Wednesday, September 14, 2011

joint pains

How did I gain 5 pounds in 3 weeks? she wonders as she takes another bite of her second breakfast. Whoops. I could blame it on Baby Girl (don't worry, she has a name), but she weighs .8 pounds. And she's definitely doing her part in terms of exercise, so much so that my doctor told me to invest in some ritalin. She's ALWAYS moving. Yesterday we had another ultrasoud. Baby Girl is still a girl (phew). Everything looks good, or at least that's what Doctor N said. From what I saw, she looked part Extraterrestrial and part fish. I'm really looking forward to seeing her actual face, not a foggy picture on a computer monitor. But even the grainy image is so exciting to see. As is my swelling belly, my jeans that no longer fit, and the paint we picked out for the nursery. It's real now. 21 weeks down, 19 to go. That's downhill. Am I terrified? Totally. Not only of labor and birth, but also of raising a child. I have no idea how to do that. I don't think I've even held a baby in the past three years. I've tried to practice with Ollie, but he's not such a fan of being swaddled.  Or burped. Turns out dogs don't burp. Anyway, I'm assuming this is a sink or swim scenario, and we'll figure out parenting as we go. Not to say that I'll turn down advice. In fact, who can recommend a good parenting book?

3 comments:

  1. I read book upon books about books about parenting and to be honest, I'm not sure if anything really helped. It is very much a figure-it-out-as-you-go type thing, or at least it was for us. Plus, what works for others won't necessarily work for you. You guys will be great, though. You're both smart and loving and you want to do a good job. That's pretty much all you need.

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  2. Agreed with Erin--it's a figure-it-out-as-you-go kind of thing. But guess what, you probably have maternal instincts just waiting to come out. You had a mom, you saw how she did it--or didn't--and you can do it!

    But, hands down, the best parenting books I have are: Baby Blues (you know, the comic--a must-have for parents, get all of them if you can), and The Mother in Me. They're not about what to do and how to do it, but reading them will help you know that you're not alone, and they'll make you laugh--which is priceless.

    You'll be a great mom.

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  3. Erin, you're nice, and I hope you're right.
    Rach, I think I will definitely need to laugh, so I'm for sure getting those books.

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