Right Moon?

little bit

So this is what One Week looks like.

This whole experience/experiment (from baby-makin' to baby-havin' to baby-raisin') has been an amazing and blessed journey. 9-hours in the waiting room last week was no doubt easier than 9-hours in labor would have been; I didn't much care for the crazy-ouchie-legged epidural feeling, but that too was more than bearable, since it allowed an actual human to be removed from inside my body. My first glimpse (through a flood of overjoyed tears) of our daughter was on a table to my right, being attended to by her father (attended to = being cleaned up by a nurse while Daddy snapped dozens of pictures). From that moment, and in every moment since then, I can honestly say that life has been more full, more wondrous, more amazing.

[p.s.: mom's been posting more from the rapidly growing BabyBumble Photographic Portfolio over at Sonnystone]

arrival day

No food or drink after midnight, try to sleep if your mind will slow down long enough, make a packing list, gather the phone numbers and email address list, try not to get too excited, attaching sentimentality to everything (this is the last night before everything changes forever), periodically peek into the soon-to-be baby's room and smile or cry or both, charge the camera battery, the phone, the ipod, count the hours until 10:00, when you have to be at the hospital for the noon delivery, keep your fingers crossed for a bed by the window, breathe slowly and deeply.

We're off in just a few hours; I'm assuming this will seem more real when there's a real live human baby in my arms (but then again, that sounds just as unfathomable as the rest of the process). Will be enjoying the comforts of Mt. Sinai through Saturday (feel free to visit if you're into that sort of thing).

Thanks for your warm thoughts and love; this has been an incredible journey so far. We hope to see you soon.

[public service announcement]

If you came to our soiree on Sunday (and if you were in town, you really should have; the food - including Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes! - was great and there was lots of booze, lots of fraternizing, and a guest appearance by a two-year old who was terrified of cats), you may have received a copy of the Baby Bumble Mix CD #1 as a party favor... or you may have received a blank cd from me, as I apparently handed out a stack of about 8 discs that had no music on them. If that's you, or if you weren't at the party but would like a copy of the Baby Bumble Mix, please email me with your "snail mail" address and we'll send you a copy soon.

still

So, we made it through the (lovely 3-day) weekend according to schedule, with baby still tucked safely in her warm womb-space...as I write this, it's exactly one week until The Baby Bumble's arrival. I'm still getting around pretty well, and haven't seen the need to postpone my singing gigs next weekend or Sunday's baby-party. Until then it's just nose to the grindstone, organizing and cleaning the apartment (although, truth be told, Bear does most of the work, and doesn't so much as sniffle when I take a nap while he works), finishing up some overdue thank-you notes, and waiting patiently for whatever may come.

According to this article/study, "babies born in winter are bigger, brighter and more successful". Being a winter baby myself, I of course have suspected as much all along. (Just don't tell my August-born husband...) Of course, the study also indicates that winter babies are more pessimistic. I could have told you that, too.

[quote]

"If you care about something, you have to protect it - if you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." - John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

bluetrain

I pass by these tracks as I walk home from the doctor's office; all my doctors are in the same building, so I've passed by dozens of times. Now, as everything in life changes and promises to change even more, my mind looks forward to peering through the fence with the baby, watching the trains whoosh by together.

timeline

It only just dawned on us that the baby could choose to be born at any time. This is not an acceptable option, as I've carefully crafted the "to-do" list to be spread over the next 12 days, including a "last-weekend get together" on the 22nd. This weekend is a full moon, which is sometimes said to bring on labor, but I'm not worried. I was, after all, born nearly One Month after my own due date (poor Mom)...

the money sieve trifecta

After dinner on Saturday night, we stopped by the 'Depot to peruse the color samples and buy a can of paint for the baby's room. We then hopped on the uptown bus with a couple more errands to run. After getting off the bus, Bear was complimenting my (all things considered) speedy mobillity, and I asked if I was walking too fast for him since he was carrying a gallon of paint. Except...he was not carrying a can of paint. Our bus was long gone on it's uptown trip carrying our can of Special Bumble Green Paint into NYC transit oblivion, presumably still sitting under the seat where we left it. Argh.

We plodded ahead to Circuit City, and Bear called the transit authority (he found out the lost and found doesn't open until Monday) while I proceeded to spend $80(!!!!) on the necessary ink cartridges for our printer. It's not money we wanted to spend, but the printer has been out for a while, so it was time... When we got home I put the new black ink in the printer and learned...(ta-da!)...that the problem wasn't just the ink level; the printer is No Longer Functioning. Online tutorials pinpointed the problem and suggested MacGuyver-ing/welding the broken line inside the printer back together, but I seem to have misplaced my at-home-welding-kit. Hoping for good luck, I messed with the machine, turned it on and off, ran diagnostic tests, and alternately tried to sweet talk and curse it for over an hour, all to no avail. We're going to have to spring for a new printer. And of course, that $35+ black ink cartridge I put in the dead printer cannot be returned to the store since it's been opened.

Being somewhat superstitious about "things happening in threes", I went to bed wondering what the third money drain would be. The answer was waiting on the windshield of the car this morning in the form of a parking ticket (for failing to post an inspection ticket, which we do in fact have, so we'll be appealing this one once we have a printer to access the appropriate forms...)

Our money tree is looking a bit overharvested right now.

life at this moment

The biggest incompatability issue in my marriage is the television. I can fall asleep more quickly and soundly with the thing on, whilst my dear husband sleeps fitfully when the flickering light of Court TV (or even my buddy Conan) disturbs his reverie. On nights when I'm too restless to fall asleep right away, this encourages me to sit too long on the living room couch after Bear has gone to bed. My mind goes into zombie-tv-watcher mode, and I only "come to" during commercials, when I start planning the next day's to-do list(s) and making Grand Plans. Tonight, however, the whole balance is off, as the feline sitting next to me on the sofa is snoring SO LOUDLY that I can't stop laughing...

[the craziest cousin]

My Dearest Amy,
Although I think February 17 is a lovely birthday, and I'll be looking forward to (finally) drinking a long-distance toast in your honor, there is NO WAY we'll be waiting until then to deliver the Special Package.
Maybe next time. Alternately, please feel free to begin celebrating YOUR birthday on January 24.
Love,
mcj

the obvious

Three weeks from today (God willing, knock on wood, say a little prayer, etc.) this Baby Bumble will be surgically removed from her current perch right on top of my bladder and lungs. Three weeks from today! Three. Weeks. Everything is now broken down into small deadlines (closet finished by Friday, room painted next weekend, announcement address list printed next week), and I'm cycling quickly through a loop of every emotion.

I'm having some pain (it's a groin thing, and it HURTS), but I'm taking this, too, as a sign that we're in the home stretch.

Three. Weeks. I have no words.

today's photo: jigsaw poohzzle