37 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW! This pregnancy has FLOWN. I can’t even express how fast it has gone by.

I have just been so busy this time! With Norah, I was teaching fewer lessons, not raising a toddler, not spending so much time cooking homemade food (which has been a huge focus of mine lately), etc. etc.

So, very little time for sitting around learning all about parenting and birthing and breastfeeding and fetal development, not to mention blogging. Sorry. Poor Ridley. But he’ll get PLENTY of attention once he’s born. :-)

I’m going to try to do a succinct update, but this is probably going to end up being a pretty long post.

I don’t even know where to begin.

House: Not selling yet. Things keep happening where we think we can afford to sell it (doesn’t that sound so backwards?) and then we realize we can’t quite do it. We have to put in new flooring first, because that will be much cheaper than offering a flooring allowance.

FlyLady/decluttering: Took 10 steps forward and 5 steps back. Tried to have a yard sale, ended up with a ton of stuff that didn’t sell, didn’t know what to do with it, brought it back in the house. Been trying to sell, took some to Goodwill and some to consignment. But selling online is a big hassle...I just can’t bear to give good stuff away when we so could use the money. I am desperate to get everything super clean before Ridley arrives.

Nutrition: Doing awesome! We have been sticking pretty well to a “real food,” almost Paleo type diet. It has been easier than we thought to give up wheat, sugar, and processed foods. And I just feel so good about nourishing my family with healthy food. Of course, we still occasionally have those days when I forget to plan dinner, or I’m lazy about it, or we’re out and about or visiting someone, and we eat Chinese or Pizza or meat that isn’t grass fed and organic…. but overall we’re doing really well.

Pregnancy: I’ve had some minor discomforts, but nothing too bad! Tons of Braxton Hicks lately, which I think was the case with Norah at this stage also. Belly is measuring right on target, and Ridley is supposedly about average in size, though that’s just an educated guess on the part of my midwife. I definitely think my belly is smaller than it was at the end of my first pregnancy, which is hopefully a sign that he will be smaller than Norah was. He is head down and has been for the last 10 weeks or more, but he is in a posterior position, with his back facing my back (or at least he was at my last appointment). So I am supposed to do literally hundreds of pelvic rocks (on hands and knees) a day, and also 300 squats, a whole bunch of kegels, tailor sitting (good posture) as much as possible, blah blah blah...I don’t think I’ll quite get up to as many as I’m supposed to do, but I’m working on it. The pelvic rocks especially should help him get into the right position. If he stays the way he is, it will make for a longer labor and a more difficult delivery. We don’t want that. I also may go back to the chiropractor and see if he can do anything to help. Midwife mentioned that idea.

Thoughts, feelings, etc.: I had a few weeks recently where I just felt run down all the time and wasn’t accomplishing anything. I’m so glad I mentioned that to my midwife and got on some extra supplements. They really helped and I’m feeling much more lively and happier as a result. I’m getting really excited, but glad to (hopefully!) have a few more weeks to prepare. Nothing is ready. Also glad to have more time to get him in the right position, and to wrap my mind around having to go through labor again. I’m scared sometimes. Other times I feel fine about it. I feel like I should be practicing some meditation techniques or something. With Norah the entire thing was so ridiculously intense and fast that there was no way I could relax through contractions as I was supposed to, or try different positions, or stop screaming. I just need better coping skills I guess. At least I’ll have a doula this time. The thought that helps me the most is that no matter what, it’s not me, but my body that will deliver the baby all by itself. There isn’t much I have to do other than let it happen. So, like last time, I’ll get through it knowing that the pain is necessary for the end result. And it is so worth it.

Nursery: Nonexistent, and we’re fine with that for now. Norah’s nursery was a place to keep her things. She didn’t sleep there much until she was several months old. So Ridley’s things will go in Norah’s room with Norah’s things. I’ve made some room.

Norah, the big sister to be: Doing awesome! Where do I even begin? Perhaps with some cute photos of her playing outside and throwing leaves:

She’s doing so great with potty training and we try to only put diapers on her at night. That was a major goal I wanted to accomplish before Ridley comes. We’re still working on it, but she understands and usually cooperates.

She is talking amazingly well for her age, as always. But just in the last few weeks I have had the realization that I am having full blown conversations with this child! She also has begun to correct her own pronunciations. She has especially worked on her “L” sound, which started with the word “stroller.”

Bed time is much easier than it has been in the past. She is usually cooperative with brushing her teeth (she even asks to do it sometimes) and getting ready to read a few books, then will lie down with her blankie. Sometimes she wants me or Travis to stay with her for a few minutes, sometimes she’s ok with us leaving the room right away, and rarely she puts up a fight and wants us to sleep with her or wants to sleep in our bed. She does usually wake up at some point and get in our bed, which concerns me a bit since we’ll have a newborn in our bed soon too. I’m really not sure how we’re going to handle that.

She has a big heart and can’t stand for anyone to be hurt or upset...she is very concerned even for characters on tv if something happens to them or someone takes their toy, etc. If a baby is crying, she just can’t take it. She keeps saying, “Don’t cry!”

She is going to be an amazing big sister. She has been asking Ridley to come out for months. :-) Lately, she keeps thinking of things she wants to do with him and for him, and she insists that he won’t cry! She wants to use a washcloth to give him a bath, show him her toys, give him a pacifier, feed him a bottle (though I keep telling her he’s going to drink Mommy’s milk…). I know she will do anything to make sure he never cries. :-)

My goodness, I think I’ve about covered everything! I only have one more week of teaching(!!!), and then my due date is December 7th. Hopefully by then things will be all ready! With Norah, I had decided that she would probably be born on May 19th (4 days past the due date), and she was! So this time I have chosen December 5th. Just a tad early this time would be nice, I think. :-) We’ll see if it works again!!! I hope to update again soon. Until then…!