Crazy Days of Summer

Baby anxiety

That word has described my mood 98% of these last few weeks - Anxious!  The excitement of knowing that in a few short months our home will be a haven for a newly born child is overwhelming.  But with that excitement comes anxiety.  You'd think I'd be less anxious, after all, this is my third child.  But with each baby, I tend grow increasingly anxious about the birth.  How will I handle the sleepless nights?  Will I be able to manage everything?  What if I need a c-section?  Will Hubby make it home for the birth?  Oh my Lord, the baby is due in two months and I don't have a diaper in the house yet!

Now, I know in the end, everything will work out just fine.  It ALWAYS does.  But I'm a planner.  And if there's not a tried and true plan put forth in front of me, I get anxious. 

We've been trying to sell our house for a couple of months.  It's a three bedroom house located about 25 to 30 minutes from both of my parents.  Our plan was to try to sell this home and get into a bigger home before the baby arrived.  However, due to this and that, I've ultimately decided to take the house off the market for a while and cram all three kids in this house.  Right now, the girls share a bedroom and the third room is used as an office for me and a military/aviation hall of fame for my husband.  In years past, I've always enjoyed having the girls in the same room.  You see, hubby is out of town quite often.  And if say a fire or something should happen, I always took comfort in knowing that I only had to run to one room, grab everybody up and head out the door.  This system has worked out well.  But, now we're talking about cramming three kids in one room.  And while I know IT CAN BE DONE, it's really not ideal when you consider the size of the current bedroom.  However, with that being said, our plan is to cram all three girls into the same room.  We've decided to purchase bunk beds for the two oldest girls and then just use our existing crib for the new little one.  Right now, both girls are in toddler beds and both have a sort of rail thing that keeps them from rolling out.  The thought of bunk beds just scares me so bad.  I know children sleep in them everyday.  But Maddy gets up frequently during the night to go use the bathroom and I'm afraid that she's going to fall trying to get down.  Oh the anxiety - it creeps up every chance it gets.  Am I being silly?  Someone tell me that an almost four year old child is perfectly capable of navigating a bunk bed.

Anyway, I've spent several days now, scouring craigslist and the local paper trying to find a good deal on bunk beds.  As the days grow closer to Sept 1st, I feel as though I'm running out of time to get everything done.  The nesting instinct has kicked in and I want Hubby to pull down all of the infant clothes that are stored in the attic so that I can start laundering and fixing and straightening and admiring . . . it won't be long til I'm holding that precious little baby in my arms!

Wordless Wednesday: Girls Rule!

 

We don't need no stinkin' boy . . . this girl can change oil in the tractor with the best of 'em!

Sleepless in Florida

It seems these days I can't even buy myself some quality sleep.  I mean, I do make my best attempt at sleeping soundly, but the mind keeps working long after the body has said, "I quit!"  I lay in bed and my legs become restless.  I begin to think about the infant clothes that I need Hubby to bring down from the attic and the swing that needs to be put back together and the bunk beds that still need to be purchased and all the washin' and straighten' that any normal pregnant Mom does . . . and hours pass before I know it.  When I do finally drift off, I awake several times to . . . well . . . go potty.  And then, for some unearthly reason, I'm fully awake at 5:00 a.m. thinking about those same things that kept me from falling fast asleep the night before.  Hubby thinks it's due in some part to me trying to nap during the day.  But y'all . . . I don't voluntarily nap during the day.  In fact, yesterday, I kept myself awake all day, fighting urges to rest and then around 8:00 p.m. I had decided to lay down on the couch and turn on the TV.  Literally five minutes later, I'm asleep.  I didn't intend to be asleep yet.  I mean, heck, it was my first down time of the day.  The girls had just been put to bed at 8 and I thought that maybe I could talk a little with Hubby and just relax.  Wrong!  I was so tired I couldn't hold my eyes open.  So, after a ten minute or so power nap, I was recharged and stayed up with Hubby til 10:30 p.m.  But, here I am, at 6:15 a.m. having coffee and typing on this here blog.  Anyway, I'm not so much complaining as just saying that I think this is perfectly normal.  In fact, I think it's in God's plan.  I mean, after this baby is born, there will be lots of sleepless nights and broken sleep patterns.  I think it's God's way of preparing a Mama to live on less sleep. 

Anyway, enough about my sleep habits, I guess.  For those of you who aren't already aware, I graduated from college this past Saturday.  Yep . . . this here Mama is educated now!  Do I feel any different?  Not really, except that a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  For years, in the back of my mind, I've beaten myself up for not finishing.  I've spent many a sleepless night thinking about school also.  I do feel a sigh of relief and I've taken some time to just get off of this computer now and enjoy the life that's happening around me.  Today, I intend to take the girls to the free family movie at the local theater and go grocery shopping.  It's been too darn hot here to even step outside.  Yes, I know I'm in Florida, but it has been unseasonably H-O-T here this month.  Yesterday, high temp was 102 with a heat index of around 112.  We've broken temp records for the past three days.  We finally got some rain yesterday and it cooled things off a bit . . . today, we're only expected to reach the mid 90's.  So, this pregnant lady is beaching herself inside where the AC is a flowin' - thank you Lord!  Oh and I'd upload a photo or two from the graduation but I'm still trying to remember exactly where I put my camera.  So, I'll get to that as soon as I can. 

And as a side note, I have no idea why my blog loads slow.  I intend to send an email to support to figure this one out, Irv.  But until then, I appreciate your patience in waiting for the thing to load!  I know it's frustrating!

Oh and one more thing . . . for those keeping up with my pregnancy, I am now 30 weeks pregnant.  According to Baby Center.com's statistics, the baby should weigh about 3.5 lbs now and should measure approximately 15.7 inches long.  I had my glucose screening last Thursday and I'm just waiting for the results of that test.  I've gained 18 lbs so far and my next appt is Friday, July 3rd.  Results of the last check up were that the baby is measuring exactly where she needs to be and that heart rate was excellent, my blood pressure was great and my low weight gain should ensure that I pass my glucose screening with flying colors (although I'm not celebrating yet).  You see, my last pregnancy, I kept my weight gain down to a minimum, watched my diet, and still failed the one-hour glucose screening and the three-hour glucose screening.  Thanks to the wonderful progressive doctor that I had at the time, he didn't make me check my blood sugar four times a day - instead, he tasks me with following a strict diet.  All worked out well and the only side effect is that Baby Lulu was born three weeks early at 8 lbs 3 oz.  So . . . I am praying that through some miraculous act of God, all will go just as well this time.  Other than that . . . nothing else to tell except that I think we may have a World Class Soccer Player in there.  The girl can kick like a star! 

Those are my updates from now and I'll be back to update if I receive the results from the blood test this week.

Just enjoying life one day at a time . . .

Many of you have probably wondered where I've been.  And while I do love this blog and many of you do too, I realized I had spent almost one year straight constantly plugged into the computer, completing homework assignments, managing condo reservations and creating new websites, not to mention my Facebook addiction.  So, I made a promise to my girls, that when Mama finished school, she'd unplug for a while.  And that's what I been doing.  Oh, there's not a whole lot exciting to tell, but I've so enjoyed just getting up in the morning and giving my full attention to those two girls.  I'm savoring these last couple of months before we become a family of "five". 

This morning, Maddy got up before Lulu.  She came and sat down next to me on the couch and we had the most amazing conversation.  We spoke about how she was my "first" baby.  We discussed her birthday in September.  And well, she once again made her plea for the new baby to be named "Sally".  Did we speak of anything life changing?  Nope.  But I just soaked her up.  And in the back of mind I wondered, "when did my little girl grow up?" 

So, while I may not be online everyday posting updates to this here blog, I will be doing something far more rewarding . . . loving my babies.