Belly Shots: 34w4d & Other Significant News!

I'm a bit late with this one, but here it is:




I stole D's t-shirt while I did laundry and baked chocolate chip banana bread. He's not a big guy, as you can see by the way my belly is testing the limits of that fabric! :)

Other than that, what else is new? Hmm...not too much. I've been having some contractions here and there, but definitely nothing to write home (or in our case, call the hospital) about. They probably have a little something to do with the constant moving and shaking I've been doing, some of which is due to my insatiable desire to clean and bake bread...how domestic, right?

Ooh - I remember what I was going to say! I bought my breast pump today. How...exciting? Technically it's the modern equivalent of a torture chamber from what I've heard from some mommies, so I don't know if excited is the right word, but it's definitely a huge check off my dwindling to-do list. I got a Mi Pump double electric pump by The First Years after reading many reviews on the not-$300 pumps, and am really hoping it'll work out. The great news is I got it secondhand from a woman who wasn't able to breastfeed, so I got it for only $40. That's right - $40!!! I'm pretty impressed. Everything has been sterilized since I got home, and now we're home free :) I guess we just need a baby and my milk to come in! I was even able to set it up and get it to work (I didn't try it out obviously, but everything was running and making noise and moving as it should have!) without even opening the instruction manual...yay! I'm man-like in my impatience with written instructions :P

Now I'm just baking bread, doing laundry and watching DVR'd Private Practice until D gets home from work in an hour. Tomorrow his parents are coming into town since traveling didn't appeal to me this year, so I'll be up bright and early to roast my second turkey of the week and to get started on mashed potatoes, candied yams and green bean casserole. Hosting Thanksgiving makes me feel like such an adult! That, and the enormous baby in my belly perhaps.

Also crossed off my to-do list this week was squaring away paperwork, etc. for the baby's baptism. I was previously Mormon (I know - shocking, right? I've never been what you'd call a practicing Mormon though) and D is catholic and part Jewish (his words, not mine!), but little Baby B will be baptized at the Episcopal church I have found and currently attend after much research, both in literature and in practice/church visits. Confused yet? Anyhow, yesterday I met with my Rector about her baptism and filled out the paperwork. I'm not one to do the whole Sunday service baptism pomp and circumstance, and would want it to be strictly family and friends, so we'll be opting for a Saturday afternoon sometime before she's six weeks old. In other related news, I'll be getting baptized as well! I was baptized into the Mormon church when I was 8, as that is currently acknowledged as the age of reason (Ha! Clearly whomever decided that hadn't spent much time with eight-year-olds!), and while I was happy with my decision at the time, I am no longer a member of the church in either practice or spirit, and would like to be baptized in the same faith (and church) as my daughter. It gets a bit dicey with the Mormon religion anyhow, as since some of their tenants are so drastically different than the other Christian religions, not every church recognizes their baptism as a baptism into a Christian faith, and so that just kind of sealed the deal on my decision. The Rector said he could do both baptisms at the same time, but I would really prefer not to take away from her day by any means, so I'll be doing mine at some point prior to hers.

And in still more news, I just got off the phone with my insurance this second, and Baby B can be added to my policy for under $95 a month, with all her well-child check ups being 100% FREE. Sweet! Last night I was looking at child premiums, and they were in excess of $450 A MONTH for children under 2, I KID YOU NOT. That's apparently just if I was uninsured and needed an individual policy for her. Insane! So that's great news cause I freaked out a bit for a minute there :)

Happy Thanksgiving all!!!!!!!!!