Day 2: Tired and Achy, Growing a Small Human

Today this baby is whoopin my ass.

I must be adequately doing my job, because he is already big enough now to have stretched my midsection to what seems like the max. All of the skin and muscles seem to be ripping from my ribs, and my belly button has just decided to start tearing like it did with baby 1. That's what it feels like when he's laying still. Then he thinks he might push with his whole back to one side and straighten those little legs and arms. I shift around until I find a comfortable spot. Wait, there isn't one.

I keep thinking how he is developing into the amazing person he is meant to be because I am so tired it's hard to focus on anything but being tired. He is sucking every last ounce of energy I have. And then I have to zombie-like find some energy to get up and take care of the 2 children who are not conveniently in my belly but still very much neep my help doing most things.

The preparation I am doing today does not consist of washing his clothes, putting a baby gadget together or making lists of what we'll need for the hospital. Some day it's about trying to rest my body as much as I can so I can continue to form his.

That is exactly what I plan on doing the rest of the evening.

After I make the kids' dinner.

And get their school things ready for tomorrow.

And take a shower.

Day 1: This Baby is Different

It's a boy...

...and we have less than 10 weeks until his birthday!

Even though we are preparing for baby number 3 at our house, my head is still spinning with all the of things that need to be done to get ready for his arrival. As if that sentence didn't clue you in, I am a planner. Big time. So I suppose it works to my advantage that I have c-section babies. Long story short - I had an emergency c-section with baby 1 and opted to have repeats with baby 2 and this little Bean.

31 Days of Preparing for Baby

Since my last "overwhelmed" post, I have been reading a lot - blogs, twitter, magazines, whatever I can get my hands on. Reading is a big part of writing, and I am a big fan of reading. However, the biggest part of writing is......to write.

I came across a wonderful blog recently http://www.chattingatthesky.com/. Emily over at chatting at the sky had a particularly inspiring post on Sept. 21 called "for 31 days." She is basically challenging anyone and everyone to write about a topic of their choosing every single day in October. Interesting how things just pop into our lives like this.

So I have decided to write about preparing for baby number 3, since a) he will be be here before you know it, b) writing every day will be good practice and c) this will be a great journal to keep. I have started listing my ideas. So come October 1st, I will have a post everyday about how I (we) are getting ready for Bean's arrival and all about this part of this crazy journey. I look forward to sharing and hearing your comments!

*OvErWheLmEd*

I finally got some substantial sleep last night with minimal dreams and no interruptions - well except getting up to go to the bathroom, yay baby on my bladder.

I haven't been sleeping well because I can't shut my mind off. I've always had this problem, but it's been worse here lately. So much has been on my mind, I haven't known what to blog, so I just haven't. Do I write about the new baby or the house addition or the kids being sick or our crazy schedule or my roller coaster of emotions? Or all of the above maybe? UGH.

Usually, I am a fairly organized person. So when I'm in one of these overwhelmed moods, I take a step back, look at all the issues and decide which is the most bothersome. I start hacking away, organizing each thing one by one until I have a plan. The plan is always subject to change. I just like to know this is what's going on with this issue, this is what I'm doing about this, etc. That's what I need to do today I guess.

But all I really want to do is curl up on the couch, maybe have a good cry and watch some TV on this rainy day.

Encouraging Words Sept. 9th

We all need to be reminded of this from time to time.
(Ok, Mommy, stop flipping out on the kids. Have some patience.)

Random Thought Number 5

As I am obsessing over this love essay, seriously letting it consume every moment of every day until it is done, I am thinking a lot of my love for my husband. I wonder how many stares we would get if we had a passionate make-out session in public somewhere? Especially with my protruding belly. Not an extremely racy, grabby kind of make-out session, just a lot of kissing. People don't really ever do that. Why not?

My Latest, Greatest Writing Endeavor

Time got away from me last week. Although I still cannot believe I didn't post anything! I am really not sure why. But I do know why I will probably not have much to post this week and next - I am taking on a new challenge. I am writing a personal essay for Real Simple magazine's 4th Annual Life Lessons Essay Contest. (I just found out about it this weekend and the deadline is Sept. 15th.) The winner gets an awesome prize package but best of all gets to be published in the magazine! I'm so excited.

The topic is "When did you first understand the meaning of love?" The first time I read this question I thought, ooh this is right up my alley - I'm all over this. The more I think about it and try to pull together a cohesive story, the more I realize that this is a very difficult question. I can't say that I had one particular "ah-ha" moment when I feel that I fully understood love. I feel that for me it has been a process, many moments, situations and struggles that have helped me in my journey to understanding love.

So while I try to fit these memories and life experiences into a flowing essay that not only makes sense to the reader but also tells a compelling story, I would love to hear your answer to this question. Or your thoughts on personal essays. Or your thoughts on whatever lovely thing you wish to share with me. :)