shape. While of course I’m anxious about labor and nervous about life with a new baby, the excitement of her impending arrival far outweighs any negative emotions I’m feeling at this point, and I’m so grateful for that.
Friday will be my last day of work before I take a few months off for maternity leave, and it can’t come soon enough. On my to-do list between now and when baby arrives:
- Finish preparing her room. It will be in our tiny third bedroom, which is the perfect size and layout for a nursery. It probably won’t be fully “done” when she gets here because I still need to figure out how I’m going to tackle storage in the small space (wall shelves? Some kind of cubbies? Just keep all her stuff in our room?), but at least the crib is put together. I still need to get the glider and some decorative stuff set up.
- Stock up a few freezer meals. This is one piece of advice I’ve received that’s actually useful. Hello, lasagna, casseroles and crockpot meals!
- This house was in desperate need of a deep cleaning when we moved in, and some rooms we’ve gotten to, others we haven’t. I know that will be the farthest thing from our mind once she gets here, so I’d like to finish most of it in the next couple weeks.
There are a million other smaller things I can think of, but those are the big ones. I’d say we’re in pretty good shape. Now we’re just waiting on you, sweet girl!
