the suitcase is packed
(that's wee grub's
orange tiger suitcase
from his aunt suzy)...

the celebratory whiskey
is ready to be opened...
the celebratory cuban cigar
is ready to be lit...

all the baby clothes
are cleaned,
labeled,
a put away...



oma is here!

and now
we wait...


nothing yet.
we are all
feeling
anxious.
prepared
(mostly)
but anxious.



xo

finally
38 weeks!
so
grub assembled
all the
baby furniture
and
bassinet
for our room.
then he hung
my many mobiles.


now
it looks
like
a baby room...
but we need
art!
i have been
sitting
in my rocker
in the evening
and imagining
where
the art
will go.
currently
i am
obsessed
with
these
fruit prints

{grub approved}

and
this
colorful poster.

{sadly, vetoed by grub}

grub
is once again
obsessed
with lighting.
we know
that once
wee grub comes
none of this
will matter
but
wee grub
will
have to get
use to parents
that are
a wee bit
obsessed with
such things.
toys and food
can be
all over the floor
but
there will be
art on the walls
and
by god
things will be
properly lit!

more on
the
nursery decor
later this week.

. . . . .

this week
i went
to another
pre-birth
acupuncture visit
and
grub went with me
to a yoga session.
he learned
how to help me
breathe
during labor
and some
positions
during the
stages of labor.

. . . . .

this weekend
we had
a little scare...
i was worried
because
wee grub
was not moving
as much as
he/she normally does...
so
after
fretting and worrying
i finally called
our midwife
who told us
to go into
the hospital
to check it out.
we went in
and
they monitored
wee grub
with a heart monitor.
her/his heartbeat
seemed just fine
and we heard
a big whoosh
every time
she/he moved...
which was more often
than i felt.
apparently,
unbeknownst to me
wee grub had dropped
and so the movements
had changed...
i thought that
i would feel when
she/he dropped
but apparently not.
then the doctor
did a ultrasound
and everything
checked out.
so all is well.

.....

now we wait.

my mom arrives
in less than
a week.
we will wash
the last batch
of baby clothes
and
do our exercises.
we still feel
like we have
a lot to do
but now
wee grub
determines
our schedule.

à bientôt!
xo

the budding entomologist

one reason
i am pretty
particular
about
gendered clothing
is i didn't like
very girlie
things as a kid.
i wanted
to hang out
with my brothers
and wear overalls
and climb trees
and be tough.

of all my toys
i loved
stuffed animals
best of all.
i organized them
by size,
threw parties
for them,
had meetings,
etc.
my obsession
was mostly
with penguins
but
i loved
all sorts of
animals.


me, in front, with my favorite bear

my favorite
animal was
my bear charlie
(although
i think
knickerbocker
was a close 2nd).
grub has
a turtle
somewhere in
our storage
that i think
was his favorite
stuffed animal.

there
are tons
of cute handmade
animals
that i covet
for wee grub
{and secretly
for me too}
and
i hope
to make quite
a few as well.

bedfellows by camilla engman

i wonder
what toy
wee grub
will end
up loving best
of all...

bon week-end.
xo

each week
i find myself
with less
and less
to say.
as the weeks
until the due date
are fewer and fewer
grub and i
try to absorb
the reality
of wee grub
making his/her
entrance into
our world.

as we listen
to our midwife
tell us the details
of birth
or
i go
to yoga sessions
and practice
exercises,
it's no more
real to us
then it was
a week ago
or a month ago.

we find ourselves
reminding
each other
of what changes
are to come.
for example,
the other day
as we sat
on the balcony
quietly eating
our
dinner
and chatting
as the sun set,
grub said,
soon we won't
have this quiet time
anymore.
almost more
to himself
than to me.

. . . . .

this week
we went to
a MEGA baby store
to look for
some sort
of bassinet
for by our bed.
we were overwhelmed
with how much
everything costs,
all the stuff
that
you are convinced
that
you need to buy,
and
all the parents
filling their carts
with all
these accessories
they hope will make
the transition
to parenthood
easier.
all i knew was
i wanted
out of there
as soon as possible.
after some debate
and
price-comparing
we settled on
the
stokke daybed:


i am a bit
embarrassed
since
i am painfully aware
that they market
this line
specifically
to people like
grub & i...
as shown in
this lovely advert
of mom working
on her mac
as she watches
the baby:


oh well.
i couldn't take
all the
pink and blue
anymore.
i had
to.
get.
out.
of.
there.

c'est tout.
xo


{outtake}

i have heard
that
the third trimester
drags
and
by the end of it
you just want
that baby out!
that's not how
i feel at all...

when
we couldn't
tell anyone
i was pregnant
and
we were waiting
to clear
the first trimester
that seemed to drag
(well except for
the dissertation-
writing part)
but
the third trimester
is speeding by
so fast
i barely have time
to experience it.
wee grub can stay
in there
'til the
last
possible
minute
because
i have
so much research
to get done
i need every week.

so please
wee grub
no early exits,
okay?!

we finally
bought some
furniture
for the baby room.
i would have liked
to buy
all used furniture
but
i searched and searched
but found nothing
that suited
our aesthetics
or was
in our price range.
so
we
we became
slaves
to the
ikea showroom.

i was pretty excited
to get
the crib and
dresser/changing table
assembled
so i could
unpack and organize
all the
stuff
that has been
in boxes
all over
the floor
in the baby room.
so when grub
asked
if we could
wait until
38 weeks
to assemble
the crib
because
he feels
a little superstitious...
well,
let's just say
i wasn't wild
about the idea.
but
i took it
pretty well.



honestly,
i can relate
to where he's
coming from...
in many cultural
traditions
it's bad luck
to bring baby things
into the house
before
the baby is born.
normally
i like the idea
but
i have been feeling
particularly
antsy
about being prepared.
so we will
assemble the dresser
so i can put
things away
but
wait on the crib
for a
few
more
weeks.

. . . . .

we met our
new midwife
this past sunday.
she is great.
i like her a lot
and
she was very helpful.
you can see her
website here.

so now
i have
yoga
and
we have
midwife lessons
every week
for the next
few weeks.
she is taking
us on a tour
of the hospital
next week.
fortunately
the hospital
is only
a
4 minute walk
from
our apartment!

. . . . .

well,
that's
the news
from here.
until
next time.



xo