This photo was from Sunday, the very end of 37 weeks. Here is our brand-new-used changing table! I never got a changing table with the boys, because we simply used their (actually, mine and my sister's) old dresser. We have one floor that we live on in this weird bi-level of ours, and it was easy enough to just put a changing pad on the dresser and head in the room any time.
Since our baby girl doesn't have a room of her own, I was hoping to get a changing table for the living room, instead of using the boys' room for it, which was my fallback plan. I didn't want to buy a brand-new one, because obviously, this is our last child, and the expense wasn't worth it. I looked on Craig's List, to no avail.
Best friend Theresa to the rescue! Apparently as a pastor's wife, she knows people. She contacted the director of the local pregnancy center, and they had a used one there they were willing to give me. I felt uncertain at first; after all, I am not 16, unmarried, and considering an abortion. I was assured they give to anyone in need, and Theresa went over there herself to get it for me. I wasted no time in getting it set up. One of the best things about it is simply the storage, since our baby girl's things are crammed in our room, it is nice to have some space for diapers somewhere else.
I am 38 weeks at this point, and every time I think I am done preparing and doing things before this baby gets here, I keep thinking of something else. I just made another batch of homemade toothpaste and elderberry syrup this week. (Yes, I make our own toothpaste. It isn't hard at all.)
Caleb is so excited to meet his baby sister, and Silas, well, we don't know what he knows and doesn't know. I will say he has been extra snuggly, almost as if he senses something is coming.
All of our guessing is soon to come to an end. Both of my boys were late, so I am obviously prepared for that scenario/disappointment/endless waiting. It is very hard and uncomfortable at this point. Every time I get up from a reclining position it feels like the weight of the world is descending into my pelvis. I have a grocery trip coming up this weekend, and I am not looking forward to that chore. Let's not even talk about how hard it is to clean the bathroom at this point.
We are ready as we can be! We love this little girl, and it is shocking to know that she is soon to be in our arms.
We were grateful to get this rocker from a dear friend that I put on our baby registry. We had already thrown our previous one out, which had run its course with my sister's kids and my boys. And I could actually register for pink since this is our last child!
One of Brian's coworkers was happy to pass on a baby swing and exersaucer to us, since ours hit the dump along with our baby rocker. We threw these things out, in all honesty, not long before we got pregnant! That is how much of a shock it was to have this baby! But they were not in good shape, and were in very questionable condition after having been used and passed on several times... we were very grateful to get these items! The boys have been a little too obsessed with this swing at times. Silas has batted it back and forth with such force, we will need to watch him carefully once our girl is in there. (He even tried to climb in there himself, more than once...)
My mom and sis bought me a beautiful (pink) stroller/infant car seat combo that I registered for back in the fall. We had already thrown out our car seat (those things expire), and our stroller was long past prime condition also.
We are grateful for the things we've gotten, whether brand-new or used, to get us in baby-mode once again. It is so strange, when we thought we were done with this season, to be going back into it!
Every morning I wake up, and I don't feel any differently (I mean, besides the weight of the world in my lower abdomen). No contractions, nothing going on. Not that I am looking forward to experiencing the effects of Eve's curse once again! But I am ready to meet this little cherub of ours!
"Making the decision to have a child-- it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~ Elizabeth Stone
