Frecklewonder

and we wait

hello, friends. i'm sorry i've gone on so long without an update of any kind. it's been an exceptionally difficult two weeks or so for me around here, and it's safe to say that the only crying baby in my house right now is me. i really want to thank you all for the nice wishes, it means a lot to me.

i wish that i could reach out and hug you all. or send you all something nice in the mail. or take you out for a girly lunch. i appreciate you more than you know.

i've been stricken with a pretty awful case of THIS. and let me tell you, it sucks. basically, i haven't had any sleep at night and i am walking around the world like some sort of foggy headed zombie, getting increasingly grouchier as the days go on. sleep deprivation will do that to a person. i could handle waking up for night time feedings, NO PROBLEM, i just can't take this awful numbness and tingling for one more day. i literally wake up shortly after midnight, and can.not.go.back.to.sleep. at times, i can barely use my hands, my grip is so weakened from the daggone numb tinglies.

anyhow. this is a real lesson in patience for me. i probably should have never gotten myself excited in thinking that she would have been here by now. it doesn't help much to see that most of my lady friends online are snuggling their new babies. i know i sound like a Super Crank right now. i am really happy to see all these healthy, lovely little things, i really am. :) i just feel so anxious about my own that i could pop.

oh, and speaking of "pop". a word of advice to those non-pregnant folks out there: it is probably not the greatest choice to use the word "pop" when you are talking to a woman who is 40 weeks pregnant. you know, as in: "you look like you're 'bout ready to pop!". yeah. i'm just sayin.

while i'm sharing my two cents, may i offer a piece of advice for all you pregnant ladies out there: tell yourself that your baby is due two weeks after the date the doctor gives you, that way when you find yourself at the 40 week mark, you won't be counting every second and wondering why your baby seems to have lost the directions on how to get out of the womb. just get that later date in your mind and stick with it. you'll thank me for this, i promise.

in an effort to sort of brighten my world, and occupy my idle time, i made some totes and a small update to the shop. i have these items packaged and ready to ship. should my uterus decide to get in the game in the next day or two (fingers crossed), i have some lovely assistants on hand here to get the packages to the post office.

until next time, i hope you all are well. xo

thinking and waiting

so i've been thinking, isn't 40 weeks technically ten months? i dunno. i'm just sayin.

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sorry it's been so quiet over here on the ol' blog. truth is, it is taking pretty much all i've got just to get the basic daily stuff done with myself and my family, and maintain the shop. i can't keep up with emails to save my life, and my house is a bit of a disaster at the moment.

the time is near. and, man am i happy about that. this has been a really long haul. thinking back on it all, it's pretty wild how different one pregnancy can be from the last. with henry, i had a really straightforward, simple, easy peasy time. i threw up twice. once was totally my fault, as i thought washing down a bowl of spaghetti with a tall glass of orange juice sounded rather tasty. imagine that coming back up. ew. i also worked on my feet all day long until the last two weeks before delivery.

this time, i can't even tell you how many times i barfed, or how exhausted i was, especially early on. i joke that i slept through the month of september, but if you were around my house at the time, you wouldn't argue with that statement. and there isn't a snowball's chance in haiti that i would be able to work outside the house, on my feet all day long, wimpy as that sounds. my back k-k-k-kills right about now.

i can only hope that one thing will be hold true for both, and that's the labor. i am definitely anxious about it, definitely nervous, but it is so near that i am also excited, and i am trying to remind myself that i did a darn good job of it the first time. with only about 2 hours of pushing, somehow i managed a natural birth which is what i hope for this time.

we shall see.

without getting into the nitty gritty, i had a check up on monday, and things are moving right along, all signs point to baby, if you know what i mean. she has dropped, and i can finally breathe again, which is a treat.

there is a good chance that i might package up all these orders from part 2 of this big sale and go into a bit of hiding until the big day. so if you don't hear from me in the next week, think good thoughts! i need all the good juju i can get!!!

lots of love*j

riddle me this

why is it that the majority of maternity selections are horizontally striped? am i the only one who's noticed this?

as if a pregnant woman needs anything to look/feel wider!

sheesh!

there's an upside to my hugeness. i'm down to single digits, folks. have been for a couple weeks now. only a handful of weeks to go.

the cream i bought the other day had a sell by date of after my due date.

this is a good thing.

worry wart

this little baby in my belly is due to come out sometime in the next 8 weeks or so (for some reason, i am convinced that she will be a little early, maybe that's just cause i already feel so big), and when i stop to think about that, i realize that i'm both totally ready and totally not. on the one hand, 8 weeks seems like forever to have to wait to finally meet her and hold her, smell her, kiss her, love her. but then, i think about all the things that i feel like we have yet to due, and i feel the need to put on the breaks just a bit.

these questions (and more) swirl around my head on a daily basis now:

when will we make that big ol' trip to ikea for things like a CRIB?
when will we decide on + purchase that infant car seat so that we can actually take her home?
when will the weather be nice enough so that we can crack the windows and start painting her room?
for the love of god, there are only a handful of weekends left!

if i didn't know better, i'd say i hadn't done this once before. i feel overwhelmed by things like purchasing a car seat. if any of you readers with infants want to weigh in on this and recommend a brand for me, i would be ever so grateful.

i am aware that she isn't going to know whether her room was filled with a giant welcoming circus upon her arrival just as much as she will be clueless if it remained in its painfully modest state, and that it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and that most of this is sort of for me at this point in time. but i also know that once she actually gets here, we aren't going to have time to do things like make trips to benjamin moore and have paint mixed, and drive around looking for the perfect dresser and i most likely will not have time to sit down and craft up that duvet cover that i want to make for her. i just want to have some peace of mind and get this stuff taken care of now.

in the meantime, i settle my nerves a bit by obsessively nesting what i can. her clothing is washed, hung, and impeccably folded. and sometimes re-folded. (i did this while waiting for henry, too. it usually involves holding little onsies up and saying to anyone nearby, "look! how tiny! how sweet!" and taking in big lung-filled breaths of the baby laundry scent. do i sound crazy yet?)

also. i am nervous about labor, and i'm not really sure why. last time i had pretty much a perfect textbook experience. quick, and relatively easy and i managed to pull it off naturally. perhaps it is the knowing that's making me a little scared? in this case, surely ignorance must be bliss?

happy hump day

thanks for such a great response to yesterday's first green post. it does my heart a world of good to hear that so many of you are making small, easy changes in your lifestyle in order to live more thoughtfully towards your environment and the world at large. i look forward to continuing this discussion as well (eco friendly diapers, cat litter, composting, gardening & housecleaning, and buying secondhand & using the great stuff that's already out there in the world- those are just a few of the green-living topics on my brain), so thank you!!!

in other news, i spent some time today going through my fabrics, searching for some to use in a quilt or floor mat for the baby's room. i think that i have made my mind up with the white palate, and little touch of vintage color here and there. overall, i want the room to be simple, and calming to the eye. and i figure when she is older, we can add some fun, bright colors easily- especially with a white backdrop. changing up the curtains, adding toddler toys and such will really brighten up the room when the time comes. i'll keep you posted as the nursery progresses.

each wednesday, i volunteer in henry's classroom. it's been great fun, and i know henry really appreciates the time that i am there. he is always such a little love bug as soon as i walk in, he can't seem to resist blowing me kisses or getting up from his seat as soon as he can to come over and give me a squeeze. and his classmates have become very interested in this baby in my belly, especially as time goes on and the bump grows on... before we found out if it was a sister or a brother for henry, lots of kids were correct in predicting a sister. one girl even said that she could hear the baby girl in there, and she sounded really cute. it's a really nice little part of my week, and i hope that i am able to continue to volunteer next year when the little lady is here. (hint, hint, mom. we might need your help with this!)

so that's about it, folks. hope you guys are pluggin' through the week ok!

quiet as a churchmouse

today's lunch. pita with tuna + greens. clementine. chocolate soy. and a little brainstorming for the baby's room. i was all set on a color scheme and design, but now i find myself re-thinking things after flipping through all my old issues of martha baby. i know for sure that i don't want to go with the traditional all-pink look just because it's a girl. i'm actually thinking more on the minimalist, all white side of things. with a sweet little vintage twist. time will tell. i have a few projects on the brain: curtains, a patchwork playmat, and a few little personalized softies. i am trying to get myself geared up to make these things, but truth be told, i am having a kind of unmotivated week. and today in particular, i am just feeling sort of blah. maybe just tired? it hit me that the restless, broken nights of sleep might have arrived. suddenly, i find myself waking up a whole bunch just to get into a more comfortable position. my bump is in full effect and oy, vey and i have a little more than 3 months to go.

not much else to say today, sorry! hope to be back with something a little more exciting next time.

little imelda

she's not here yet, but her shoes are.

thought i'd start sharing some favorite things i've got stashed away for the little lady.

really, is it any surprise that this little girl is going to have a closet full of fun?

it's a girl

henry's got a little sister on the way!

happy and healthy

hello peeps. ultrasound appointment was today, and the baby is doing great. i am so happy that everything looked perfect, and it was so great to see little feet and hands and a beating heart and little face. the baby was stretching and even yawning, which was super cute.

unfortunately, you'll have to wait until saturday day to find out the sex as we are having a big family holiday party on friday night and everyone will find out then. i can't exactly post it on the internet until mom, dad, and the rest of the gang have gotten the news, you understand right?

anyhow, just wanted to let you guys know that all went well. and we are all doing great.

thanks SO MUCH for all the lovely comments. i am blessed to have so many sweet people out there in the world wishing me + my family well.

lots of love, jenny