Double Digits

Wow! Our "countdown clock" to mark the baby's due date is now in the double digits: 98 to be exact. Where has the time gone? This is really happening! I am going to give birth and have a baby. Reality is hitting as we watch the clock count down the days.

As mentioned throughout this blog, my pregnancy has been pretty matter of fact. I have been fortunate. The last month however has been a bit more noteworthy. For example, I have now discovered the need for maternity clothes. Six months into pregnancy and I can no longer use the majority of my winter wardrobe. There are two pants that I am managing to fit into-- thanks to a safety pin. But for the most part I have made the transition to elastic waist pants and long sweaters that hide the new waist bands. This transition was not all together easy. The first time I entered a Motherhood maternity store and tried on a pair of maternity pants, I cried. I am used to options, comfort, fit and style. The clothes that I tried on felt cheap, boxy, and all together unflattering. I have since gotten to the point that I can make "maternity fashion" work. I have a few basics thanks to Target and some good sales on some upscale maternity wear websites. I am making it work. No more tears. . . most of the time.

An other highlight of the past month has been feeling the baby "kick". It is wild to feel the sometimes slight, sometimes erupting movements of baby smudge. Sometimes I am quick to tell other people, "oooh, the baby is kicking." While other times I just keep it to myself as to say this is my mother-child bonding moment, just the two of us getting to know each other. I have not noticed any pattern to the movement (time of day, after eating, etc). But I am still learning the ways of baby smudge. I guess I always will be from now on.

Finally, I have entered into the "nesting phase" of my pregnancy. I spent three hours reorganizing our pantry the other day. I have been combing through baby magazines, websites, and consumer reports articles figuring out what we need. Just this past weekend I ventured to BabiesRUs to look into the whole registry thing. Oh dear. I walked into baby craziness! I am officially overwhelmed. But I am relying on a few good friends to walk me through the whole nesting and getting ready process. Thank goodness for friends with experience. I know I will be depending on them quite a bit as our double digits count down to the single digits and then life with baby.