When I told JB that I wanted our child to only play with simple wooden toys in order to foster his or her imagination, he laughed.
Still, the photographer and wannabe-hippie in me loves this wooden teething camera.
{via Odeedoh}
scary dreams about delivery
I recently had a dream about having the baby.
This wasn’t my first delivery dream. Early in my first trimester, I dreamt I gave birth to a baby girl with enormous anime eyes and black pigtails in a room full of other women giving birth on metal tables. It was like something out of a science fiction movie.
My latest dream wasn’t any more comforting. This time I was in a private room with a doctor, nurses and JB present, but it was February, and I was trying to tell the medical staff that my baby was due until July. They laughed and said my due date must have been wrong. “No, that’s impossible!” I cried. “It’s too early!”
I delivered a baby girl (yes, another girl) who weighed 14lbs and was 10 inches long. I didn’t get to see her because they whisked her away immediately for some standard tests, but I could only imagine that, with those measurements, she resembled a bowling ball.
JB had to return to work right away but called the nurses’ station shortly after with concerns about the baby’s size. The nurse informed him that he would have to call the 800-number on the baby’s hospital band; an outside party handled all of the records for the hospital and she no longer had access to them.
The staff never brought the baby back to my room, which was probably a good thing, because when my family arrived more chaos ensued. They wheeled me down in my hospital gown to the hospital’s indoor swimming pool and immediately began complaining about the humidity and the heat. “But it’s an indoor pool!” I cried. “What do you expect?”
I was devastated because nobody seemed to be concerned that I just gave birth to a bowling ball. It was all about them, them, them when I was expecting it to be all about me, me, me.
When I retold my dream to a friend, she laughed at its obvious meaning. It didn’t take a dream analyst to pinpoint two of my biggest fears: One, that something is going to be wrong with the baby. And two, that having my extended family in Omaha when the baby is born is going to be stressful.
the bella band
My pants are definitely starting to get tighter. I can still button most of my pre-pregnancy jeans, but when I sit, the button presses against me uncomfortably. When I mentioned this to a friend who had her first baby in November, she brought down two Bella Bands from a plastic bin of maternity clothing she no longer needed.
What a life-saver! Now I can wear my pants unbuttoned without worrying that they will fall down. And I kind of like how I can pull the Bella Band up over my bulge because it smooths me out, sort of like Spanx.
The only annoying part is that is sometimes rides up the back when I bend over or get up from a seated position. I frequently have to readjust it. Still, for financial reasons, it’s better than having to buy maternity clothes right now, especially since I don’t really think I’m big enough for them yet.
When did you transition to maternity clothing?
{image via Ingrid & Isabel}
plastic babies in cakes
JB and I met up with my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law in New Orleans for a long weekend. It was my first time in the Big Easy, and I was excited to eat my way through the city. I’m still daydreaming about the beignets and hot chocolate from Cafe du Monde…
While we were there, we visited with family who live about an hour out of the city. After dinner, they served a traditional king cake for dessert. A king cake looks kind of like a bundt cake with purple, yellow and green icing, but inside there is a tiny, plastic baby waiting to be found. Whoever finds the baby has the privilege of hosting the next king cake party.
There were 10 of us at the table, and as we all got closer to finishing our slices, we began wondering where that dang baby was hiding. We laughed because we assumed it was in the sole piece that didn’t get served – what were the odds! – and then I took my next bite.
Yes, the only pregnant person at the table found the plastic baby in her piece of king cake.
We were hysterical. Literally, we had tears streaming down our cheeks from laughing so hard. It was a moment I think I’ll remember for a long, long time.
an awesome book of thanks
I can see this becoming a favorite book to read to the baby. An Awesome Book of Thanks by Dallas Clayton teaches us that there are so many things for which to be grateful.
What books did you love when you were little?
{via You Are My Fave, images via Very Awesome World}
