Happy Due Date (40 weeks!)

Yep, it's 3:45am, and I'm up (again) in the middle of the night. I have been experiencing this insomnia for a number of months now. My eyes just pop open around 2am or so, like clockwork, and I can't seem to get back to sleep for about 2 hours. Sarah said eating a banana might help, so here goes. A friend up here said maybe the baby will get used to me being up at this time, and subsequently sleep during this period (as I guess babies tend to sleep while their parents are awake?). Anyway, I check Facebook, do a little online shopping, and write in my blog. I would read, but Rachel is fascinated with my book light and keeps taking it. I guess I could set myself up in the living room, but I find my arms and hands get numb holding the book (extra fluid causing temporary carpal tunnel) and it's not as warm as reading in bed. Although here I sit in the cold kitchen, typing at my tiny alcove desk (my new office, now that the spare room has become the baby's room).

It has been a good pregnancy (aside from the increasing number of complaints, most of them physical), but no sign of the little bean yet. I finished my job(s) about 2 weeks ago, so the first week was a little boring, since I didn't know what to do with myself. This second week has gone by really fast. I've been doing some xmas shopping, getting appts in, and visiting and resting a lot. The bassinett is ready, clothes are washed, hospital bag is packed and plans are set for dropping Rachel at a friends when we need to go to the hospital. Now we wait. Rachel was 11 days overdue, but I'd really like to avoid that again if possible. I definitely have been a lot more active this pregnancy, and people say I look "great", as though they are surprised that someone who is 9 months pregnant should look this way. I'll try to take a 40-week picture and upload it.

After having been through a pregnancy in the heat of summer, it's interesting to have a "winter" baby. And yes, we are definitely experiencing winter, with snow and -20 degrees for a few weeks already. I have found that a simple winter coat is all I need, although I still get cold. The main problem has been boots. I can't fit into my beloved Mukluks, which are steadfastedly slip-proof, and my Sorels are like snowmobile boots - big and bulky, and also hard to manouver into. I have been wearing a pair of running shoes that have no grip, but that I can slip into without having to bend over to tie the laces. Terrible I know. Who wants to slip at 9 months? I found a pair of rubber grips that slip onto shoes, so I have started to wear those. They are no good once you are inside a store, but for now, they will do.

Yesterday I met some moms for coffee who are also on mat leave. I had that same sense of being new to town, like I did when Rachel was born. Of course, by now I know lots of people in town, so of course, we had run into each other before: one had a daughter who was in the same Montessori daycare as Rachel last year, and the other was a volunteer with Moms, Boobs and Babies. It's just weird trying to get into the "mat leave" group. Not sure I really need or want to, although I say that now. I remember how desperate I was to meet other moms when Rachel was little. There seem to be some activities I can get myself involved in that I didn't know about, so having some connections is a good thing. For example, there is the cross country ski club, where a group of moms trade babysitting for 1/2 hour of skiing. There is a field house where you can borrow a stroller and use the indoor track to push the baby around. And there are a few other activities such as baby yoga or Salsa Babies dance class.

I do miss work, so it will be interesting to adapt to being a full-time mom again. I think I will appreciate mat leave a bit more this time. It is hard to imagine a new family member joining our little threesome. We have been just us for so long. Rachel is being patient, but I think she is feeling anxious, and has been swinging from wanting total independence from us to acting out in a babyish way. Poor thing, I think she will need a little extra TLC from us once the baby arrives. It's an interesting age, 5 1/2, to have a new baby in the family. Old enough to understand, but young enough that she might feel some jealousy.

Okay, maybe I can get myself back to sleep now. Stay tuned!