Doing What I Know

Time is ticking away. I just can't believe we'll have our little one on this side of the womb in about three weeks. Or less.

Baby belly at 36 weeks, 5 days (taken March 11th)

Our Baby Girl at 36 weeks in 4D. Isn't technology amazing?

Can I tell you what I've been up to? Well, you know, other than growing another human while also caring for two active toddlers? Going to weekly OB appointments and trying to maintain my house?

I've purchased and made ALL birthday gifts, baby shower gifts, bridal shower gifts through the month of June. And a few for July. For someone who enjoy putting gifts together by hand, this is quite an accomplishment. My cousin and my brother are getting married. Two of Andy's cousins are pregnant with their first child, as well as two of my friends. There's just too many good things going on to use the excuse, "Oh, I couldn't do what I normally do for you. This is just a busy season for me." It feels really good.

We're also almost done with our Things to Do Before Baby Arrives List. We've put the room table, washed the clothes we were so generously given and have diapers waiting for her arrival. We made headboards for the boys' room (well, more like 'bed bumpers' - I'll post a picture soon!) and hung up some more decorations on their wall. We utilized a wardrobe in our bedroom to put much of the clutter in that was lining our floor. And I did a huuuuge big sweep of the boys' toys and our stuff in the basement to give away at our last MOPS meeting. All in an attempt to be ready for our little one. In many ways, I feel like our house is finally feeling like our home. We're finally getting it to where we've wanted it to be.

I was telling some of my friends at playgroup how much I was working to finish before our little one arrived, and they just laughed. "You're going to need some downtime," they told me. "You're going to wish you had an excuse to get to the store to buy a birthday present." I suppose they're right. But here's where our thinking differs. I had twins.

When the boys were born, I didn't get a break. Oh, I had help. I don't know how I would have gotten through those first ten weeks without the support of my mom and my husband. And a great many people that made us meals. But namely, I'm the mommy. And the ultimate responsibility fell on me. I had to feed them, burp, clean, then pump. If I had extra time in the day, I would take a nap. Or perhaps I would make myself something to eat and then take a nap. If I had a whole hour, I might have been able to add a SHOWER to that list. Now THAT was luxury. I was working to care for two newborns at once. You fed one, fed the other, changed one, changed the other. And after I got them both to sleep, I'd set my alarm to do it all over again in a half hour.

So when people say, "One newborn is going to be a breeze for you!" they may be right. But I honestly don't know. I only know what it's like to care for two at once and let me tell you, that's no joke. I can only do what I know. And for right now, that means doing everything I can to clear my schedule so I can exclusively care for my little one. And my two toddlers. And my husband. And my house. And myself, of course.

With everything that's been done, there's only ONE thing left to do. And it's driving my mom CRAZY that I haven't done it yet. Pack my hospital bag.

I'll get right on that.