End of the Second Trimester! And Beginning of the Last!

The second trimester of this pregnancy is over!  I am pretty happy about this for a few reasons.

First of all, it wasn't obvious to many that I was actually pregnant up through the first six months.  In mid January I did a prenatal yoga series frequently, which moved the baby from deep in my pelvis up.  It was more comfortable for me, but it totally changed my profile! I am not obviously pregnant.  This means I have been receiving more kind gestures at work and in public places.  I am totally content with people offering to carry heavy objects for me or to hold doors.  Thank you!

Secondly, the all day nausea has stopped, and with that, I only throw up a few times per day now.  Usually, its in the morning.  I find that the strong acid reflux medicine, when taken at night, really helps me to have less throwing up in the morning.  Therefore, I am able to eat breakfast, which means I throw up less through the days.  The cycle is starting to break!  This is truly wonderful. I don't have to take the expensive anti-nausea medicine anymore.  I hope that as time goes by, the nausea and vomiting will stop completely.  It did with Daniel at about 8.5 months.  I am at 7 months now, and there are many days when I cannot eat dinner because of how sick I feel or I go to be feeling sick, but it was 100% of the time for months 1-5, so this is great improvement!

Next of all, it makes a lot more logical sense for me to be physically and mentally preparing for the baby if the bulk of gestation is over.  In my mind, I am so much less worried about the health of the pregnancy than I was a few weeks ago.  I cannot even compare this experience to Daniel's pregnancy, wherein I was afraid of his death until weeks after he is born. I think I will be truly surprised if there are complications, whereas before I predicted them and assumed them.  This confidence helps me to prepare for buying baby girl things and also rethinking how we schedule our day and our our lives will change.

Other news....

I did not gain weight this trimester.  I lost weight.  I am so happy for the majority of winter to be OVER so I won't catch any more terrible viruses or flus or other diseases.  I spent so much time being regular-sick that it was almost unimportant that I was morning-sick.  I was sick nearly the entire month of November and had the worst stomach bug I've had in years just before Christmas.

We are nearly certain we won't buy H2 a crib, not right away.  We had planned on purchasing a mini crib and putting it up in our room.  However, our son slept in the moses basket for two months, and thus we think that DHH will be ready for a different bed set up by the time she needs a bed.  We'll cross that bridge when we get there!  She might find her way into a mini crib or her brother's crib.  We're not sure yet!  At this point, it doesn't seem to be as big of a deal.  We know that we can get 2 day shipping for the crib through Amazon Prime, and we hope that we'll have some gift cards or money to use to prepare for that.

I've decided to go totally disposable free with this baby, too.  That means Huggies wipes, Pampers Swaddlers, and bottle liners won't have a place in our house!  I have nearly enough cloth to bring to the hospital (yes, there, too!) and the cloth wipe system we've been using is fantastic.  I am not sure why I used the Playtex Drop Ins... perhaps it was just a bottle I had from a shower, but I will nurse the first month and then she'll have a daily bottle of expressed milk from an Avent bottle we already own.  I think that since its a once a day thing, we won't have all these dirty bottles lying about the house.  It should be easy to rinse them and then put them in the dishwasher.  I am totally comfortable with this decision to make less trash for the baby and I think its as important for me as a statement about how I feel about sustainable living as how I feel about wasting money by throwing baby items away!

At my last appointment, I rescheduled the gestational diabetes test for this week, but today the receptionist notified me that The Blizzard will cause the office to close.  I will take it later.  I've also asked the doctor to not have weekly appointments unless he finds a reason to schedule them, so I'll go every other week, sort of a low-high risk sort of appointment.

Not Yet, Please.

Dear little girl (or dear my tired, painful abdomen),

Its not time yet.  Its not time for the labor and delivery process at only 7 months gestation.  We could be actually organized for you in two or three weeks... but that is pushing it.

So these painful contractions need to stop.  And daughter, you need to stop pounding your fists and kicking your legs at me all the time.  Sorry if you are cramped... I think you will feel cramped your whole life as a younger child that has to share many things.

Here are some more reasons why its NOT TIME YET.

We don't have any clothes for you yet, so you should really stay inside where your nakedness is an advantage.  

Also, you are nameless, still.  You'll just get some generic name that we randomly pick, like Lucy or Betty or something, because we are so surprised to meet you so soon.

Your brother hasn't learned how to be gentle when touching others' eyes or other facial features.  If you come out soon, you'll get his finger up your nostril all time time... and I promise you that is not fun.

Also, I think you'd prefer a warm spring day for your birth, rather than this chilly weather.  Its snowy, girl! It will snow several more times this month!  Just avoid that, okay?

Last reason... if you time it just right... you and I can laze around in the hospital watching THE WEDDING of Kate and William and we won't be bothered by your dad or brother wanting to do other things.  We can oogle Kate's dress and start your love affair with large scale parties and party planning at an early age.  We can't do this if you don't wait until the end of April.

Love,

Your mama 

More Preparations for YOU.

Today we got the following purple diapers in the mail:  

 I hope you will like purple, baby.  It is one of my favorite colors and it was my favorite color when I was a child.

Here is a photo of your brother pointing to your diapers.  I don't think you will have to share with him, because he is too large for them.

I have prepared a list of things we need for your arrival, and honestly, we are very prepared.  Most of the wonderful newborn accessories we bought for Daniel right away, and I admit to doing quite a bit of online shopping in the months prior to and following his birth.

So I think we are mentally preparing for you.  Getting so excited for and about you.  We don't need many THINGS.... just a baby!

Things That Belong To You Three Months Before Your Expected Arrival.

I have not collected as many things as I had hoped so far, but do know that I am mentally planning crib bedding, a detailed shopping list for yard sales, and a few more other special purchases for you.

You have a drawer in the nursery dedicated to you and all the things I have for you are stored there.  I spread them out to look at them this week, and I got even more excited about you.

There are six diapers for you in pink and purple.  You will wear several of the ones your brother wore, but these are special for you.  I was excited to get them for you and actually, I am excited to do diapering for you because these are two of my favorite colors. I much prefer them to the bright blues we've used for Daniel.

I bought the little striped shirt a few years ago.  Its so sweet.  It reminds me of sherbet flavors and My Little Pony.  

These shirts are three month size and are from your Aunt Rachie. I love them.  You will not often wear words because these days, babies wear really obnoxious sayings, but these two sayings are appropriate and very sweet.  Sorry, you can't wear shirts that say Lil Diva or Drama Queen.  

I won these leggings in an online drawing, and they are so sweet.  If you have chubby legs, they will be precious.  Your brother did not have chubby legs, and they looked precious anyway with body suits.  I think you will be wearing a lot of leggings.  They are awesome.

This is the dress I have from my birth.  You might not wear it right away, or it might be a keepsake.  Either way, I think it is lovely.

The quilt in the backdrop is made by a friend named Emily.  I bought it in the summer of 2009, even though then I was pregnant with a boy.  I thought it was so beautiful.  It is my gift to you before I even knew about you.