36 Weeks and Nesting

Okay so last week I said I was done nesting and now I'm just "preparing"...well I was wrong. I am in full "nesting mode" over here. I think I didn't quite understand the meaning of nesting until this week, and let me tell you, it's not preparing. Preparing is when you chop the veggies for dinner that night, or when you pack your clothes for a trip. Nesting has got to be like preparing...times 10! Here's how I know the difference. Usually I would look at what we had left to do for Avery's room or to get ready for her arrival and say, "Oh okay we just need to get the stroller, bath tub, and some towels. That's cool, we'll get them soon." Now when I say things to myself like, "Okay we've got the stroller, bath tub, and towels. What else? Does she need socks? Do babies wear socks? Don't they just kick them off? Now what about her clothes, do we have the right sizes? What if she's tiny and I don't have enough "newborn" sizes, or what if she's big and I don't have enough "big" sizes? Or what about long sleeved oneseis? I don't think I have enough of those...will it be cold here in April?"

Get the point...that's my brain in nesting mode...whew just typing that wore me out! Luckily I have Brandon to calm me down and say things like, "We're fine, she's got everything she needs. If there's something we really need, we can just go out and buy it. No big deal." Thank goodness there's a calm one in this situation because it's not me! Aside from Brandon's calming words, I've gotten relief from "nesting brain" by doing the following things: crossing things off my "nesting list," doing my HypnoBirthing 25 minute relaxation, and coming up with affirmations like: "I am fully prepared for my baby's birth. I have everything I need for my baby. My research, planning, and preparing are all paying off now that my baby is here."

Speaking of crossing things off my nesting list, one of those has been to wash all of Avery's clothes and blankets. I do this primarily so that I can get all the toxic detergent, perfumes, and other chemicals used to treat her clothes from the time they were made to the time I put them in my drawers. Granted a good portion of her clothes are organic, but still I just like knowing that they've been washed in my eco-friendly, fragrance-free detergent so they're nice and fresh on her soft, sweet, sensitive baby skin. Although doing laundry sounds like a chore, it's not when you get to pull cute little things out of the laundry basket like this adorable "Go Green!" onesie that two of my co-workers got me.  How adorable is that thing?! I think they know me pretty well! It was funny taking all these clothes out of the dryer because when I went to empty the lint tray, it was nearly all pink! Usually it's blue or gray from all our jeans and darker colored clothing, but pink is definitely making it's way into this house!

Baby laundry time!

Another nesting thing that we've been doing is putting together and trying out some of her "baby gear"! This week her stroller/carseat arrived and we had fun putting it together, installing the base into the car, and trying it out. Figuring out all the latches, buckles, and clips is a bit confusing since we've never done it before, but as you can see from the pics we've been practicing.

Also, it's been helpful for our dogs to get used to some new things around the house, like a stroller, bouncer, and soon....a baby! Both of them are usually pretty chill about new things we bring into the house and after a few sniffs, they just lay back down and let it be.

 

One of our dogs, Jackson, has taken a special liking to the stroller as you can see in the pic below because we often find him laying by it and in this pic it looks like he's smiling as he "protects" it. We think they're going to do a great job once Avery is born!

Here's some other funny things that are going on with my pregnancy:

-Feeling very hungry! I feel like I have the appetite of a growing teenage boy (or just a pregnant lady) in how I am hungry all the time! Starting about Wednesday of last week, I really noticed my appetite increase because I felt hungry earlier than usual throughout the day. I tend to be most ravenous in the afternoons leading up to dinner, but luckily after dinner I'm usually good to go for the night. Little Avery must be doing some growing in there because her size now is up to a watermelon for this week...wow! Also, I just had an appointment with my midwife today and I'm measuring right at about 37 cm, which is right on track since I'm going into my 37th week of pregnancy (I've grown 2 cm since we met last at week 35). Let's just say her growing proof is in the numbers!

-Driving very cautiously. Another thing I've noticed is that I've really been extra careful when driving lately. Not like I go 10 under the speed limit or anything, but let's just say a yellow light means "Stop" to me now...not "Gun it!". The same goes for when I need to pull out onto a road or lane, if I can even sense a car is coming, I'll wait till they pass and then go. Not really sure why I'm being so cautious all the sudden, maybe fear of getting into a wreck and Avery getting hurt, but my "Mama Bear" sense is definitely in full swing now. Any other moms remember feeling this way?

So that's about it for my update this week and with about 4 more weeks to go, let the nesting...and RELAXING continue! ( :