I just had my 30th birthday. It was quite the whirlwind. I haven’t really had time to focus on it
because things have been so busy with baby stuff, Matt’s bar exam, and my
family flying in for a visit. We had a
fun weekend with my folks, brother and his gf going out for crab cakes and
touring Fort McHenry
and the Inner Harbor.
It was pretty chilly, but still fun.
I’m looking forward to doing more touristy stuff once the weather
improves a little. Mom and I also got a
little baby clothes shopping in – it’s just too hard to resist!
I have finally completed the monumental task of filling out
our baby registries at Target and Babies ‘R Us.
I feel quite proud. It’s fun, but tedious. I’ve been around kids a lot, so I know they
need lots of stuff, but you never think about HOW much stuff they really have
until you put it down on paper.
The stores really seem to prey on first time parents,
telling them they need a billion things that they really don’t. We want to think carefully about what we buy;
after all, we have plenty of other things we could use our money for right now. Just like planning a wedding, planning for
baby becomes a balancing act between what you need, what you want, and
what you have room & the budget for. I have no idea
where all these things are going to fit in this apt, but when there’s a will,
there’s a way (as long as nobody buys any giant stuffed animals). Before I got married, I always thought buying
off the registry for weddings and baby showers meant I was being uncreative.
Now that’s pretty much all I do, because I now know how much work goes
into creating one. Sure, it may not be
memorable or fun to buy the “needs” instead of the cute clothes, but all that
stuff is important.
Today was a big milestone – Matt was finally able to feel
baby kick for the first time! She is
usually moving when he’s at work or asleep, but because of the 2-inch
“snowstorm”, he got to stay home. She
was unusually active this morning. Often
it’s just a kick or two at a time, and it’s over before I can even put my hand
on my belly. Lately she hadn’t been
moving much at all it seemed. I was
actually becoming concerned. But the
last few days, bam! She’s back in full
force. She just kept going for a half
hour. Matt was surprised by the
feeling. I think he was expecting the
kicks to be stronger. I assured him they
will be once she grows some more. She is
almost 1 lb. now and around 11 inches long according to the books. My belly has started to harden and expand both
out and up to the point where it’s getting uncomfortable to bend forward while
sitting. I’m glad she’s growing so well,
it’s exciting to feel those kicks get stronger!
Her hearing should be fully developed within a couple weeks,
so Matt decided he wanted to start playing some classical music for her. Beethoven, of course! I have yet to feel her move in response to
any particular sounds or music, but it certainly can’t hurt. I suppose it’s so loud in there with all the
gurgling noises that everything she hears is pretty muffled.
It’s pretty wild to think that she has grown the point where
it’s possible that she could survive outside the womb (though the chances would
be very slim and a LOT of special equipment
would be needed). The youngest baby ever
to survive was 21 weeks 6 days. Though
that was probably only because the mom lied about how far along she was. The doctors won’t even try to save a baby
younger than 24 weeks, or so I am told.
And the baby has a much better chance of survival after 28 weeks. I thank God for every week that passes where
baby is still healthy and well. I have
already heard several stories on the birth board of babies who were born at 17,
18, 19 weeks and inevitably passed away.
I can’t imagine what those parents are going through.
I read a great blog the other day about a mom who found
herself stressed out trying to be superwoman – the kind of mom who lives in Pinterest and makes all
the meals into cute designs or has time to do tons of little crafty projects
and flower arrangements to make their home look good. When really, she points out, what your kids
want is YOU. Not some stressed-out mom
who wishes she were someone else. Yes,
providing good experiences for your kids is important. But also is being present in the moment. They don’t care if your voice isn’t perfect,
they want YOU to sing them lullabies.
They want you to take time to play with them and be there for them, and
not worry about how little you got accomplished that day or how the house looks
or they fact that you only had time to make something quick and simple for
dinner.
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