Last week was the week of showers. I had my first one on Monday with all of my work ladies and then my family/church friend one Saturday. Both were so beautiful and amazing. People were so generous. I could not believe the gifts I received. It was wonderful.
It was a little awkward to be opening baby gifts. It is getting more real that in less then 4 weeks we will have a newborn in our home... But at the same time it is just so strange. We haven't had the normal 9 months to prepare. I am actually super grateful that we only had 4 months instead of the normal 9, well since we are adopting. I can't imagine going through the roller-coaster of emotions for 9 whole months. It is quite a blessing she found out as late as she did. Did I mention she attended my shower on Saturday? It was surreal thinking my daughter was at my shower even if she wasn't growing in my uterus. M was wonderful and talked to all my fun friends and had a great time. It was so nice to have her there.
A little M update: She went in today for her appt and they said she is a fingertip dilated and her cervix is nice and soft. She said she had a few contractions last night that weren't painful or regular but they were noticeable. She said she can feel baby girl down low now and has a lot of pressure and pain way down low. I have no clue if that means she will be here in a week or three but I am excited she is progressing. She will be 37 weeks on Thursday, so little miss can come anytime now. I am still kind of hoping she will at least wait until the 1st so she can have a November birthday. We don't have any birthdays in November on either side of our family, so I just like the idea of this special little spirit having her own birthday month. (It is the only month without a birthday and, with an extended family as large as ours, it's amazing we have a whole month without a birthday.)
I getting more excited as time passes and a bit less nervous. I have come to accept that this is 100% out of my hands and turning it over to my Heavenly Father is all I can do. His ways are higher than ours and only He knows the plan. I won't lie, there are still moments when I freak out a little but I say a quick prayer and refocus and am able to ground myself again.
So now that we are in the final stretch, what are some must have items I need for our little newborn? Other than a crib, car seat, diapers, and clothes. We have the basics, but what are some of the extra items you had that kept you, DH, and baby sane?
Number one was my iphone :). When cuddling a sleeping baby it fills you full of wonder an breathlessness - until the 100th time. Then you wish you could read some blogs easily ;-)
ReplyDeleteReally not much is needed the first few weeks. Food, diapers, clothes, bassinet, car seat. Maybe a few pacis. Love is the most important ingredient!
So excited for you!!!
Wow, I can't believe your baby is almost here! What an amazing testimony of faith. I hope you enjoyed YOUR baby shower. Here is a list of things that I loved for my baby. I posted this on another blogger friend's post and have shared it a few times with some fellow bloggers.
ReplyDeleteIt can be overwhelming when you are trying to register and figure out what you need. I would recommend the following basic things:
- bouncy seat (comes in handy when you need to take a shower, just plop baby in the seat in the bathroom with you).
- bottle warmer and Dr. Brown's bottles! Love them.
- Moby Wrap! It allows you to hold baby close to you, but allows you to be 'hands free' to do other things.
- Diaper/wipes caddy. Keeps everything together and you can carry it from room to room when you need to change baby.
- bibs! At first I got a lot of bibs and didn't think I would need them so I returned some. Then Matthew started teething and the drooling is unbelievable. He would soak through the bibs so fast!
- swaddle blankets (or big receiving blankets). We swaddled Matthew from the beginning (because they swaddle him in the hospital) and found that he slept way better when he was tightly swaddled. (I know every baby is different - some like swaddling and some don't).
And of course, the other basics like baby monitor, stroller, high chair (although when it comes to high chair, we got the space saver one and a regular one. Ended up returning the regular one because we never used it. And it takes up way more room).
Feel free to email me (ngoway@msn.com) if you have any other questions!!
Can you send me your address? I would love to send you a baby gift.
Um, I don't know how I missed the big news of your impending adoption?! Congratulations!!! What exciting news :).
ReplyDeleteIsaac was born a week and a day over his due date, and that last week was so hard! Hope things go smoothly with the birth, etc. I'll be following along - a little late to the party!