26 weeks

This is going to be a long one so grab a comfy seat and maybe a warm beverage.

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days



Belly Shots:

And now for the serious part:
this pregnancy and motherhood in general have been full of fears and since I’m not a shy person I figure I’ll share them so you can tell me how irrational they are! I know for a fact that most mothers-to-be share these fears, lets get started.

What am I afraid of?

1. Am I doing everything I can to help build a strong smart baby? I mean I don’t remember to take my prenatal vitamin every day, I’ve had a total of 1 ½ glasses of wine, and I’ve eaten raw cookie dough. Since I take care of pregnant women all day long I know these are the smallest of indiscretions but they’re still there. I want this child to have the BEST start and I can always be doing better. Lately I’ve been struggling with when to take off work. I could go as early at 36 weeks and get state disability and Aflac disability which amounts to my entire pay. If I don’t go until 38 weeks I just lose 2 weeks of full pay without having to actually work. I don’t want to overdo it and get exhausted and stress out the baby, but I don’t want to be a slacker either.

2. Will I love this baby enough? Right now I know there is a baby in my uterus and the little one moves around but it’s still this unreal thing in my mind. I can’t REALLY believe there will be a baby here in March or April. I absolutely believe this is normal and will instantly disappear once baby g arrives but I still can’t fathom how.

3. Can I possibly worry anymore? I’m already a planner and that’s by nature because I don’t really care much for unpleasant surprises. I realize that having a baby means that life will change, but I still believe I can have some semblance of the life we have now and certainly I can prepare BEFORE the baby arrives for the typical stuff. It really irritates me when people continue to say, ‘oh just wait’. NO KIDDING FOLKS, I completely understand I cannot anticipate everything but unless you want me to have a breakdown I suggest you pray that things go pretty close to normal.

4. Will our relationship change for the better or the worse? You always see these couples that are totally happy then the baby comes along and the stress is just too much. I don’t want that to be us and I know that Dominic doesn’t either. Right now we have a comfortable routine and plenty of free time to just lounge around and relax, how long will it be before we have that again?

5. How will the delivery go? I have seen so many deliveries myself and know all the possible things that could go wrong. Plus, I want Dominic to have a wonderful experience. There is NO WAY to control this one and I’ve worked hard on letting go of the actual labor but we are prepared with tons of techniques thanks to Bradley classes.

Certainly there are more, but these are the biggies.

What about some fun stuff? We are REALLY making some progress on the nursery. No, I still haven't painted the dresser but we did get a few more accessories for crib and have all the necessary pieces for choosing some fabrics to make the skirt for the changing table and to extend the readymade crib skirt. For a reminder, this is the bedding:

And here is the bedding that I found, it coordinates almost perfectly. The best part? It was 50% off at babies r us! I picked up the sheet, mobile and a few of the valances to use in our upcoming sewing projects.

And in continuing to check things off the to do list we took our Christmas card picture today, better late than never right ;) Here are some outtakes. The winner should be in the mail by the end of next week assuming the second batch arrives by then.

Up next week: ordering a new sofa for the living room and a glider for the nursery that will someday be in the living room. There are some tough choices to be made, can't wait to show you the final decisions!