Sweet Dreams?

Bedtime used to be a magical time for me.  It was the time when the relief of head on pillow meant a restful night spent in the sweet release of my dreams.  Snuggled into the crook of my husband’s arm I spent the night being untethered by earthly bounds like gravity, fashion, disappointments or whatever.    To put it quite simply, I love bedtime!  I found this poem that reflects how I used to feel about bedtime.

Dream with me

Author: unknown

Dream with me

Dream with me

Cuddle up asleep

Bedtime is a magical time

Dream with me asleep

Notice the key word, USED to.  My once magical bedtime routine has turned into something more of a nightmare.  Now when I go to bed I amble through my routine with a sore pelvis and slightly puffy feet, hands and face.  I dig like a mad woman through my clothes to find comfortable (not too hot) pj’s that still fit and then proceed through the acrobatics required to change clothes these days.  I then kick the dog off his usual resting spot at the foot of the bed…. though my internal body temperature may feel fine now, I know that any amount of cuddling will cause it rapidly shoot up to what feels like the temperature of explosive hot lava.  Once ample room has been secured, I crawl into bed and begin carefully constructing the necessary pillow architecture around me to sleep.  Pillows are situated under every curve and crook of my body to support me and avoid the achy breathlessness I feel when laying down unsupported.  Now instead of snuggling into the crook of my husband’s arm I groan and flop down into my carefully constructed nest to sleep.  Dear husband crawls gingerly into bed, and leans over my substantial barrier to give me a peck goodnight and then migrates to “his side” of the bed.

I am comfortable for approximately 10 minutes, and then I get an ache.  If I ignore the ache, it grows and grows and grows until suddenly some part of my body is virtually audibly shouting at me to TURN OVER!  This is much easier said than done.  Currently my attempts at flipping over take several tries and when executed closely resemble a beached whale frantically thrashing around in our bed.  This state of affairs continues on, interrupted by frequent trips to the bathroom throughout the entire night until it becomes impossible to sleep.  The transition from attempting to sleep to knowing sleep is impossible happens because apparently sleeping has become such a chore for me that it causes me to become RAVENOUSLY hungry by approximately 4:30 am, which in turn causes the baby to pitch a fit in my belly..... sleep is now impossible. 

Needless to say this insomnia has affected my mental faculties during the day. I have found that though I begin each day bursting with excitement and anticipation and an ambitious “to-do" list, somewhere around mid afternoon I completely run out of steam and end up crash landing somewhere around the house for a nap.  I don’t really like naps; I consider them to be the ultimate waste of time (can you tell that I have definitely inherited the western culture’s sense of urgency?) 

I am frustrated by the current state of affairs, so I have rewritten the aforementioned poem, to better suit my new attitude toward bedtime which I fear will not end even after I am no longer pregnant as this means I will then be the mother of a helpless little infant….sigh.

DREAM WITH ME?

-Paula Hart

Longing to Dream

Longing to Dream

Yearning to cuddle up asleep

Bedtime is an exasperating time

Sleeping is a luxury.

Longing to dream, asleep

Preparation eases Trepidation

I didn't want to become one of "those" people.  You know, the ones who never have anything to say except when it comes to their kids.  It's funny how the twists and turns of life can change your opinions and ambitions.  I have found myself becoming one of "those" people and I'm not even a mom yet.  I eat, drink, sleep and dream  this little baby.

So, if baby bragging is not your cup of tea, discontinue reading this post because it's going to be baby, baby baby!

We have spent the last several months educating ourselves on what we need to do to be good parents.  We have read several books, surfed the internet, talked to doctors, taken a birthing class, and rearranged finances.  I've researched what to eat, how much to exercise and popped gigantic horse sized prenatal vitamin everyday to give my baby the best of everything while she is growing and preparing for her grand entrance.  Everything we have done has been carefully thought out timed and planned.  So I wouldn't consider the decision to become parents an impulse decision or an accident.  But, I still felt unprepared.

If I could name one thing that was bothering me as we drew nearer to a full term baby it was that though we had prepared in many ways we still hadn't purchased any of the real essentials to take care of our baby when she came home.  So, to ease my edgy nerves Kevin suggested we go to the store last weekend and make the final plunge.  We filled our cart with; binky's, bottles, breast-pump, bath tub, bed set, bottle cleaners, baby hygiene kit, diaper bag, changing pads, tiny hangers and more.

Once we got home I was completely excited to get everything situated.  Since my tummy is getting big enough that it is inconvenient to maneuver around the baby's crib I made Kevin help.

smoothing out the creases on baby's sheets

I have to say the finished product makes me very happy.  I took this video immediately after we finished assembling the bedding and mobile.  I have since added some teddy bears and other accessories but it looks basically the same.

Our next biggest thing was the jogging stroller.  I have been a runner for nearly my entire life and would like to get back into it once the baby is born and so a jogging stroller was a necessity.  Thanks to the amazing generosity of my Grandma we were able to get what I consider to be the Mercedes Benz of jogging strollers; the Indie Bumbleride.  I took it out for a practice spin and it was incredible!  It turns corners on a dime, powers over speed bumps and rough terrain and looks terrific doing it.  I can't wait for walks/jogs with baby girl and the dog.  I'm training her young to become my little running buddy.

                                 

Kevin and Tekoa putting the stroller together

It came with the adapter bar so that our car seat can fit into it.  Safe easy ride for baby!

This is the view looking down from the handle bar.  Hi baby!

A blurry picture of Tekoa telling me how excited he is for a baby sister!

Once she gets big enough she can ride without the car seat

ignore messy house....the dog decided to pull out all his toys while he watched us put stroller together

Once of our best accomplishment this weekend though was getting Kevin to clean out his side of the closet so that baby could move her things in.   We donated many things to chartiy and threw out an astonishing amount of things that he had hung onto for these past several years.  

Baby gets this entire rack now!

And the entire bottom rack of the closet.  (Many thanks to the baby shower Grandparents and Great Grandparents that provided these clothes) Because of my obsessive need to organize things, the clothes are sorted by age and type.  Kevin made me take a rest before I got down to organizing them by color.

I have heard that babies actually need surprisingly little.  But, I'm a planner and I just can't say how amazing it feels to have all the things to keep her safe, warm, clean and loved through her infancy.  Now I feel like I can look forward to the day of her birth with the peace that comes from knowing that we have done all that we can to prepare for parenthood.   And maybe I'll think about getting some of that rest everyone keeps telling me to catch up on too!

Looks that can STOP traffic!

Look at this face

Isn't it neat?

Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, who has everything?

Tekoa gets out for a walk every single day, twice a day.  Every time we go out you can bet that there will be at least 2-3 people that compliment us on how awesome or cute or striking our dog is.  Some want to pet him, others mention it as they stick to the far side of the sidewalk.  We're used to him getting compliments.

Yesterday's compliment took the cake though.  Tekoa and I got into the car to make a trip over to UPS to ship some textbooks.  It was a nice day so I decided to roll the windows down and let him sniff out the window. We pulled up to a stop light and suddenly I hear someone yelling out, "excuse me! excuse me!"  I look over to see a man stopped directly next to us in his car (he stopped a full 3 car lengths short of where he should have stopped so that he could be even with us) with his windows rolled down leaning out to yell at me.  "Oh great." I thought in my vanity.  Continuing on in the same line of thought, "I don't want your number....can't you see I'm married AND pregnant?"  As I was debating over whether or not to ignore him the next thing he said made up my mind, "how old is your dog?"  I felt instantly sheepish, silly me!  I'm not the one with the superhuman ability to bring traffic to a stop it's my 15 month old husky!  

The military man in the SUV and I had a nice minute and a half long chat through our windows about my handsome little husky boy before the light changed and traffic moved on.  

Tekoa is a very handsome pup, but what makes him great is his sweet natured personality and hilarious antics.  We call him our "woo-woo" because of the woo-woo sound he frequently makes to "talk" to us. 

Here is a typical saturday morning at the Hart's house.  Tekoa jumps up on the bed for a few scratches and to beg for his morning walk.

Or how about this..... Kevin and Tekoa in training for football season.  Notice how Tekoa only jumps up on "hike!"

There's more to this face than just it's dashing good looks.  Underneath that handsome exterior is the sweetest most loveable little pup there ever was.  And that's the truth!

Dear Baby

My Dearest Baby,


How lucky I am to be your mommy.  You amaze me, every move you make within my belly confirms to me that you are growing in the way you should.  We wait with great anticipation for the day you come into the world. We have prepared a place for you in our home and in our hearts.  I am preparing myself to be your mommy, I am learning how to feed you and comfort you so that you will feel safe and secure in your new home.


I hope that our diligence in helping you feel safe and secure in your infancy creates a lasting impression on you.  May you always feel safe to run to my arms, no matter how big you may be.  May we grow nearer to each other as the years wear on and not farther apart.


May you grow to be healthy and happy and may you remember your childhood with fondness.  I wish for you to accomplish all that you dream and we promise to do all that we can help you achieve your dreams.


I promise sweet baby to talk to you in a way that you will listen and to listen to you in such a way that you will talk.  I promise to love you no matter what you do.


Believe in the power of prayer my sweet baby, believe in the power of love.  Believe in the power of my love for you.  I love you, we’ll meet soon.


With all the Love in my Heart,
Your Mommy