My next project

There's a reason I haven't done much lately.  I've hardly cooked, barely done housework, and knitted only reluctantly.  I've felt so listless.

It's been hard to think about much other than this:

It's easier to envision the baby if you imagine an upside down gummy bear.

 Gene and I are thrilled to announce that I'm expecting a baby in mid-December.  This week marks the start of my 2nd trimester.  Because we're not going to share the baby's name until s/he arrives, we'll call it "Bean" while it's in utero.

We've known since early April and it's been excruciating not to say anything.  I suspected that I was pregnant right after conception because I felt weird... different... but it wasn't confirmed for a couple weeks.  We've been waiting for the first ultrasound before we said anything.  We're also trying to keep the news under wraps so that we can break the news in person to my grandparents in New England next week.  I even went so far as to temporarily block my cousins on facebook and am praying that they don't read this blog (I don't think they do).  I was the first grandchild on my dad's side and this baby will be the first great-grandchild.  It's such exciting news to share!

As restless as I've been feeling, I also feel 100% normal.  Not a touch of morning sickness, no queasiness, no weird cravings, no freaky mood swings.  I was grossed out by raw meat for a week or so, but that's about it.  I'm one of those lucky women whose - knock on wood - early pregnancy is easy.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.  It wasn't until the first ultrasound when we saw the blurry image on the screen bouncing around like an Olympic swimmer that it really hit home: I am having a baby. 

Whoa.

My mom is the last of her siblings to become a grandparent, and my dad is among the last of his generation to become a grandparent.  Dad is already issuing mandates with the reason of "because I'm the grandpa" behind them.  Such as, "we're eating out in a restaurant for Thanksgiving, and we're going to have a private room".  At that point I'll be 3 weeks from my due date and I doubt that I'd fit into a booth, so I'm rather relieved about the private room thing.  When my mom asked why we're getting a private room for 5 people rather than just eat in the main dining room, he declared: "because I'm the grandpa". 

Alrighty then!

I find myself feeling an enormous sense of anticipation, mingled with terror, hope, and excitement.  I suppose many expectant parents feel that way.  This summer we'll be converting our 2nd bedroom - now an office and storage room - into a nursery.  As soon as we find out the baby's gender, we'll start picking colors.  We're not going to do a theme room: no arks, dinosaurs, race cars, Disney characters, cartoons, or wallpaper borders.  It'll be a simple room that the baby can grow into and develop as s/he develops their own taste in a few years.

The cool thing is that my parents have saved my crib, high chair, and bassinet.  We'll pull them out of my folks' attic sometime soon to check their condition and clean them up.  That'll save us a few dollars.

What piece of wisdom do you wish someone had shared with you when you were a new parent?  If you don't have children, have you heard sage advice that sounded good shared to others?