Pre-Ruth days

There are only 2.5 weeks left before Ruth's due date. For the past three months, I have been preparing for her arrival by washing and hanging up baby clothes, setting up the nursery and checking off items on registries. Ah yes, then there was the cradle, built by my grandfather out of walnut and cherry wood. Shipped to us using UPS, we were dismayed to discover that it arrived broken and splintered. Much energy was spent taking it to be repaired by a local wood craftsman. I have also spent time writing thank you notes, taking Bradley classes with Lawson and refreshing our brains with the Billings Ovulation Method.

We spent last year building a home and working at our respective jobs. I taught one-on-one students in History and English and Lawson tested computer programs for FedEx. Together, we have gone on a lot of dates. Eating out, spending time with family and friends, going on walks with our dog, taking drives through neighborhoods, exploring nearby areas we haven't seen before and visiting out-of state relatives. In addition to all of this, I have desired to blog about my Pre-Mother days before I forget them. People claim that once you have children, you can't even remember what life was like before kids came into the picture. Well, this blog is a way to save my thoughts before my brains forget the days of Pre-Ruth.

So what's it like to stay at home and prepare for motherhood you ask? A lot of energy is focused upon maintaining the pregnancy in a healthy way so I will be non-risk. Eating a balanced diet, drinking 80+ oz. of water daily, taking a one mile walk with the dog most days of the week, napping when my body signals me to do so and downing pre-natal vitamins, Evening Primrose Oil and Red Raspberry leaf tea are all essential to keeping little Ruth and my body healthy. Not to mention all the exercises such as keeping great posture on a large exercise ball, getting on hands and knees to produce relief in my back and stretching! The only thing I have been really surprised about in this pregnancy is the uncomfortableness that comes from stretching ligaments and cartilage. I didn't know I had so my ligaments and areas of cartilage! God is amazing. He has designed woman's bodies to prepare for labor ahead of time by allowing the body to stretch so the baby has more room to exit. I sure hope Ruth someday appreciates all of this work! Perhaps when she is expecting her first child someday, she'll have a new awareness of what her mother went through to have her! :)