What?! That's crazy. Seriously. Still having trouble wrapping my mind around all the changes that are coming in a few short weeks. Although we are now within a month of the due date, I'm starting to think we could meet this little VanderBean sooner than expected. At my appointment on Tuesday, I was told I'm measuring about a week and a half ahead of schedule, so we could either have a giant baby (wouldn't surprise me) or our weekends of sleeping till 11 could be seriously numbered.
It's the final countdown - no doubt about that. So much has happened in the last few weeks, and yet, so much more to come...
- Adrian and I celebrated a "babymoon" with a weekend in Beaver Creek, CO at the end of June. Although we had a good time, bad customer service, combined with a fire in our room and a 6 am evacuation for a different fire, made the trip slightly less than 100% relaxing.
- July 4th was spent with a cookout at City Park with friends, an adorable little po-dunk parade a few blocks from the house, The Lone Ranger at the theater, surf and turf dinner on our front porch amid 5 fireworks shows we could see and sparklers in the street with our dear friends the Turneys. Even though it looked vastly different (and more pregnant) than last year's celebrations - both have been great! No tubing or biking to watch fireworks in 2013, but we still had a wonderful time. Also - I had a prenatal massage the day before and it was glorious. SOOOOO nice and needed!
- Friends from church threw us an amazing baby shower. We were SO blessed to have around 30 people come celebrate VanderBean and gift us with some serious swag!! It was so nice to have A's mom and aunt in town that weekend to help sort through and organize all the gifts too. The following week, the girls at work threw a shower for me and another recent mama, and it was also a sweet time with those ladies! Potluck lunch and baby gifts - how fun!
- We had a friend from church living with us for a month or so, as she prepared for her wedding to another friend from church. We celebrated with them this past Saturday as they married amid the sounds of a parade and block party across the street :)
- Adrian went to his parents' house for a week to enjoy some R&R from work and help his parents with projects around the house. He returned with a TRUCKLOAD of goodies - yard equipment, tools, a cute little storage bench...I'm excited to see how it helps the house come together!
- Ben is finally settling in. After months of craziness, when he and A returned from WY, he was back to his sweet self. We seem to have a routine now that suits him (basically, bribes of lots of treats!), but thankfully, he's a pleasure to have around again! We think he may have been picking up on our feelings of being unsettled, but we're all doing good now :)
- A couple of weekends ago we were all about Craigslist! We had multiple little dates to cute surrounding towns to pick up a glider and some lawn furniture. We combined those excursions with paddle-boating, pizza, and fro-yo. And then enjoying lots of sitting in our new, comfy pieces.
After a months of fun-days, what is there left to look forward to before the baby comes?
- Birthing class this weekend. Hopefully this helps me understand when I should call the doctor and go to the hospital! Still a little fuzzy on those details...
- Going to Golden to sit in the creek and enjoy some water and pizza at Woody's!
- Getting the nursery painted soon, hopefully!! We need to put it all together still.
- Ordering the last few things for the baby. Although we've been given so much and I've been able to bargain hunt for the rest of the baby stuff, there are still a few key pieces missing. So, on the agenda for the next week or so is getting the car-seat and crib mattress! You know - minor things. Who needs a car seat? ;)
- Enjoying the last few weeks of time with just Adrian and I. We've been trying to sleep a lot, watch a lot of movies, enjoy dinners out and just have fun together. Sadly, so many people act like this baby coming will change everything for the negative. "You'll never go to a movie again." "Eat dinner out now, because you won't be able to once the baby is here." To some extent, I understand the truth in their statements. A baby changes everything. I get that. Just because something changes though doesn't mean it ends. Life won't be over, date nights won't be over, fun won't be over just because a baby comes. We'll have to be strategic and plan ahead more, but we're both determined to look at the changes this baby will bring as a joyous blessing and not an inconvenience to our life.
Am I way off or being totally naive? If I am being naive, maybe don't tell me :) Let me enjoy the last few weeks of ignorance in bliss!
You are not naive. Having children is a huge blessing, but you should be really prepared for the fact that your life will not feel like your own for a good while after having kids. That's not a bad thing, it's just something that I think a lot of parents are unprepared for, and if you're ready for it and are prepared for that fact, I think the entry into parenthood will not be such a shock.
ReplyDeleteChildren are a blessing and I love my girls to death. I also miss the days without them in many ways, just being honest here. =) So yes, children are a blessing and they are GREAT. But DO enjoy these last times with it just being the two of you...I don't think I've slept past 7 a.m. in 3.5 years. That's not a complaint, just a fact. One day I'll get to sleep in again, and until then I'm going to be grateful that my kids wake up every morning. =)
Just be prepared that life will not be the same, it will be a lot more work, and take joy in that. Don't expect it to be the same, don't expect to have lots of time to yourself, and you'll be happily surprised when the adjustment doesn't send you to the mental ward in depression. =) Don't be discouraged, don't be depressed, just accept the fact that life will be much different. I think when to-be-parents don't think through that is when trouble comes afterwards...
Feel free to email me anytime. So excited for you!
Thanks for the encouragement that though it will change, it won't be the end of life as we know it! I think I'm being realistic about how selfish I am, and how much life will look different, so hopefully will be prepared and stay out of the mental ward ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the honesty!