Ready or Not...

    Nine months ago, the most wonderful thing happened. I became pregnant. Tomorrow, after nine months of the craziest ride I've ever been on, I will give birth to the biggest dream I ever dared dream. Miss Ayla Jane Sanvictores is scheduled to be compelled into this world.

    After repeated hints from my doctor, we decided that it was prudent to schedule to induce labor the day after my due date to avoid any unnecessary complications caused by the size of the baby. For the last two weeks, Adrian and I have prepared and finally, the day has come!

    I suppose I should want things to happen on their own, but I feel more and more fortunate that I know the exact date and circumstances that all the excitement will begin. Moreover, I won't have to worry about any embarrassing incidents in the Target checkout line or whether my doctor will be in town. Everything will be monitored and controlled. Even better, my doctor broke down the timing and expectations for the progress of the labor tomorrow, so I don't have to worry about whether I'm going to be suffering for hours without need.

    My mother is coming in town to help support Adrian and myself. Adrian and I have spent the day cleaning and preparing and shortly after I log off from posting this I'll be tucking myself in for the last time as a pregnant woman waiting to be a mommy.
    It seems almost surreal that the day is already here and I find it hard to believe that this time tomorrow night I'll be holding my baby girl after dreaming about her for so long! One thing is certain though, we'll be enjoying a wonderful Christmas this year, the first as a real family! So in case I don't have a chance to post again, merry Christmas and happy New Year to everyone! I'll post pictures and more news when I get a chance. Catch you all on the flip side!

"Mommy"

    Today, I was in Hobby Lobby picking up a shelf for the nursery mural (which turned out fantastic by the way) and a little boy walked up to me and called me "mommy". At first I thought he was confused but then he pointed to my tummy and and said "baby". It hit me at that point that in a matter of days I would be someone's mommy!

    I'm officially 9 months pregnant now. There's no more room in my tummy for more baby, but I'm still two weeks away from the big day. Ayla's getting excited and I can hardly wait myself. Adrian  has mentioned things that we still need to get and as he goes through the list, I'm amazed at the things we've already gotten covered. In a matter of a month, we moved in to the house, moved out of the apartment, arranged all the necessary furniture, I finished all my classes and finals and now I have two weeks to get the house in order before our lives change all over again. I feel so incredibly blessed and overwhelmed. I have to give Adrian particular thanks for keeping it together while doing all the heavy lifting and still working his crazy overtime schedule.

    Life is a whirlwind of crazy at this point but I've never been more happy or contented with the minutiae of life. Now that finals are over, the minutiae is the best part because I finally have time to think about it! Maybe it's the season of Christmas and Thanksgiving or just the fact that God has blessed me so wonderfully and completely with a wonderful husband, an amazing family, a not-so-tiny miracle and a life I never could have dreamed of for myself. 

Getting Ready!

    So many exciting things are going on that it's difficult to focus on just one, so I won't try. As I've mentioned on previous posts, Adrian and I have been desparate to find a house to settle in that is far more suitable than our decrepit apartment. The best news is that we have closed on a house in the 151/Potranco area of San Antonio and have already begun to move in. This is some of the best news that either of us has received in a long time and it's certainly a load off both our shoulders. We're hoping to have time to prepare everything properly beforehand, but knowing that we'll have a safehaven to bring Baby home is a huge relief! Not only that, but we are in the process of settling with our apartment complex in such a way that will be best for all parties involved.

    Secondly, I've had a little bit of time to focus on preparing for the big moment. I started putting my hospital bag together the other day and it's amazing how much fun I had just throwing a few things into an overnight bag. Generally, I hate packing, but this time around, I found it incredibly fun! I've packed Baby's outfits for the hospital and going home, comfy clothes for me and most of all the necessaries I'll need for what will hopefully be a short stay. I've even included a list of things I still need to pack or will have to pack last minute for Adrian to either grab on the go or come back and pack once I'm admitted. Adrian was impressed and, I have to admit, so was I. The goal is to slowly but surely do what I can in the meantime to prepare so that it's not as mad a rush when we get situated in the house.

    Thirdly, our birthing, parenting and breastfeeding classes are all scheduled, and we have meetings with prospective pediatricians. Now, the next major thing to check off our list is to find a daycare. We've been travelling a lot on the weekends, which is coming to an abrupt halt as of the end of October, so I'm hoping that we will be able to nail down a wonderful daycare within a few weeks. We visited one that looks fantastic but now we have to figure out the few weeks before Ayla is old enough to go to daycare but I'll be in school.
    We've had amazing help from Adrian's parents and everyone has been incredibly supportive. We can't help you all enough for all your words of encouragement and prayers. I think it's obvious that it's all paying off now!

The "Mom Cut"

    One of the things that I've made a decision about is the "mom cut". I'd say it's a safe bet that as a new mother I won't be able to do my hair every day, in fact, I'll be lucky to get a shower once a day. Having long, thick hair isn't conducive to those conditions and, let's face it, it may just make matters worse. I often just pull it up, dry or wet, each morning and there it stays for the remainder of the day.

    Since I don't foresee long hair being an asset to me as a new mom (and maybe more of a liability), I've made the executive decision to chop it off! Yes, I'm cutting off the hair that I've been growing out since Adrian and I got married (which is actually true). I cut my hair shortly before Adrian and I got engaged and then regretted it when it hadn't grown out as much as I wanted by the time we got married, so I decided to grow out my hair until I just got sick of it. That day is imminent.

    I've decided that a few weeks before my due date, assuming I make it until then, I will chop off the majority of my hair. I'm not going to go Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias crazy or anything, but by my calculations, I'll be cutting off over a foot of hair leaving the remainder length at just below my shoulders. The cut portion will of course be donated to Locks of Love or some charitable organization to help those in need of my hopelessly split-ended coiff.

    So, if you have any suggestions on style or salon, please pass them along. Here are a few of the ideas I had in mind:

    Having looked at all three of the pictures now, I realize they're basically all the same, just parted or styled differently. Oh well!

Overwhelmed

    It’s losing sleep because you don’t know how you’ll get all the things you need to get done correctly and in time.

    I’m now officially in my third trimester and, while that gives me a sense of accomplishment, it also gives me a renewed sense of panic. We’ve spent our weekends thus far travelling to see family and house hunting on the weekends, which has been wonderful, but has forced us to put off other necessary activities such as attending birthing and baby care classes, researching daycares and pediatricians and dealing with the fact that it is very likely we’ll still be stuck in our apartment when the baby comes. As I’m sure is clear by now, the house that we put an offer on back in August didn’t work out and we are still clueless about what we’re going to do come January when our lease is up.

    Sure, we still have three months in which to get everything accomplished and that seems like plenty of time, but in the meantime, mid-terms and finals are upon me and Adrian is working as much overtime as possible. With all of those things combined, it makes spending time getting the remaining ducks in a row that much more difficult.

    I know I’ve mentioned it before but we are blessed with amazing families that love and support us to the brink and beyond, and now more than ever we’re relying on their support. As a wonderful friend advised me, when you have a child, you accept the offers of kindness and assistance of others for your children’s sake and not your own. Adrian and I plan to use the weekends to clear away the rubbish, pack and clean, take classes and figure out the other details of first-time parenthood. Our families and friends have already begun planning baby showers to help us celebrate this time and take our minds off all the things we still haven’t bought and figured out. They are providing excellent advice when and where it is needed and giving words of encouragement when it’s all there is to be given. None of it goes unnoticed or unappreciated!

    Most importantly, I’m leaning more than ever on the faith that we’ll be shown the answers we need in God’s time. It’s a small consolation but consolation, nonetheless. After living a life of trying to control the minutiae and plan every contingency, I’ve had to accept that there are things we can change and things that are best left in Other Hands. For now, the things I can control, trust me, I am! I’ve scheduled birthing, breastfeeding and child care classes. I’ve scheduled a few pediatrician interviews, I've researched the reviews of the hospital and maternity ward, I’ve gathered a list of day cares that I’d like to visit and I’m working on finishing our gift registries; all single-handedly, all in good time, and all in between classes, work, and life. I’m exhausted, I’m overwhelmed, but I’m also blessed with a wonderful burden (and I mean that both literally and figuratively)!

The Diaper Debate

    We've made the decision to try out cloth diapers and our reasons are varied and many. What I have found so surprising is the number of people who have assured us that we WILL change our minds and that it won't be worth the effort.

    I don't generally appreciate people telling me what I will and will not do but regardless, the decision to use cloth diapers was not one that we made lightly. We've (well, I've) done the research and feel certain that cloth diapers will not only be far more cost-effective but will not require much more handling of poop or be any more disgusting than disposable diapers would be. Diapers are diapers and babies are babies. If you're not ready to deal with poop and pee, I (and I'm sure every mom out there) would recommend not having children just yet.

Here's some links to learn more about cloth diapers:

http://realdiaperindustry.org/cloth-diaper-resources

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/newtocloth

http://www.diaperpin.com/howto.asp

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/diapers/buying-guide.htm

McPregnancy

    Yes, I'm pregnant and yes, I still eat McDonald's. Yes, I feel like a quasi-failure as a mommy when I catch myself getting excited in the Drive Thru line. I can't help it. Cravings are tough to beat down no matter how gross they may be. For instance, before I got pregnant I never wanted to eat Taco Bell, but since, I'll get the idea of Taco Bell in my mind and I have to have it.

    There are theories that cravings are a hint from the body that it is lacking some essential nutrient. I can't figure out for the life of me (or Ayla's) what nutrient my body could possibly be telling me I'm lacking. McDonald's essentially has everything I should be avoiding: salt, fillers, synthetic bovine hormones. Happily not all my cravings are unhealthy. Ive also craved watermelon, frozen yogurt, chocolate milk, etc... Though, in the end, it all comes down to one letter. "C" is for craving and that's good enough for me.