Recent accomplishments that I'm glad to have under my belt:
- Robbie has been sleeping in his big boy bed for over a week now, both overnight sleeping and daytime naps. He was needing to be put back in his bed two or three times at night after getting out and opening his door for the first few days, but oddly enough he never tried to get out at naptime. Tonight he didn't get out at all after we put him to bed. Success!
- Today I was able to find some gently used spring / summer clothes for the kids at a resale shop in Geneva. I love buying their clothes used for two reasons - it's so much cheaper (especially since they grow through sizes so quickly!), and I feel less guilty when things are accidentally ruined in the wash, get food or grass stains on them, or holes wear through the knees. Yeah for resale shops! And yeah for not having to think about shopping for them once the weather turns warm again. We are ready.
- I have one room left in the house to clean out, purge and reorganize before the baby comes, and made some initial progress this afternoon. I hope to finish it up tomorrow, and then go into labor immediately thereafter. :) But not before I'm done cleaning...
- I was able to find a few great nursing camisoles today at Target. They are lighter weight than the old ones I had in my maternity stash from 3 years ago and were relatively cheap. I'm hoping that the third time's a charm when it comes to nursing - neither Robbie or Ellie nursed for very long for reasons beyond my control (Robbie's surgery and recovery, Ellie's milk protein intolerance/allergy). Maybe this baby and I will have better luck! I would love to avoid spending a small fortune on formula again.
- I'm finally pre-registered at the hospital for the birth! Only took me 9 months to fill out a 2 sided form with basic information, and ask Rob to fax it over for me.
- I am 100% caught up on laundry, grocery shopping, and general organization within our home (aside from aforementioned final room being cleaned out). I have apple juice, diapers, wipes, dish soap, and other non-perishable daily essentials back stocked in our basement. This is great, except now I don't have anything really to do until the baby comes. I need some short term, non-essential, non-strenuous projects to occupy my mind and pass the time. Or maybe I just need a good book. Today I emptied and repacked my hospital bag, obsessively switching out a few items, and then making a list of all the things I need to add at the last minute so that I don't forget power cords, etc.
After re-reading this post before hitting publish, I realize that I sound a bit high strung. Probably because I am - my poor husband puts up with so much from me, but never more so than when I'm pregnant. I am a mess, especially at the end. There's so much my (split!) Type A personality wants to plan and prepare for and so very little I can do about how and when labor will start and end. I get stir crazy.
A friend and I were talking on the phone today about our fears as they relate to mothering our small children, and I was reminded again of how appropriate it was for me to give up fear for Lent. All of the irrational 'what-ifs' have started to pop up in my mind, and much as I want to move forward and get this labor and delivery behind me, a part of me has begun to dread the process and the unknowns. It is a sacrifice and a privilege at the same time to take every thought captive and instead of entertaining it, lay it down before the Lord, asking Him to remove doubt and anxiety and fear from my heart and trade it for peace, hope, contentment, patience and confidence in the fact that He is enough for me, regardless of how everything plays out.
Missing from this list of things that should have been accomplished by now:
- Deciding on a baby name (eeeekkk!)
- Ordering a new bulb for our TV
- Scheduling an appointment to move forward with our will
- Scheduling Robbie's 3 year well visit
- Writing in each of the journals I keep for the kids before the baby is born
5 comments:
oh...this post resonates with me big-time! we are so alike and also at such a similar season in life. i'm praying for a healthy delivery for you. the rest of the to-do list can wait (as i discovered when tessa decided to come early). :)
a word of advice on the will: check that the dates are right. steve & i just had our wills drawn up naming guardians for our kids etc. last night as we were at the notary's office, one of our witnesses put the wrong date on one sheet of paper and now the will has to be re-drawn. ugh. what a pain! what i want to know is when did we get so old?? wills, really?? good for you, though. it's going to feel good to have them signed and in our fireproof safe.
love the updates! i can totally relate to these posts...i guess God gives us an extra dose of energy and OCD right before baby so we can get our nests ready for baby! looking forward to more news and of coarse baby livingston details when he/she arrives!
it sounds like you are busy enough and all caught up, but if you are looking for something else convenient to do you could start making double meals and freeze one for after baby or just spend an afternoon making 3-4 meals to have in the freezer to just pop in the oven. im sure you'll be blessed with meals from friends and church members, but this is something you can do....and you know best what your family will eat!
i need some of you to rub off on me :) thanks for the inspiration to get some things done before our little munchkin comes. don't be so hard on yourself, though! admirable work preparing your home and self- that is one lucky bambino coming into the livingston clan!!
Thinking about you, Ashley! Home stretch. As I read this, I was thinking that at our 5 year--at homecoming, you were pregnant with Robbie (who you didn't know would be Robbie...:)). Time flies!
-Molly
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