30 weeks

Posted on August 19, 2011 by BeSquirrely

Today we are 30 weeks pregnant! If the timing is about the same as with Wren, little birdie #2 will arrive in just about two months from now. I’m getting more excited and (a bit) less anxious. Checking lots of things off my list has helped me to feel more capable and less worried about how everything is going to go.

I’ve been looking for ways to cut expenses so that I don’t have to work as much when I know I realistically won’t be able to work as much. This has helped me to feel a bit more in control at a time when so much seems a bit out of my control. Such is life…

And my growing body has forced me to slow down and savor this relatively calm time before the storm of a routine turned upside down. It’s helped me to sit on the couch or the floor with the little birdie and play for as long as she wants or reread the same stories over and over. And over again.

This is indeed a precious time, the last couple months of just us, our routine, our rhythm. Someone told me recently that the best gift I could give Wren is a sibling and it will be a wonderful thing for her and while I know this will be true, I also feel some sadness as we move on. Such a mix of emotions – thanks, hormones. Geesh.

Lovelies, have you too experienced this veritable roller coaster of emotions as you expanded your family? Any thoughts to share? In the meantime, happy weekend to you. May you savor this time in YOUR nest. XO

nesting: dark, leafy greens

Posted on August 16, 2011 by BeSquirrely

The little birdie and I worked in the empty patches of our garden yesterday afternoon. Early summer’s bright greens and peas are only a healthy memory now. It was time to turn our minds and spades toward fall. We weeded, turned soil, dug trenches, planted seeds and watered. Hardy, healthy, robust, iron-rich kale and spinach will take up a couple rows. We threw in a couple rows of beans too because somehow I forgot to plant them earlier this year. We’ll see how they do…

It dawned on me as the little birdie was burying the seeds with soil (her favorite part of gardening so far) that–with a bit of luck–we’ll be harvesting these dark, leafy greens right around the time little birdie #2 is due to arrive. Must have been on my mind as I chose these particular things to plant. Probably what my body will need most. And, who am I kidding?, some halloween candy to balance things out…

nesting: the whites

Posted on August 9, 2011 by BeSquirrely

With a taste of cooler air on my skin this week, my nesting for our next little birdie has kicked in. I sorted through most of the little birdie’s infant clothes this week: whites and colors, stained and clean, summer and fall. I had forgotten a few things: just how tiny she once was, how incredibly much she spit up, and how adorable newborn white onesies are.

I enjoyed hanging all the little white pieces on the line and marveling at the sweetness of it all. Little birdie #2 just might smell like tomatoes too as our tomato forest is quickly gaining on the line. I clearly remember Wren smelling like sugar cookies when she was first born. I don’t think tomatoes and sugar cookies are a great combination, but I guess there are worse things to smell like, right?

How’s your week going, lovelies? Has it cooled off where you live too?

yikes

Posted on July 29, 2011 by BeSquirrely

The title of this post might more aptly be called “anxious” or maybe “worried” or during a few choice moments every day, “terrified.” I know people have more than one child every single day and still others have many more than just one child (take, for example, The Mom across the street with 13!) But lately just having ONE (feisty! strong-willed!) child seems like a lot. Today marks the 27th week, which means I’m really getting into the third trimester now. This also means that there are only about three months (plus some pocket change?) left until we welcome another little birdie to our nest. Yikes!

I’m not really worried about taking care of the new baby (although I should probably add that to the worry list, ahem) or even much about labor & delivery. Been there, done that… I’m mostly worried about, well, everything else. How will I have enough love for another child? How will I keep Wren from killing the new baby when she realizes it isn’t going away? How will I find time to continue my work? How will I be able to make healthy meals and keep the house in a *reasonable* state? How will I ever have time for Chris again? How will I go to the grocery store or run an errand with a baby attached to me and a toddler running for the hills?

Again, I know people do it all the time, but I just can’t really picture how it’s all going to look and feel. I guess this is part of the wonder and mystery of life’s unknowns. The unknowns that keep life interesting, worth getting up in the morning for. Good intentions go a long way, right? Say yes, please.

In the meantime, I’m nesting. It helps to devote the worried energy to practical things, no? I decided we just needed to paint the house right now because I couldn’t take the peeling paint anymore. Great timing, ha! Truth be told, I’m just trying out paint colors on the back of the house, but the process has begun. I’ve also been organizing and reorganizing the little birdie’s toys in some new-to-us bins that I found on Craigslist (thank you, stranger!) Already, she’s discovered toys that had been buried at the bottom of the old bins. It was totally worth it. On the cooking front, I made a big pot of split pea soup the other day. You know you have a pregnant brain when it’s 87 and humid and you decide that cooking a big pot of split pea soup sounds like a good idea. Yeah. I also made a huge batch of homemade granola bars in an effort to have healthier, not-from-a-bag snacks on hand. So it feels good to be creating things, cooking healthy meals, focusing on what we have control over now because I know pretty soon it will all be thrown up into the air. And hopefully some of it will be caught.

Have any tips, lovelies? Please and thank you.

an ear of corn

Posted on July 9, 2011 by BeSquirrely

24 weeks (6 months!) and now little birdie #2 is as big as an ear of corn, plus or minus a few kernels. This image of Wren is probably just about how she might treat the new baby when she quickly realizes that she’s not the complete center of the universe. We’re working on it, but boy oh boy, her world is going to come crashing down hard. Sigh.

Any tips, lovelies?

the bump

Posted on June 24, 2011 by BeSquirrely

As you can see, I’m finally past the awkward stage of early pregnancy where people don’t really know for sure if you’re pregnant or if you probably just had a really long winter (read: brats and beer). A bit of both would likely be true… But no, I’m definitely looking pregnant these days and at 22 weeks, even the cashiers are commenting to me about how I’m going to have my hands full as they chuckle through the little birdie’s shenanigans and stare at The Bump.

We’ve had a gloomy, chilly, rainy, lots-of-movies first official week of summer here. The upside? It looks like a jungle out there! The downside? It really IS a jungle out there! Clover has overtaken our garden, hmmpph.

Got any big weekend plans, lovelies? I hope to pickle the last of spring’s radishes – this will allow me to check something off my summer list! Woot-woot!

I hope you have a wonderful, restful weekend. XO

Be Squirrely

creating a nest worth sharing

Category Archives: pregnancy