What else needs to be done? Set up the crib some friends gave us and wash the sheets, of which I still have a couple. Start a shopping list to which to add waterproof mattress covers and changing pads (and possibly a new carseat). Decide about diapers: I'm tempted to try cloth again. We used cloth with the first 3 boys, but when our third was about 6 months old, we moved and lived in temporary housing for about 6 months. The convenience of disposables won me over. Plus, I had begun to feel that the abundance of laundry - not just the diapers themselves, but the leaky clothes and the wet sheets - was creating a drain on resources. I know cloth diapers are much more absorbent and convenient to use now, but our water bill is our largest utility cost here in California, so I haven't yet decided which diaper form to use.
To add to my indecision, I looked up cloth diapers online and was overwhelmed by the choices. So many brands! So many designs! What works best for the least amount of money? If I knew another child would be using these, I would be more willing to invest. On the other hand, I notice that a week's supply of disposables is about $35 now. This baby will spend a lot of time on the go with her multiple siblings' activities - do I want to pack wet nappies in plastic bags with us? Any recommendations?
Another quandary: we still haven't decided on a name. We are still getting suggestions: "Nola" and "Adelaide" are the two newest. We know three new baby girls: a couple from church just had a Francesca, another had Vivian Louise, and the third new baby in our circle of friends is Christine Elizabeth.
Who does this baby look like?
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| 32 weeks. Going to need braces for that overbite? |
This is my most recent ultrasound image by the perinatalogist, who lectured me about having too much amniotic fluid, an indication that my gestational diabetes is not as firmly under control as I thought. "The baby will come out crying 'Where the hell is my sugar!'" he warned if I don't watch my intake. And this weekend brought two brunches and two large dinners with company, so my eating habits were compromised. I'm craving chocolate right now, as a matter of fact.
The baby is normal sized but extremely active. I'm sure she's busier than the other kids were in utero. So I've been having anxieties that she has some kind of neurological disorder, and she'll never sleep. Maybe it's my sugar levels?
Other that her extreme activity and my extreme tiredness by about 7 pm, we both are healthy. Although I fall asleep on the couch every night, I still feel relatively normal during the day. I have already gained 30 pounds and am starting to develop varicose veins, so I'm also nervous about blood clots and my ability to stay active for the next couple of months. After our busy weekend, I bribed my kids to rub my feet and ankles with the promise that whoever rubs my feet the most gets to hold the baby first. Another perk of being pregnant while having older kids. Their attention to my roiling stomach gets a bit annoying at times (please stop poking my belly!), but for the most part I am touched - bad pun - by their attentiveness and excitement about meeting their baby sister. I'm excited, too, - the next couple of months will be a test of slow time.
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| This is how I feel at the end of the day: like a resting harbor seal we saw on a recent boat outing. |
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing the progress of your pregnancy with us. I love these posts!
Also, I wish to put in a plug for MARGARET as the baby's name. Many good saints have had the name, and it has served me well! :)
I hadn't thought to suggest a name, but since Margaret did, I must chime in with her idea - Margaret, you may know, is the name of which Gretchen is the German diminutive (little Gret), and I had a couple of Aunts Margaret, so I am very fond of the name, too. :-) It seems very regal to me. Of course, there are many nicknames for Margaret, which could be fun!
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