Dear Charlie,

Over 30 weeks along now, and you are the size of a large head of cabbage (about 3 lbs). The realization that there’s less than 10 weeks left until your due date (coupled with the likelihood that you’ll be here at least a bit sooner than that as I’m planning to have another c-section) has given me the kick in the pants I needed to start preparing for you in earnest. Your nursery is pretty much done, and I love how it’s turned out. I wanted it to look totally different from Alex’s nursery despite using the same furniture, and I think we’ve accomplished that:

Nana took on the joyous task of painting the nursery walls for me again this time around (THANK YOU NANA!), and I didn’t want to do blue again so I went with green this time. Love the bright colors of this “woodland creatures” nursery set!

Got wise this time (actually got wise well before that, sometime around Alex’s first birthday) and invested in a more comfortable rocking chair. As much time as you spend in that thing the first year, it’s crucial!

 

The branch is the one thing that I kept fairly similar to Alex’s nursery. I guess that can be our “thing,” and I’ll do it again if we have a third baby someday (don’t hold your breath grandparents, that’s still a BIG “if” at this point in time!).

You have lots of fun things to look up at all over the room– the mobile above the changing table, the puffs above the rocking chair, and of course the letters above your crib. 🙂

Speaking of the mobile, how cute is this thing? My friend Ashley made it for you as a shower gift. She is so talented!

I will probably get the side-eye from some people for having a TV in the nursery… but honestly, it was already there from when this was a guest room, and it just didn’t make sense to move it & patch the wall when we’d eventually be putting it right back in here anyway. Besides, it will come in handy to have all those times you’re asleep or eating in my arms while I sit in the recliner. (Annie wanted to make a cameo in this pic apparently, LOL)

Nana’s working on a piece of art to go on that wall near the light switch– I’ll show you a picture of it when she’s finished!

 

I didn’t have one of these diaper stacker things last time around, but the nursery set I bought this time came with one. Super cute!

Anywho, I’ve also got all your newborn clothes put away, a large pack of newborn diapers ready to go, and am working on packing a hospital bag. Somewhere on Dad’s rather lengthy list of honey-do’s (bless his heart, there are a lot of things we.. or I… want done around the house before we’re all caught up in the craziness of life with a newborn + toddler. He’s been hard at work on that stuff the last few weekends) is to go up in the attic and bring down stuff like bottles, infant car seat, swing, etc. I meticulously hoarded kept every single baby item, piece of clothing, toy, etc. we’ve had for Alex so that we’d have it all when the time came for you to grace us with your presence. 😉 Now it’s just a matter of dragging it all out of storage & making sure it’s ready for you! I recently learned to my dismay that bottle nipples & pacifiers can’t be reused because the plastic in them breaks down over time, so at some point I’ll have to go buy replacements for them as well. Yesterday I started sorting through all the toys & books to filter out the infant-appropriate stuff to put in your toy box, things Alex hasn’t touched in MONTHS, but of course seeing me remove them from his room sparked a whole new interest in them. Haha. Luckily toddlers have the attention span of a gnat. 😉

Other than all that, I think we’re as ready for you as we’ll ever be! I’m often waffling back & forth on whether I wish this pregnancy would be over already, and beginning to lament/fear the end of my time with only one child. As the title of this letter suggests, the size of my belly has gotten to ridiculous proportions & I’m getting pretty darn uncomfortable…

The downside of being a younger sibling is that your big brother has no idea that this large protruding belly might be at all delicate. I try to keep him off of it, but he is forgetful. Hopefully he’s not causing too much damage… I’m sorry dear. Consider it the beginning of what probably be many instances of fun-filled sibling roughhousing. And I swear, I don’t remember having to pee THIS much during the last pregnancy! Like, I’ll come back from peeing and have to pee again less than 5 minutes later… it’s ridiculous. Bending over and even just sitting upright are pretty awkward & uncomfortable. Thank goodness I’m able to telework the rest of the pregnancy! Being at home in a cozy bed or recliner is a huge help… and especially with my history of pre-eclampsia, I’d rather be conservative and take things as easy as possible.

Speaking of that, of course my doctors are keeping a close eye on my blood pressure as well as other symptoms of pre-e (and I still have my at-home monitor here as well, which I’ve put to good use), and so far everything seems normal. All my appointments, tests, etc. have gone really well up to this point, thank goodness! I recently started going in for bi-weekly rather than monthly checkups, another sign that we’re getting close to the end… woo hoo!

And with that I think I’ll wrap things up for now, since this letter is getting pretty long. Next time I write I’ll have a long-overdue interview with Dad! 😀 Until then, keep growing little one (but for God’s sake, get off my bladder! haha).

All my love,
Mom

P.S. — I alluded to this earlier, but wanted to mention specifically that a few weeks ago some of my friends threw a lovely shower in your honor! It was so much fun celebrating your upcoming arrival with some of my favorite people. 🙂