Two Months To Go

As I type this, we have just eight weeks to go until my due date. At the rate I’ve been going, the next time I post on this blog, she might be here. That. Is. Crazy!

Things have kicked into a higher gear lately, both with my pregnancy and with life.

I’ve been spoiled with an easy pregnancy so far, but lately I’ve had a few days where things are pretty uncomfortable. My lower back hurts, I’m short of breath, and I have acid reflux. I came down with a gnarly cold this past week and had a few miserable days spent sneezing, blowing my nose, battling a throbbing head and praying it wasn’t Covid. It wasn’t, thank goodness.

While I was sick I also went about five days without doing any yoga or stretching, which I think was a big contributor to the back pain. Daily squats, lunges, pelvic tilts and lots of extended child’s pose have been a life saver, so I’m thankful to be feeling good enough to get back into it again.

Things are finally coming together with our move and we should find out our closing date this week. I haven’t shared much about it because real estate in New York proceeds at a glacial pace and things have been up in the air for months, but if you didn’t already know, we’re moving!

Johnny and I are headed to the Hudson Valley, which probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who follows me on Instagram. It’s a place we love and have spent a disproportionate amount of time since we’ve lived in New York, and especially since the start of the pandemic. We’ll be closer to hiking and skiing, able to have more space, and most importantly be within a much more manageable distance of Johnny’s new job.

For the past three months he’s been using a combination of driving, public transit, and private car service to get to and from work. This has meant anywhere from an hour to two hours in transit each way, on top of the madness of election and coronavirus coverage. I’m happy he’ll finally be getting some relief.

Things I’m looking forward to after the baby arrives:

• Snuggling up with her on the couch on snow days
• Introducing her to the dogs
• Taking her hiking
• Taking her for walks to explore our new town’s cute main street
• Seeing Johnny become a dad
• Seeing our parents become grandparents
• Seeing our parents, period
• Sharing the experience with friends who have also recently become new parents
• Being able to eat a full meal without feeling like I’m literally going to burst
• Sharing a bottle of wine with my husband
• Eating a bagel piled high with lox and cream cheese
• Sleeping on my back
• Wearing high waisted jeans
• Skiing

I feel like so much of this year has been spent waiting. Waiting for the next pregnancy milestone. Waiting for the pieces to come together with our move. Waiting for the pandemic to end (LOL). Waiting to see how the election goes.

With most days looking identical from one to the next for months on end, it’s been hard not to become obsessed with wanting things to change. But now that the year is drawing to a close and it feels like we’re finally turning a corner in a lot of areas, I realize there are also a lot of memories from this weird and wacky time that I want to hold onto:

• The few weeks before we told anyone I was pregnant, sharing the biggest secret ever with only my husband
• How amazing it was when the morning sickness subsided and food finally tasted good again
• Waking up to baby kicks in the middle of the night and quietly sneaking out of bed to have a piece of toast in the dark
• Doing the New York Times spelling bee puzzle on the couch with a cup of coffee
• Getting up before the sun to drive upstate and hike
• The excitement of finding Clorox wipes when they’ve been out of stock everywhere for weeks
• The simple joy of getting together with friends after not seeing anyone for months
• Emailing each other real estate listings, daydreaming about a house with a front porch and a bedroom big enough for a king-size bed
• All of the support, excitement, and love we’ve received about our new addition, even from afar

While I can’t say that I’ll be sad to see 2020 go, I can say with confidence that it’s been the most life-changing year of my life. I know I’m with a lot of other people in feeling like everything is going to change for the better in the next year. I’m excited for what’s ahead.