A letter to my pregnant self

Dear Self,
I know you have seen a lot of these types of letters to a younger self imparting wisdom and whatnot. Well, you get your own personal letter.
You're thinking that you have a pretty good idea how to care for an infant and what it is going to be like. You're so wrong. Take heed. I also know that you have baby brain so I'm going to spell it out for you.

1. Stop saying "any day" after you hit 37 weeks. You still have a month to go and it will feel like 9 if you keep saying "any day."

2. Labor isn't scary or extremely painful. Remember when you broke your leg and walked on it for a week? Yeah, that was worse.

3. Your baby will weigh 9 lbs so lay off the brownies and you might get a baby that is slightly smaller and easier to squeeze out your who-ha.

4. It's a boy. Sorry to ruin the surprise but you sorta knew all along.

5. Your sweet baby boy will not sleep. You will sleep even less. I'm talking minutes per night, not hours.

6. Breastfeeding is hard but you will stick it out and it will get better.

7. Day 3 is the hardest. But so is day 4, day 5, day 6... you get the idea.

8. You will feel like you are losing your mind on many occassions but believe me, it gets a little easier the more you get to know him and what he wants.

9. Start reading "The Wonder Weeks" now so you are prepared for that first leap.

10. Hire a post-partum doula now. No excuses.

11. When you stand up for the first time after giving birth it will feel like there is too much room for all your organs in your body. No, they don't fall out of you even though it will feel like it.

12. Hydrate! All. The. Time.

13. Hemeroids suck.

14. Prepare more freezer meals. You burn through the ones you did pretty quickly.

15. If it bothers you so much that the dishes are piling up and you can't do them yourself, stop looking at them. They will get done eventually.

16. Someone will tell you that your baby is spirted. Sounds cool, right? Yeah, I'm sure it's a cool personality trait but it makes your job a hell of a lot harder. Please read this: The Fussy Baby Site. They tell it like it is and make no apologies. You will see your own thoughts and emotions written in various places on this site and it will make you feel better. It will reassure you that you are not a bad mom. And you're not. Believe me.

17. Nothing beats that first moment when K is placed in your arms at the end of your labor. It feels like the planets aligned and the sun shone brighter and the birds sang sweeter songs. It is the single most life altering experience you will ever have. Drink it in. It is beautiful and lovely. Then remember that moment when you lose your hearing in one ear after your baby screams for five hours and nothing comforts him. Zen.

Being a mother is tough work but you're doing a good job. You're trying everything and you are not giving up. Everyone will tell you that it gets easier and better. I'll let you know when that starts to become true.

Adventures of Keegee-D

I'm sure most children his age (almost 8 months) are as busy as he is. We frequent the mall play areas and indoor playgrounds just so he can expend energy in a place other than the house. Same activities in other surroundings are great.

Here are a few things we have been up to in the past couple months.

A history in photos:

Watching TV at Stir Crazy

 Playing with trucks (my fav)

 Driving around town

 And around the mall

 Taking the sled out for a spin

 With Mr. Newman

 Drunk off fresh air

 Swimming for the first time

 Out for brunch at Milestones for the first time on Father's Day

 Riding in my Jeep

 Swinging the day away

 Cooling off at the water park

 Relaxing under the big top

 Snuggle walking with Mommy

Enjoying the scenery with Daddy

 Playing at the mall

 Dressed up for Halloween

Trying lots of new foods

 Having fun with my fur brother

 Posing for GQ magazine

 Playing with Mommy

 Generally being awesome

He's getting very good at crawling and is using one knee to push himself. I'm predicting by next week he will be crawling. The leaps he has made in the past couple weeks are nothing short of astonishing. I love to see human development happen before my very eyes. It's truly amazing. It's one thing to study developmental psychology, it's quite another to experience it.