weaver is just trying to get through impending-baby panic.

[weaver]

It's been quite a while since I've done an NF challenge; I'm coming back now not because of the new year but because I'm in the home stretch of making another human being (due late February) and am feeling a little panicky about doing everything that needs to be done before this kid pops out while also keeping up with day-to-day tasks. It doesn't help that my daily schedule is getting busier and busier, with birth/baby classes twice a week at awkward times of day and additional things like the hospital tour, ultrasounds, and OB appointments.

 

So! I guess I have three main goals for this challenge:

 

1. Continue preparing the gestation vessel for the final weeks of pregnancy, labor/birth, etc.

2. Complete major baby-preparation tasks.

3. Keep up with day-to-day tasks and non-baby-related obligations.

 

Here are the specifics of my plan for accomplishing these goals:

 

1. Every day, complete the following:

• 2+ rounds of the exercises from labor prep classes
• 2+ servings of fruit
• 2+ servings of vegetables
• Take meds
• Go outside (whether it's just for errands or for a walk for walking's sake—working from home makes it too easy to stay in) and/or do at least one video of pregnancy yoga or pilates (particularly if the weather is bad)

2. Every week, complete at least one major baby-preparation task. Some of these include putting the hospital bag together, learning more about and procuring cloth diapers, re-arranging the house a little and doing some small fixes, prepping freezer meals for the first couple of weeks of craziness, etc.

 

3. Every day, list at least three tasks (non-baby related as well as individual steps to achieve the major baby-preparation tasks) and complete them. In addition to those changing three things, kitchen counter zero! We have a cleaning lady coming once a week now (hallelujah!), so general cleaning isn't as much of a concern, but the kitchen counters can still get full surprisingly fast. Full kitchen counters are a bummer and make us less interested in cooking good meals, so every night before I go to bed, I'll make sure the counters are clear.

 

(And if anyone is wondering about water intake, I'm totally killin' it with Plant Nanny, so that's not a particular concern for me right now. Currently getting in about 2.5 liters a day.)

 

I'm big into using a paper calendar/planner/agenda thing, so I'll be keeping track of everything there throughout the day. Still, I plan to check in here daily (as much as possible) to confirm that things are going well!

 

(One more thing! I know this isn't much of an "adventurer" challenge, but I've stuck to the adventurers for several challenges before because I really really dig traveling. And this time around, I feel like I'm definitely preparing for an adventure filled with a lot of unknowns...)

[Sylvaa]

Yay! Baby (I'm a huge fan of babies that don't belong to me)!

 

Having a new human is a complete adventure, so you are definitely in the right place. I love that you are using this challenge to keep yourself on track for all the excitement!

[Altamarie]

Hows it going?

[weaver]

Sunday, January 8 (Day 1)

1. I completed all of my daily tasks! I had two servings of spinach and two clementines because those were pretty much the only vegetable and fruit left in the house...but at least I got them in. I also went for a walk with my boyfriend.

3. I posted my NF challenge, completed two tasks for my running group (I'm passing my leadership duties on to someone else now that I'm about to have very little time, but I need to wrap up some administrative things first), and transferred money from my regular bank account to one that I'm going to use for saving. That's four things! Also, kitchen counter zero!

 

Monday, January 9 (Day 2)

This week is off to a tricky start. A coworker and his wife are in town (I work remotely, so usually I'm not in the same place as my coworkers!), so I'm meeting up with them a fair amount for dinner, etc. On Monday I ate more than my squished stomach could handle and did not feel good when I got back home after dinner, so...

1. I only did one round of the exercises (at lunchtime), although I managed all of my other daily tasks. Over lunch I went on a walk to get some fruit and vegetables, and later my coworker came to my place and then we walked together to a café to do some work in a different location. I had a banana (with oatmeal for breakfast), a clementine (currently my favorite fruit...), spinach (with eggs for lunch), and sautéed cabbage (as a side at dinner).

3. I bought fruit and vegetables. That's all! No kitchen counter zero, either—I couldn't do much besides lie down when I got back from dinner.

 

Tuesday, January 10 (Day 3)

Still felt awful in the morning (almost didn't go to get-ready-for-a-baby class, but I'm glad I did—now I know all the reasons a baby might look weird right after being born and what its first few poops should look like!), but lay down a little more over lunch and felt much better in the afternoon. Still, it affected my productivity today.

1. Just one round of exercises (in the evening) and one vegetable serving (went out for Indian for dinner with my coworker and his wife, and one of the dishes we shared had mixed vegetables) but did everything else. Had half an apple with oatmeal for breakfast and a clementine for a snack. Didn't go for a longer walk for the sake of walking, but went outside and walked around in order to go out to dinner!

3. I transferred more money (the daily limit means I've needed to do it in chunks) and read a bit (currently working on Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay). Didn't do a third task, and right now I'd rather go to bed and get a good night's sleep than think about KCZ. Haven't been sleeping enough lately, and it's important!

 

General

No baby-related progress yet—darn visitors, taking up free time! I know what my focus will be this week, though—cloth diaper research! I have a few videos and other resources lined up to learn more about how to use them and the different options out there. Once I've gone through those (in the next few days), I'll work on figuring out where we can get them around here.

I can already tell that not keeping up with kitchen counter zero is a bit of a bummer and really has a domino effect, even just after a couple days. Partly because I still wasn't feeling great, but largely because the counters were pretty full and a lot of the stuff (cutting boards, pans, etc.) I would've used was dirty, I didn't make a real lunch today. If I had, I would've gotten two vegetables! Will try to take care of this tomorrow!

 

===========

 

@Sylvaa Thanks! I've barely ever interacted with any babies, so...adventure for sure!

 

@Altamarie Thanks for checking in—it could be going better, but it could also be going worse! My coworker and his wife are heading out again on Thursday, though, so I should be better able to accomplish everything from then on.

[deftona]

What a lovely challenge! I feel you on the kitchen counters though. It seems like I clean them and BOOM, it's a big ole mess again. It's a neverending, thankless task! 

[weaver]

Wednesday, January 11 (Day 4)

1. I did everything! Walked to get groceries during lunch; had a banana (with muesli for breakfast), a clementine (snack), sautéed cabbage (leftovers for lunch), and several different vegetables on homemade pizza for dinner (coworker and his wife came over for dinner, so we made two pizzas with a different vegetable on each half: bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, and spinach).

3. I counted my remaining medication to see what I need to get a new prescription for at the OB tomorrow and processed the receipts I've been accumulating (recording business expenses, things I need to split with my boyfriend, etc.). It's pretty late now, but I'll still read a chapter before sleeping to get a third task in. I made a lot of kitchen cleaning progress over my lunch break and then pretty much completely cleaned everything (except for a few wine glasses that don't have space for drying at the moment) after dinner, even though I'd left things pretty messy again in the course of pizza making. I feel much better already!

 

========

 

@deftona Thanks! And YES, it's crazy how quickly they fill up. I'm convinced some of those dirty dishes have figured out how to reproduce like amoebas.

 

Will check on everyone else's challenges when I get a spare moment—hopefully in the next day or two!

[weaver]

Thursday, January 12 (week 1 | day 5)

Despite a crazy day with baby class in the morning, an OB appointment in the afternoon, and technical difficulties that complicated my workday and made it longer than expected, I had another successful challenge day!

1. Yes! The baby class and OB appointment got me out of the house twice. Fruit: 1/2 apple (with oatmeal for breakfast); kiwi (after dinner). Vegetables: bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, spinach (on leftover pizza for lunch); bell pepper and zucchini (with eggs for dinner).

2. One of my three tasks today was watching some YouTube videos on cloth diapering and finding places in my city that sell cloth diapers. I found one particularly interesting store that I'm hoping we can check out on Saturday—hopefully we can get some other eco-friendly baby stuff there, too.

3. I changed and washed the sheets and did some cloth diaper research, and I'll read a little bit before sleeping. (I'm borrowing a e-book from the library, so I'm on a deadline!) KCZ: check!

[weaver]

Friday, January 13 (week 1 | day 6)

Hospital tour this morning, and my boyfriend got to feel the baby move like crazy tonight (usually the baby's stopped moving by the time he comes over after I call him, or he feels one small movement and that's it). Shit's getting real.

1. Everything. Went out for the hospital tour and errands. Fruit: banana (with oatmeal for breakfast); clementine (after dinner). Vegetables: two-ish servings of vegetable medley (onion, bell pepper, eggplant, spinach) in tomato sauce (over pasta for dinner—generally I want to have vegetables at more than one meal, but some days are just tough...).

3. Went to the bank to deal with a couple things, picked up medication, and will read a bit after this. KCZ: yes!

[weaver]

Saturday, January 14 (week 1 | day 7)

The weekend as a whole was productive, but I let some challenge goals slide—partly because just catching up on sleep was one of my priorities. On Saturday we slept in and then had pancake Saturday before doing baby-related stuff and then going out to a fancy-shmancy dinner. (The company I work for mostly has remote workers, so since we couldn't have a traditional office holiday party, they gave us each a little "bonus" to do something special. My boyfriend and I decided to go out for the kind of nice dinner that we wouldn't spend our own money on, especially since it's about to get much harder to just go out for a nice night on our own.)

 

1. Meh. Didn't do any labor-prep exercises at all. Had most of a banana in the pancakes and then freshly squeezed orange juice in the afternoon and freshly squeezed lemonade at dinner...not quite what I would usually count as a fruit serving, but it's all I got in. Got one serving at the most of vegetables, if I add up the little bits and pieces sprinkled throughout the multiple dinner courses, but I'm not sure it was even that. But baby errands and lunch got me out and about!

2. We went to a store that specializes in cloth diapers and bought the beginning of a stash. We now have poop-related things! Have I mentioned that this is getting real?!? We also had a little bit of time to kill before dinner and happened to stop in an H&M with a maternity/post-partum section, so I grabbed a few nursing tanks and one nursing bra. Didn't have time to try things on, though, so now I'll have to go back to exchange the bra. But still, progress!

3. Bought some cloth diapers, bought some nursing clothes, and read a little. No KCZ.

 

 

Sunday, January 15 (week 2 | day 1)

Another day of spending a lot of time on baby-related stuff, leaving less time for other stuff.

 

1. Only one round of exercises. One fruit, but I don't remember what exactly—I think I had a pear for a snack in the afternoon. Spinach (with eggs) for breakfast and broccoli (with rotisserie chicken and rice) for dinner. Walked a lot for baby errands.

2. We went to four different places to window shop and/or buy baby stuff! A high-end store was only interesting for its stroller selection; we got some cute clothes on sale at a much cheaper kids' store; and we checked out the baby-specific sales at a grocery store (a big one that also sells clothes, toys, gardening and pet supplies, etc.) and the drugstore that belongs to the same company.

3. Four different baby-related stores is more than enough to check off my three tasks, but we also took some time in the morning to do an inventory of all the baby stuff we've bought and/or received as gifts in order to see exactly what we have (a lot) and what we still need (even more). No KCZ, although I made some progress on dishes.

 

 

 

Monday, January 16 (week 2 | day 2)

Wanted to do some work before heading out to get the whooping cough vaccination but just couldn't get myself out of bed early enough. That meant that I had to really focus on it after getting back and work a little later than usual. My boyfriend has been sick for a while and had an early, full day of work today, so I was happy to make dinner—but it meant even less time for other things.

1. Just one round of exercises (I could do another one, but it's so late now that I just want to go to bed and sleep!). Otherwise, everything! Half an apple with oatmeal for breakfast and a clementine after dinner. Leftover broccoli with lunch (which otherwise consisted of leftover rotisserie chicken and leftover Indian food—a bit of a mash-up, but good!) and zucchini (in a bolognese-y sauce over rice) for dinner. Had to take public transportation to the clinic for the vaccination because I was running so late but walked back.

3. Picked up some meat on the way back from the clinic, did a load of laundry, and prepped (plucked, washed, spin dried) spinach (that had already been sitting in the fridge unprepped for a while—it was looking pretty sad already, but I saved what I could). Mostly small things, but better than no things! No KCZ but made some progress.

[Violetta]

Ooooh, what kind of cloth diapers did you get?! Mine are all out of diapers, but I just loved fuzzy little bums when they were babies. (Two words of caution: First, the one-size brands generally don't fit most newborns unless you have a 10-pounder or so. Also, don't invest too much in larger sizes until you make sure you want to cloth diaper after baby starts solids. As it turned out, I did NOT. Though I found it was a piece of cake up till then.)

Also, high five on getting planning your pertussis vax!  

[weaver]

@Violetta We're planning on doing mostly prefolds+covers but are also getting a few one-size, all-in-one diapers (I think right now we just have one from Bumkins and one from Bum Genius) as back-ups and to be able to try a few different options. Thanks for the advice! At our last ultrasound, the tech said that the kid is "chubby" (something like 85th percentile), so on track to be on the larger side, anyway, and hopefully the small prefolds will do the trick at first either way. And good call on not investing too much in larger sizes yet—I'm definitely getting the impression that cloth diapering is much easier to do when it's milk poop!

 

And yes, vaccine! It's making it hard to sleep on my left side, but otherwise, I was more than happy to do it—especially since here, they only recommend it for the mom (to pass on to the baby) and don't make a big deal out of the dad and other relatives getting it.

[weaver]

Tuesday, January 17 (week 2 | day 3)

We gave in and ordered pizza for dinner last night—after setting up the crib and rearranging furniture in our room a few different ways, it was late and we were tired. Not great, but...it happens!

1. Only did one round of exercises and got one vegetable in. Walked back from baby prep class—it was all about breastfeeding this time, and my favorite part was when the male student doctor helping give the presentation pulled out a fake nipple and demonstrated proper supporting of the breast. Fruit: 1/2 an apple with oatmeal for breakfast; kiwi for a snack. Vegetable: I think combining the zucchini in the leftover bolognese I had for lunch and the spinach and other vegetables we got on the pizza would put me at about one serving total.

2. As previously mentioned, we rearranged our bedroom and set up the crib as a sidecar right next to the bed. Still a little over five weeks to go until the due date, but people keep freaking out when we tell them we don't have the crib set up yet, and babies don't actually care about due dates, so it was crib time. It makes it more awkward for me to get out of bed, which will only get harder as I keep getting bigger, but it still feels good to have another thing checked off the list.

3. Dealt with crib stuff, sent in a tax deposit, did some proofreading that's due this week, and read a little. No KCZ, but J (boyfriend) did a load of dishes, so the kitchen is looking more approachable, anyway. Today (Wednesday) I plan to really get to KCZ again, finally!

 

===

 

Something I'd like to get better at for the rest of this challenge is going to bed at a reasonable time. Part of the reason I haven't been great at the labor-prep exercises and KCZ is that I focus on other things and put them off until right before bed—but by the time I'm about to go to bed, it's late and I'm tired and sleep is more important. If I make sure to finish other stuff earlier, I'll have more time and energy to take care of those pre-bed things. It's also making it hard to wake up at a reasonable time, which means that my work day starts later and/or I'm not always on time to morning appointments.

 

I was going to go to a German conversation event tonight (I really miss speaking German), but I think I need the evening to make some good progress on things like finishing up the proofreading job and wrapping up stuff to pass on to the new "leader" of my running group. That'll take some stress off my plate, help free up the following days for other tasks, and hopefully also help with being able to get to bed earlier! Next week, though, I'd really like to go!

[Violetta]

3 hours ago, weaver said:

@Violetta We're planning on doing mostly prefolds+covers but are also getting a few one-size, all-in-one diapers (I think right now we just have one from Bumkins and one from Bum Genius) as back-ups and to be able to try a few different options. Thanks for the advice! At our last ultrasound, the tech said that the kid is "chubby" (something like 85th percentile), so on track to be on the larger side, anyway, and hopefully the small prefolds will do the trick at first either way. And good call on not investing too much in larger sizes yet—I'm definitely getting the impression that cloth diapering is much easier to do when it's milk poop!

 

And yes, vaccine! It's making it hard to sleep on my left side, but otherwise, I was more than happy to do it—especially since here, they only recommend it for the mom (to pass on to the baby) and don't make a big deal out of the dad and other relatives getting it.

 

Prefolds and covers are definitely among  the easiest and cheapest options. I found the microfiber ones to be touchy and need stripping quite frequently, even if your water isn't all that hard. I also liked fitteds and covers, though that's a fairly pricey way to go. (Edited to add that the upside with prefolds is that they are AWESOME cleaning rags once the kids outgrow them. And they are easy to put out in the sun to remove stains.)

In the U.S., they are recommending DTaP for all family members and caregivers now, . They didn't back when I had my youngest (who is 5 now), but after seeing a friend's very new baby contact pertussis, I would be a stickler for it now. Her poor little guy was on breathing treatments for a month and had the most awful-sounding cough for months afterward.

[Sylvaa]

3 hours ago, Violetta said:

In the U.S., they are recommending DTaP for all family members and caregivers now, . They didn't back when I had my youngest (who is 5 now), but after seeing a friend's very new baby contact pertussis, I would be a stickler for it now. Her poor little guy was on breathing treatments for a month and had the most awful-sounding cough for months afterward.

 

We just got a Pertussis outbreak where I live (to the point where they almost closed the school district down for two weeks due to the number of cases). According to my kids' pediatrician, you can still get Pertussis even with the vaccine, but it will be a much milder case. So yay for getting this done!

 

FWIW, I didn't get my crib set up - my bf at the time did it while I was in the hospital after delivery. If it is making it difficult for you to get in and out of bed, I'd say move it and wait until closer to the baby's birth. While having things checked off is important, your comfort is more important.

[weaver]

Violetta and Sylvaa, scary stories about pertussis! Strangely, the nurse who gave me the vaccination made a bigger deal out of close relatives making sure their tetanus shots are up to date...even though...tetanus isn't contagious?!? I didn't really get it.

 

@Violetta Had another ultrasound today (the kid is no longer breech, hooray!) and the doctor said that the baby actually seems to be pretty average sized. So maybe we will have to look into a few more options for regular-sized-newborn diapers... I think our water is pretty hard here, so good to know about microfiber. And yes, the multifunctionality of the prefolds is a big benefit!

 

@Sylvaa Very good point! It's fine for now—partly because J has been sleeping on the couch because he's sick, so I haven't had to try maneuvering around him yet—but if it gets more difficult, it shouldn't be hard to temporarily move it.

[weaver]

Wednesday, January 18 (week 2 | day 4)

The day started out optimistically enough, as evidenced by my promises to achieve KCZ and generally be all kinds of productive in the evening. Then, about an hour before the end of the day-job workday, my nose just turned into a nonstop snot faucet. Unfortunately, after work, I still had to finish the proofreading, since it was due today (Thursday), but that's all I had the time and energy for.

1. No walk—was hoping to go out after work to get some grocery staples, but, well, snot faucet. Also prevented me from doing a second round of exercises. I did get my fruit and vegetables in: 1/2 an apple with oatmeal for breakfast and a banana with cereal as a snack later in the day; spinach with eggs for lunch and sautéed bell peppers with chicken and pasta for dinner (okay, yes, bell peppers are technically fruit, but come on).

3. I finished the proofreading, but that's it. No KCZ. But that's okay—it was more important to get into bed right after finishing the proofreading and get some sleep.

[Violetta]

38 minutes ago, weaver said:

Violetta and Sylvaa, scary stories about pertussis! Strangely, the nurse who gave me the vaccination made a bigger deal out of close relatives making sure their tetanus shots are up to date...even though...tetanus isn't contagious?!? I didn't really get it.

 

@Violetta Had another ultrasound today (the kid is no longer breech, hooray!) and the doctor said that the baby actually seems to be pretty average sized. So maybe we will have to look into a few more options for regular-sized-newborn diapers... I think our water is pretty hard here, so good to know about microfiber. And yes, the multifunctionality of the prefolds is a big benefit!

 

I think it's probably because tetanus is contained in the same vaccine as pertussis (DTaP has diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis). 

 

Also, if you just want to do disposables for the first couple weeks while you're recovering ... believe me, NO ONE will think it's a bad idea

[Sylvaa]

17 hours ago, Violetta said:

I think it's probably because tetanus is contained in the same vaccine as pertussis (DTaP has diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis). 

 

Actually, for adults, they usually just give Td. One reason they are so big on Tetanus shots is that it is one vaccine which continuously needs a booster and most adults don't get it. 

18 hours ago, weaver said:

3. I finished the proofreading, but that's it. No KCZ. But that's okay—it was more important to get into bed right after finishing the proofreading and get some sleep.

 

This is so true! 

[Violetta]

Just now, Sylvaa said:

 

Actually, for adults, they usually just give Td. One reason they are so big on Tetanus shots is that it is one vaccine which continuously needs a booster and most adults don't get it. 

 

I didn't realize that! (Apparently it also contains a diphtheria booster ... which I guess is good, since diphtheria sounds like the most horrific disease EVER. Had an interesting discussion about it with kids the other day after they were discussing Balto.)

[Sylvaa]

1 minute ago, Violetta said:

 

I didn't realize that! (Apparently it also contains a diphtheria booster ... which I guess is good, since diphtheria sounds like the most horrific disease EVER. Had an interesting discussion about it with kids the other day after they were discussing Balto.)

 

Yeah! Vaccines are super cool! Usually the DTaP is only given to adults who are going out of the country (to areas where communicable disease are still a thing). So Pertussis and Diphtheria immunity doesn't last indefinitely - the vaccines are really only good for about 10 years-ish. But because we had virtually eliminated the diseases in the US, they aren't usually given. I know when people usually talk about herd immunity, they are talking about high risk people, but there is absolutely a component of this that impacts adults too!

[weaver]

Hooray, vaccines!!!

 

===

 

Thursday, January 19 (week 2 | day 5) to Sunday, January 22 (week 3 | day 1)

These days were mostly write-offs because I was either fairly sick (took a half-day off of work on Thursday, even) or still recovering. Still managed some successes, though! On Thursday, I went for an ultrasound (baby officially no longer breech and not nearly as big as they thought before)—it's a pretty short walk from our place to the hospital, but it was still something—and finished Bad Feminist.

 

On Saturday, I got out of the house to not just walk but march! Baby's first protest! Also met friends for lunch (vegan burgers—I got one made out of tofu and spinach) beforehand and another friend for dinner (real burgers) afterwards. I haven't been very social lately because of trying to dedicate so much time to baby prep, so that was nice! Need to hang out with people more while it's still pretty easy to do so spontaneously.

 

Today, I got out of the house to run a couple of errands and meet J for lunch after he finished playing soccer. In fact, yesterday (Saturday) and Sunday I hit 10,000+ steps each day. Now my legs are sore like they used to be the day after a good run—oh, physical fitness, one day I'll have you again...

 

Fruits and vegetables have been up and down, but I haven't been completely ignoring them. Even brought a clementine with me as a snack for during or after the march yesterday, so I wouldn't be tempted to pop into a café and get a pastry.

 

I've also managed to get at least one or two tasks done each day, and today I'm hoping to complete all three (already wrote to my parents with baby updates and compiled a list of questions to ask the nurse running the baby/labor-prep classes [including some questions about things on the list for the hospital bag, so this task was relevant to this next week's baby-related focus!], and planning to read a little before bed).

 

My baby-related focus for this next week will be the hospital bag. Yesterday during the march, someone mentioned that their daughter was born at 35 weeks, and I was exactly 35 weeks that day, so...that only freaked me out a little! Really need to be ready for things to happen at any time.

 

I'm also going to try my best to be in bed my midnight every night (before a weekday, at least) this week. That'll give me enough time to get a full night's sleep before starting the workday at a reasonable time and/or before morning appointments.

[weaver]

Monday, January 23 (week 3 | day 2), to Thursday, January 26 (week 3 | day 5)

 

More up-and-down days. Still haven't managed to totally shake the cold, and I think it's also combining with a return of some of pregnancy—so, a lot of sneezing and sniffling along with occasional coughing (mostly when I'm on the phone for work, which is inconvenient). I've spent pretty much every minute of the last few days either working, doing baby stuff, or trying to get other productive stuff done despite low energy. Not much chill time, but I did manage to do a couple social things, at least—went to a new German conversation group and met a visiting friend and his girlfriend for dinner.

 

Fruits and vegetables have been decent but far from perfect; labor-prep exercises have been pretty much non-existent (but that changes starting today!). Baby classes and social things got me out walking most of the days, although I think I might've been a home-bound slug on Monday. KCZ mostly hasn't happened, but I was forced to take care of it this morning before the cleaning lady came (I actually don't mind doing dishes and would rather she spend her time on tasks that I don't enjoy at all, like...pretty much everything else about cleaning), so I have a good basis to start over from.

 

I've made good progress on the hospital bag, though! We're expecting a haul of hand-me-downs next weekend, which hopefully will have some of the baby clothes we're missing, so I won't be completely done any earlier than then, but it's reassuring to have a lot of the stuff taken care of and in the bag(s). Still a little more I can do this weekend, though.

 

I didn't manage to make it to bed by midnight most nights, but I've at least been going to bed earlier than the previous weeks. I'll try again next week!

[Violetta]

Sounds like you're doing great! (Also,m have you asked your doctor about rhinitis of pregnancy? It's a real thing!)

 

One thing that helped me when I got hand-me downs was to get get a bunch of different big plastic tubs and label them with each size. Sort as you get clothes. Then when baby moves up a size, just open the new tub!

[weaver]

@Violetta Oops, yes—when I wrote "a return of some of pregnancy" up there, it was supposed to be "a return of some rhinitis of pregnancy"...left out the most important word of that phrase! It's been really annoying because the runny nose makes it so hard to sleep on my side. I've been sleeping mostly on my back but with a pillow under one of my hips and one side of my back so I'm not completely flat on my back—it feels a little like cheating, but I've never felt uncomfortable, and I hear that you'll feel uncomfortable before anything could possibly affect the baby.

 

Good call on the tubs! I'll have to see what sizes are even included in the haul and then go from there. I have no idea what to expect!

[weaver]

Friday, January 27 (week 3 | day 6)

1. Walked to the grocery store and back. Got two fruits and two vegetables in but no longer remember what they were. Only did one round of exercises.

3. Got groceries and hung a load of laundry that J started but didn't do a third thing. Got to KCZ (again, thanks largely to also clearing the counters earlier in the day, so there were only a few dishes to take care of at night—and that's why KCZ every day is important!)!

 

Saturday, January 28 (week 3 | day 7)

It was supposed to be a productive day—or afternoon, at least—but then J convinced me to take a nap with him and our plans to go to Ikea to scope out some stuff went out the window. Even our cat got in on the nap action and snuggled in contentedly between us underneath the sheet, duvet, and extra blanket—I think he wouldn't mind it if the house were a bit warmer (neither would I, cat). That meant I didn't do one of the three tasks (Ikea) and didn't get out of the house for any kind of walk...but it was nice to have some lazy afternoon nap time before the craziness comes. I still did two tasks (answered several outstanding e-mails and figured out birthday stuff—a little last minute, since my birthday is today [Sunday]). I didn't keep track of the other daily stuff.

 

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In honor of today being both my birthday and the first day of the last week of the challenge, I'm planning on getting back into the groove of the first week and kicking some challenge ass going forward. Okay? Okay.