31 Weeks

And here we are at the end of the seventh month! Amazing. Time is speeding up. My doctoral oral examination is scheduled for April 14, my dissertation prospectus defense is taking place at the end of the month, and I just bought a breast pump. I should be preparing for my exam, but I went out this morning and bought a pump, and now I'm making this post. This baby is distracting. I love it.

I am feeling great. We got our new mattress set and the nights are so much more restful for both of us. The hay fever is back with a vengeance, but I can deal with it. I have sneezed more in the last six months than I have ever sneezed in my entire life, cumulatively. Like, 20 times per day. I don't even expect anyone to notice anymore, and the dog never comes running like she used to when I sneezed. After this, I think the common cold will feel like child's play. As long as said common cold stays the hell away until after this baby is born. No joke.

I went to a huge consignment sale last week and came home with so much stuff: clothing, toys, books, crib sheets, a crib bumper, blankets, swaddlers...it was great. And so cheap. And in such good condition! We have lucked out to have generous friends and a healthy Craigslist community - we have not spent very much in preparation for this baby at all. I have already spent a good amount of time washing, folding, and putting away all of the little guy's clothes. They are so adorable and much more fun to fold than my own clothing. Sometimes I go in the nursery and open the dresser drawers just to gaze at them. Crazy maternal hormones.

Speaking of the nursery, it's really coming together. My mom gave us a new dresser/changing table and a beautiful old rocking chair. The chair belonged to my great grandmother - rich dark mahogany. Lovely. We're heading up to visit our cousins Steve and Lisa in Chicago this weekend and stopping at the IKEA on our way home to pick up the crib and mattress. We have a mobile, a baby monitor, a car seat, a pack and play, a diaper bag, a stroller, a play mat, and a swing. We're going to learn all about cloth diapering later this month, in an effort to ease Jay's worries. Can you believe that man has never changed a diaper? Who gets through 36 years without ever changing a diaper?

Anyway, once all my school stuff subsides, we'll get everything arranged, purchase a rug, hang some art, and begin the great wait. If you would like to send us some vibes, send us early labor vibes. No earlier than May 19, please. That's the 37 week mark. But if you could channel your energy towards a late May birth that would be great. Think, say, May 30. We'd both appreciate it.

And now, the pictures. Here I am this morning, just after the mystery man eased his foot out from under my ribs. I thought I had gained 27 pounds when I last posted, but that must have been a fat day - the next day I weighed myself again to show a total of only 24 pounds. Three weeks later, I am officially at the 27 pound mark. Not bad.