Pregnancy Journal: month #8

• Eighth Month 05/09/10 to 06/09/10:  anxiety, "where are my toes?", preparations, big sister Lila Grace...

Anxiety: a big issue this month.  Believe it or not, now all I can think about is that Mia Faith will arrive way too soon and I won't be ready.  I hope this is just "fear of the unprepared" because, really, I haven't started doing ANYTHING yet.  I've managed to make a list of all the things I need to buy and do but have yet to find the time to get started.  We bought Mia's dresser and a bed for Lila (so we can use her crib and mattress for Mia) but that's about it.  Now we need to paint it in the color I want and go from there.  There's also a ton of laundry I need to do which is something I'm actually looking forward to.  I love organizing things and doing it for my daughter only makes it more fun!

"Where are my toes?":  that is the question this month... seriously.  I've been hearing "oh you look so small" and "you don't look like you're in the second trimester, let alone the third!" and all of a sudden my belly just POPPED.  It's not terribly heavy just yet but it's heavy enough!  Mia is not huge... the doctor said she's about four and a half pounds this week (week 33).

I had the nicest surprise last week.  My friends and family threw a surprise baby shower and it was so much fun!  Just having the ones I love all together in one room for a couple of hours was so great.  I've been so busy with errands, doctor's appointments, crossing things off my "to do" list that I haven't had a whole lot of time left and this was such a treat!  Thank you all for the wonderful surprise and all the lovely gifts!  I love you all!!!  (I'll post pictures soon!)

Lila is still oblivious to the fact that she's going to have a sister soon.  I try to talk to her about it as much as I can but I don't feel like there's a need to really push the subject when she doesn't seem to understand it just yet.  She's always sweet when I ask her "who's inside mommy's belly" and she says "baby" or "Mina" (her way of saying Mia)...  The funny thing is when I lift my shirt and say "there's a baby inside mommy's belly...it's Lila's little sister, right?" and she pulls my shirt down and says "night-night baby".  LOL  I think what she's really trying to say is "I'll deal with her when I have to but not right now"...LOL  Just a quick note about something sweet that happened and I can't stop thinking about:  we started doing the non-stress test this week (that test where they put a couple of monitors on the belly to track the baby's heartbeat, movement and contractions).  Lila is always present at every appointment I have... for 20 minutes we got to listen to Mia's heartbeat and Lila was actually dancing to the sound of it!  It was soooo sweet!  Next time, I'll try to catch it on video.  :-)

Be blessed everyone!

xoxo

Pregnancy Journal: month #7

• Seventh Month 04/09/10 to 05/09/10: emotional roller coaster, "so in love", baby's kicks, baby's name...

Wow, seventh month... From the very beginning I've been so worried about the baby being late and now I'm actually praying she'll stay in here at least until her due date.  Women really DON'T know what they want, especially when hormones are running the show.  I already miss being pregnant so much that I don't want it to be over, even though I can't wait to see my little girl's face!

I'm so in love with this little blessing that it makes me want to cry sometimes.  I always hear parents of more than one child saying they experienced a certain kind of "confusion" when their second/third/fourth child was about to arrive... a feeling of "how will I manage to split the love between all my children?", almost as if our hearts are limited to a certain size, but amazingly, I've found out it doesn't really work that way.  Mia is not even here yet and I'm already learning that our hearts grow bigger, so we don't have to split our love between our children.  Rather, we love twice as much.  God is truly amazing in the way He built us and our emotions.

Did you notice I wrote "Mia"?  Yes, it's official.  The chosen name is Mia Faith.  I'm actually doing pretty well in calling out her name now... I say it more often than "the baby"! :o)  As I'm writing this post, she's kicking up a storm in my belly.  If it's true that the baby's activity in utero is similar to what it'll be when she's born, then I'll be up most of the night.  She's smart... this is the only time of the day where she'll be able to have some one-on-one time with me. LOL

Everything else is well.  My belly is growing fast and I'm very tired, but overall, I feel pretty good.  That being said, I'll go to bed and rest while I can!

God bless!
xoxo