My Pregnancy Week 34
How’s The Baby?
So our baby is now a foot long and the size of an ear of corn in my pregnancy week 34. And goodness does this baby move a lot. Luckily, I think it sleeps when I sleep, but otherwise there is a lot of movement. I wonder what that means. I am either paying more attention than when I was working full-time during my other pregnancies, or this baby is going to be a busy handful.
Weekend Away In Italy
With the baby arriving in six weeks, I booked a couple of weekends away for last-minute relaxing before I’m breastfeeding 24/7 and “sleeping when the baby sleeps.” We spent the weekend in Italy on Lake Lugano at the wonderfully family friendly Parco San Marco Resort. (Here is my blog post from the last time we stayed there.) It’s just the perfect place to go with the family where there is something to do for everyone.
The girls loved playing in the kid’s club, the pools and slides, exploring the playgrounds, feeding the donkeys, and watching the movies each night. But I think our favorite things happened on Sunday when the girls helped drive the boat to Porlezza and when they had mermaid tail lessons. This hotel is so family friendly. I even got a pedicure for 58 Euros, a deal compared to Zürich prices.
How We Got There
This time we took the train to Lugano (32 Francs one way 2nd class with 1/2 Fare Card) and then scheduled a taxi to pick us up and drive us to the hotel. The taxi was 60 Francs, but I scheduled it with the hotel and the driver met us at the train platform and took us to his car. It was nice not to worry about driving, especially through the Gotthard Tunnel. We will definitely do this again and take the train and taxi instead of driving. It’s just so easy with the 20 minute taxi and the 2 hour train ride.
The Midwife
I heard back from the midwife! My friends and hospital recommended the same midwife. She emailed me last week and I just need to fill out some registration paperwork for her and she said to let her know when we go to deliver at the hospital and when we leave the hospital and she will schedule appointments from there. I am very excited about someone coming to check on me at our house after the birth. Thank goodness for this after care. Who knows what I have forgotten in the 6 and 8 years it’s been since the girls were born. Plus, I’m living abroad, far away from any family this time.
Friends
Friends came by this week and dropped off clothes for the baby which was so sweet. And my friends and neighbors are planning a baby shower which is beyond amazing. To feel at home and surrounded by friends makes me so incredibly grateful. Feeling like the village is all around me and that this is my home and I can reach out for help is such an incredible feeling. Thankful for wonderful friends and neighbors. This time around I just want all the old clothes hiding in friend’s storage basements.
Baby #3
It’s funny how you want all the newest things for your first baby. For this third baby I just hope to be a bit more patient, a bit more relaxed, and try to watch for their signals instead of always being caught up in my schedule. I look back at pictures of the girls and they were clearly exhausted, but I never noticed. We had two hours a day to see our children, from 6-8pm each night, and we fed them dinner and scrambled them off to bed. It was a whirlwind that I’m so lucky not to worry about this time around. (Not to mention the 2 weeks of holiday per year in the USA, heaven forbid you took a week at a time or both weeks together!)
What’s Next?
We have exciting things happening this week with my next doctor’s appointment on Tuesday and Heike’s 6 year old check up on Wednesday. I can’t believe I have a 6 and 8 year old! And now we are starting over with a newborn baby! But I can’t imagine having a third child any earlier. I am amazed seeing moms with three tiny children a year or so apart. For some reason it does feel like a good time for our family to expand with the girls eager to be big helpers.
I am the late baby #3 in our family, 5 and 8 years younger than my sisters. Did you have your children close together or spread out? Or are you from a family of siblings close or far apart in age?