just over 5 weeks until we are a family of four
I realized today that I haven’t posted much (read: at all) about my pregnancy this time around. I’m sure its due to a combination of work/life balance issues, and the fact that I generally have not had as much time to focus on being pregnant this time around. There are hours and hours that go by during the day when I actually forget that we’re adding another little one to our family.
Now that we’re in the home stretch though, with vacations and new classrooms and big girl bed transitions behind us, reality is starting to sink in. I’ll soon be saying hello again to the wee hours of the morning - the ones I only see now through bleary eyes on my 5th trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Can’t exactly say I’m looking forward to the sleep exhaustion, but I AM looking forward to meeting Olive’s little sister. Who will she look like? Will she have a full head of hair like Olive did? I remember so vividly that being the first thing Geoff said in the delivery room, before my doctor even announced we had a baby girl. “Look at all that hair, Allison!”
I also am savoring this time with Ollie as her last few weeks as our only child come to an end. She is such a remarkable kid - amazes (and frustrates) Geoff and I every day with her humor, boisterous behavior, and all around sassiness, and the moments when we recognize her sensitivity - like when she got teary yesterday during a rendition of “no more monkeys jumping on the bed” because the little monkey hurt his head. She is learning and absorbing so much - it’s hard to keep up with. She is remarkably observant, sweet, loving, smart, and independent. What I love most about being a parent is watching her grow into her own little spirit, and I want to be witness to all of those moments. Will I have time to focus on them when she’s not my only?
But in between the daydreaming, there is work, and caring for Olive, and getting ready for Birdie. The girls’ rooms are painted (Olive an aqua blue and Birdie a hot pink), furniture is built and ready to move around, and we’re getting close to putting the finishing touches on both rooms: hanging shelves, pictures, art, etc. Regardless of how close we seem to be, I’m starting to feel like we’re running out of time. Nesting is kicking in. Nevermind the fact that just last week I realized I needed to get the essentials like newborn diapers and a nursing pillow and maybe install the car seat at some point. I waver between feeling like we still have lots of time and envisioning the sands running out of the hourglass.
So as a solution and a comfort, I’ll keep telling myself the following. We’ll get there. We’re ready. Just not entirely. But we’ll figure it out. We always do.
Love,
A
