It's getting towards crunch time on baby number eight here. Just two-ish weeks to go.
This is always an odd time for me, because I tend to walk around at 3 or 4 cm for these last few weeks. I'm sure it makes things go more easily when the time comes, but there's something vaguely unsettling about it, somehow.
Anyway, I've been hard at work checking things off of my To Do Before Baby list . . .
As you may remember, my sister-in-law is due at pretty much exactly the same time I am, and I found out a few weeks ago that my OTHER sister-in-law is expecting as well. I always make a baby blanket for each of our babies, well, I always make TWO, since we don't find out if it's a boy or a girl.
So all of a sudden a couple weeks ago, I realized that THE THING TO DO would be to make six coordinating but unique baby blankets so that the three baby cousins would have matching blankets whether they all turned out to be boys or girls or some combination thereof.
So, I did.
I also made baby name shirts for our baby, one with the boy name, one with the girl name. I'm not sure where the idea first came from, but I made one with each of our baby names when I was expecting our first, and have made them with each baby after, and it sure helps with keeping track of who is who in newborn photos.
The batch for this go round is finished, but, in the interest of keeping the baby pool interesting, please enjoy this picture of clothespins so you can be surprised . . .
Just tonight I finally finished our homeschool yearbook. This is the third year I've done it, and you'd think I'd have it sorted by now. But things really seemed to conspire against me this year. Eventually it all did come together, and I'm happy with it. It's a ton of work, but mostly I enjoy it. Especially because since I'm in charge, I can do stuff like this:
I was all set to start work on Lulu's baby book, since my deadline for getting those done is always "before the next baby comes." So imagine my surprise when I had already done it, and given it to her for Christmas. I'm REALLY glad I noticed that there was already a "Lulu's First Year" folder of pictures in Picasa. Otherwise I TOTALLY would have made it again.
So, last things around here, really, are to get the blog squared away with some guest posts I have for y'all, but that need formatting. And, I don't know, maybe I'll pack a hospital bag here at some point. That used to seem like a bigger deal.
Which brings me to the baby pool.
You, my dear readers, get to make your best guesses in the following categories. Just leave your guesses in the comments of this post . . .
1. Boy or Girl: Currently we have four boys and three girls.
2. Birth Date: My due date is July 25th. I've had two babies on the actual due date, one three days past, and the rest a day or two early.
3. Birth Time: Four of my babies have been born in the wee hours of the morning. But I also have one born at midnight, one at noon, and one at 9am.
4. Length of Labor: My longest labor was 50 hours (number six), my shortest was an hour and a half (number five). So good luck with this one.
5. Weight: My other babies have been 7lb 9oz, 7lb 8oz, 9lb 1oz, 8lb 3oz, 8lbs 1oz, 7lbs 5oz, and 8lbs 12oz.
6. Length: The other babies have ranged from 19 3/4 inches to 22 inches long.
Bonus: Name. It's a long shot. But just think how cool you'll feel if you guess the name!
And there will be prizes! Prizes will be awarded in a completely unscientific manner however I happen to feel like distributing them after this baby is born. But, probably, there will be multiple winners.
Here's what you could win:
1. From WholeParentingGoods: a pair of completely adorable 0-6m baby leggings. Check out Nell's Etsy shop to see these and more creative, handmade items for babies, toddlers, and moms.
2. From Bison Booties: A $30 gift certificate to spend as you please at Erica's online store. Bison Booties are handmade by stay-at-home-moms, and are Vegan (if you're into that sort of thing). Choose from infant and toddler booties, child and adult slippers, and even bibs and pacifier clips.
, A Missal for Little Ones
, and Let's Pray the Rosary
.
5. And from ME, if I can get my act together to mail it out to you, one of the spare baby blankets . . . so that the baby of your choice can be twinsies with my baby and his or her cousins. And a signed copy of MY book, A Little Book about Confession for Children
which now FINALLY has an Imprimatur. (It's a slow church.) I TOLD you guys it wasn't heretical.Good luck with your guessing!