I’ve been very uncomfortable all day long and have experienced some painful contractions, but too many similar episodes have made me feel skeptical that this is actual labor. Anyway, just in case it is, I thought I’d have one last photograph taken of me during this pregnancy:

Eek gad. I’m looking forward to having a waist again. Really. :wigglebrow:

My mother is so good at offering me moral support. Guess what she’s doing right now to cheer me up? She’s baking my favorite gingerbread cookies! :cookie:

I’m so glad she’s been able to spend the past few weeks here. Unfortunately, she’s going to have to return to Montana early next week to deal with some issues which have arisen. We’re both disappointed about this, since it may mean that she won’t be around for Claire’s birth. In any case, we’ll definitlely make arrangements so she can see her granddaughter as soon as possible.

Robert’s mother and step mother will both be arriving so I won’t have to spend much time alone prior to the birth (or, if I’m lucky :clover:, during the first weeks after the birth). We’re really fortunate to have such wonderful women to help us out at this time.

Here’s the start of the project I’ll be working on for the Spring Fling Knit Along. (You may click on the image to view a larger version.) It’s a top-down sock knit from Opal Lollipop yarn in a very bright and cheerful colorway. As you can see, it complements the colors of my son’s train set…and I suspect the yarn makes me feel so happy because it puts me in mind of my little boy.

Sam has been a real charmer lately. I’ve been enjoying spending the days with him. We’re still sending him to daycare twice a week so he can keep up with the program there and have a good time with his best friends, Kyle and Carissa (She loves to hug and kiss Sam, but he’s not so enthusiastic about such attention. One day, he’ll wish for such ardent demonstrations of affections from a pretty girl! :lovestruck. Also, we were concerned that if we pulled him out of daycare entirely during my maternity leave, he might have some difficulties adjusting back to that schedule when it comes time for me to return to work. Our concerns seem real now that he’s reverted to crying when we leave him there in the mornings. He hasn’t done that in a long, long time, but now that he’s spent more time at home, he’s having a harder time with separations. His teacher assures me that he calms down relatively quickly after I leave, but it’s difficult to leave him when he appears so distraught.

Well, I’m off to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day. :clover: My mother and I are going to engage in a little retail therapy, i.e. we’re going to Pottery Barn to look for some baskets and we’ll stop off at one of my favorite knitting stores to pick up the latest Rowan magazine and to fondle all the beautiful skeins. Have a happy holiday, everyone!

No baby yet, but I have had some pretty serious contractions off and on, so we’ll see. Apparently stripping the membranes has a relatively low success rate for getting labor started (and eating eggplant an even lower one), but I’ve read that it may take up to 72 hours for the show to begin :stork-girl:

I don’t really want to force things too much. Claire will show up when she’s good and ready, but I am very excited about the prospect of seeing her soon. I also want her to get here so I no longer have to keep telling friends and family that she hasn’t been born yet. I know they mean well, but they’re making me feel like I’m not performing as I should. It’s an odd thing. I am also worried about how much time I’ve spent out of work already and the longer she hangs in there, the longer we’ll be without the necessary income I earn. It’s a good thing we’ve kept some of the larger cardboard boxes from the baby paraphenalia we’ve bought. We may have to live in them soon :soap: (Just kidding.)