How in the world did the month of February pass by so quickly? To this, I really have no idea... but we survived the baby shower, we're now just 2 weeks away from meeting our little baby, and we're slowly coming to the realization that yes, indeedy, there really is no turning back. Highlights of the month... cookingwise, I've still been cooking, enjoying the gamut of baking cakes and making little easier dishes - stuffed pastas with panna sauce, stir-fries, curries, and now, prepping some pre-made dishes to stow away in the freezer for post-baby delivery. We got ourselves a baby-safe car, and we're going to put in the car-seat base this weekend. We're coming into the final days... and we are very much looking forward to our little baby's joining us in the awake world.
Which is not to say it hasn't been awake - it's done its fair share of squiggling around and kicking, just to make sure I'm aware that it's in there. And the hiccups it gets daily... well, albeit cute, but I have to wonder how good it may feel inside in its cramped quarters. And it reacts now, to things, to voices - Hubby's voice near my belly almost always wakes it up, curious as I am sure it is as to this voice it hears. And the other day, when a foot stuck itself into my side, Hubby put his hand on the spot, and foot retracted - a good sign that reflexes are working!
Lessons learned through this last month... well, one thing, maternity clothing. No matter what clothes feel like when you first purchase them, in the final months and weeks, it will be nearly impossible to keep pants up, to hide a growing belly. Mine has been growing forward, and pants with full panels, demi panels, roll-down panels, no panels, whatever panels - they just refuse to stay up. I find myself pulling up my pants every time I get up from a chair, or even after walking a few steps. Is this fair call for a muu-muu?
And if someone could have told me, I would have purchased not as much clothing of larger size to accommodate my growing belly, but longer clothing. There really is nothing worse than having your pants fall down while your shirt rides up, all revealing the big belly that's taking over my physique. It feels like some old Popeye's cartoon, with the front panel of some gentleman's shirt rolling up and whipping him in the face. Granted, I've been lucky enough to not have my shirt whip me in the face, but damn - these shirts, no matter how wide around, do not do enough to help cover me up for the professional realm.
So what have been my favorite pieces? I've had shirts layered under sweaters through the winter - long tunic-style sweaters, some just from regular, not maternity, sizing. The longer turtlenecks of this past season from H&M have been life-savers, as have some tunic-style pieces. And my favorite pants right now are definitely my jeans. Wrap dresses, too, have been convenient, though I can't help but feel that they could really just fly open at any blow of a winter breeze. Yoga pants feel great at home, and long-sleeved T-shirts, so long as they are long enough, have helped to keep out the cold. From this pregnancy, I've had several pieces that qualify as my favorites, enough so that I may search for more of the same next time around.
As for cooking from now until baby comes... I'm going to make, like I said, some pre-made stuff that can be stored away in the freezer and easily baked/defrosted for quick little meals. Empanadas are in line, as are dumplings, little meat buns, curry pockets, and maybe even little pot pies. However, we are going to stick with our usual regimen, of not having huge dishes with left-overs for days on end... the palate gets just too bored with such limited choices. As this baby (and in particular, its head) has gotten too big for me to be able to deliver it naturally, we've elected to go with a scheduled C-section, so as to reduce risk to both myself and the little one. So, knowing that we'll be going in at a set time and day, we can actually plan around this event, and I've asked Dad to bring some little dishes down from our friends' restaurant in Philadelphia when he comes down. I've also requested some tzong-tze - bamboo-leaf wrapped seasoned rice, pork, egg, and chestnut, which can easily be heated up for instant satiation without the elaborate preparations of a multi-course meal. Of course, I'm still going to try to cook after baby joins us, but all the same, I'll walk with it down the street to our local bakery and cheesemonger, and pick up some bread and cheese. And, ambitious mindedness forward, I'm going to try cooking my own baby food, when our little one is ready.
So for now, I'm going to try to keep the blog up as much as I can, but we are coming into the final moments of just Hubby and me, before we truly become three - I think we'll need to take a bit of time, just for ourselves, to savor, before, as everyone has been pressing into our awareness, absolutely everything changes. And who knows... maybe nothing will really change. Status quo has never been my accepted reality, and we may actually be able to make this threesome work without it completely swallowing us whole.
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