Busy week.

This week felt really busy. I seem to have very much underestimated the amount of time that work was going to take this term. My plan was to sort of take it easy so I'd have some free time to get baby stuff done. The reality is that I don't feel like I've had much free time, except on the weekends. Grading has been a chore this past week, but I did finally get caught up so I don't feel quite so far behind. Of course, Friday's classes turned in a bunch of stuff that I have to grade this weekend. Also, there's the job application to finish writing essays for (7 essays? isn't that a little much for one job application?). The house is currently a disaster area because I haven't had the time or energy to get it organized. Baby stuff that I was organizing last weekend is still exploded all over the living room. And there are two activities for today that I wanted to attend, but sitting here this morning I just feel too tired. Maybe I'll just schedule a nap for today.

That last paragraph sounds like I'm complaining, which I'm really not. Pregnancy isn't entirely comfortable right now, but it could definitely be worse. Getting up off the couch or out of my rocking chair is definitely getting more challenging, but I feel pretty good most of the time. Too much activity (walking too fast, walking up stairs) makes me out of breath and my heart starts beating fast, but apparently that's completely normal. By the last trimester, blood volume has increased by 40-50%, but the number of red blood cells has only increased by 20%. That means that the heart has to pump harder to get the same amount of oxygen around the body. So my body is treating a flight of stairs as aerobic exercise.

The Tiny Squee is definitely getting larger. I can feel it move around a lot more now. I went to visit B last night and we were watching my belly bump around as tiny squee did flips. It spends most of its time with its back towards my right-hand side. Sometimes, it moves waaaay over in that direction so that side gets really hard (tiny squee back / butt / head). The other side gets squishy because it's just full of feet. It's not really too comfortable when it does that, so I usually poke it until it moves back more towards the center. Sometimes, it moves waaaay up and squishes my stomach. I can go from starving to over-full in a matter of seconds because of baby positioning. Other times, it moves waaay down and walking becomes challenging. I totally understand why pregnant ladies start walking with that weird waddle. It's uncomfortable to walk when there's something hard all smoshed down in your pelvis. It makes me walk with my legs out wider than I would normally. I feel sort of like a penguin.

I finally broke down and bought maternity underwear. I'm not sure why I didn't do this sooner. They weren't any more expensive than regular underwear, but they're extremely comfortable. I'm not sure why manufacturers seem to believe that women want narrow, tight elastic bands around their legs and middles. Lots of women's underwear are cheaply manufactured and uncomfortable for various reasons. I've always thought that men's underwear were a lot better made and better designed. Anyhow, these maternity underwear are pretty low-cut in front to accomodate my belly full of tiny squee. Instead of an elastic band around the top, they have a knit band that stretches. They're awesome. I'm going to get more of them and probably wear them after I'm done being pregnant, too.

While we were shopping for maternity underwear, I also bought a pair of maternity leggings, a grey pair of
yoga pants, and a fancy shiny top that I think I'll wear to my baby shower. I'm thinking that all of these will also work for after-baby. I'm not sure what I'm going to wear with the leggings, since I don't normally wear skirts, but I do own some leggings that I never wear because they're not comfortable (mostly because they have really tight elastic waistbands). I think I'll just wear maternity clothes forever.

I feel like we've gotten a lot of the stuff organized and are more-or-less prepared for a newborn as far as stuff goes. Things we do not need any more of:
-Newborn clothing
-Flannel receiving blankets
-Other blankets, unless they're really cool
-Diapers

Things I would still like to get:
-A ring sling (like this) and maybe a wrap carrier (like this)
-A crib
-Bottles so Mike and relatives can feed the baby
I should go update my amazon wishlist.