Well, its the final stretch (pun most definitely intended!). The belly is most obviously quite big. The belly button has popped, and I even have a couple of stretch marks. I know they aren't bad, but I didn't get any with Finn, so I was a little surprised when I saw them. I am really running out of clothes that fit, especially since the weather is still cold. As you can see from the pictures, I have taken to stealing Sean's shirts when I am at home and just looking for comfort.
I had my 36 week check up today. I saw a new midwife who is filling in while another midwife is on maternity leave. She was very nice, but she made some "big baby" comments. For instance, she noted that at this point, we have passed the pre-term labor thus if I went into labor now, they wouldn't try to stop it. She mentioned that babies born at this age typically do very well, they are just small and have trouble regulating temperature. But then she looked at me and said, but not this baby! Awesome. I am measuring a week ahead now, although I always did with Finn and those measurements are highly variable. She said that on paper it looked like I was having a perfect pregnancy and everything looks great. We are just in "waiting for baby" mode now. I will be going to weekly check ups from here on out.
I had a really wonderful baby shower/freezer stocking party this past weekend. I got some beautiful things for Peapod and everyone brought a freezer meal that I can just pull out and pop in the oven during those first few weeks where we are all getting to know each other and establish a routine. I am slowly starting to feel more prepared. Sean and I pulled down a lot of the newborn stuff from the attic and I am happy to start nesting. Although, trying to organize everything is a bit overwhelming. I have a good list started of the things we will need to get in the next couple of weeks, so at least I have a handle on it. I love lists!
I am full of anticipation right now. Who is this little person that is going to join our family? What will s/he look like? What kind of personality will s/he have? It is so exciting. I am also filled with some anxieties. What will this labor and delivery be like? How will breast feeding go? What will Finn think? How am I going to meet the needs of a 2 1/2 year-old and a newborn? Will I ever sleep again? I am trying to trust that it will all come together. I would love to hear from you second + time mamas. What was the most difficult thing about adding a second child to your family? What one piece of advice would you offer? What was the best thing?
1 comment:
The single hardest thing about adding a new baby was the task of taking care of a new baby plus the toddler. Not sure if you have it available there (or are interested) but I had Brendan in a part day preschool (just a few hours 3x a week) and it helped immensely!
I thought labor/delivery and recovery were much easier second time around.
Breastfeeding was more difficult the 2nd time-but I think that was more because of the baby. :) I'm glad I had already had a successful experience, otherwise I would have been a lot more frustrated and perhaps less likely to keep at it.
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