First — this isn’t the inevitable part, it’s the gratitude part — THANK YOU to everyone who has been so kind to Pat and me about Sammy. Still, just this morning I walked downstairs and caught myself looking for him. And we haven’t brought ourselves to packing up his bowls and leashes. Ah, well. That time will come, I know. Right now, I just miss that furball like crazy. All your well wishes and sweet thoughts and kind words helped so much, though. I bet some of you still have bits of his fur hiding in the corners of your houses (this is not a comment on your housekeeping, but on the INSANE amounts of hair that dog shed every moment of every day, bless his heart). He was a great dog, wasn’t he?
And now… Onto baby stuff. I’m determined not become another mommy blogger because, really, what more is there to say? I’m pregnant. Yes, that means I’m having a baby. Yes, that also means I’m out of my mind with anxiety and excitement, which makes for some interesting emotional outbursts. (Poor Pat.) And, yes, that means — I know! I know! Stop telling me! — our lives are about to change FOREVER! I love how people fall into two camps when they give us this tidbit of not-so-news: some offer it with the tenor of a hurricane forecast (run! hide!); others fairly float above the ground, buoyed by angels wings and fairy dust. Either way, OK! We get the message! And, really, what can I add to the world of mommy bloggers out there? Umm… Right now, not much.
But thinking about the baby, freaking out about the baby, planning for the baby — this is what’s going on right now, when I’m not swamped with work projects and stories (Goodbye, famine! Hello, feast! Why did you wait until I was 8 months pregnant to show up to this dog-and-pony show?) and tracking down things for the nearly completed house we’re building. So, this post is inevitable.
Right now, all I can think about is what’s about to happen in approximately six (cross fingers) weeks, and that scene where Brooke Shields gives birth squatting under a tree in the Blue Lagoon is running on auto play in my head. Ugh! Freak out! So, No. 1 in my plan to conquer my anxiety about giving birth: Make lists! So far, my lists include possible pediatricians, people to call after the birth, preferences for the birth (a.k.a. the “birth plan”), things to take to the hospital for delivery and afterwards, etc. I haven’t resorted to listing out my favorite desserts, in order, but that list is on the horizon. Anything to keep from thinking about all the what ifs that make me sit upright in bed at 3 a.m. and send me running for the couch and infomercials on male enhancement drugs and acne medications. Good times!
So, if you have any advice on how to make it through these last few weeks and things I really should do before I go into labor and things that I really need to take to the hospital, I’d love to hear about it. Bonus points for things that kept you sane!
