The Final Countdown

That's what they call it when you get into single digits. And here I am at 31 weeks pregnant. 9 weeks to go.
For me the final countdown is having everyone remark how big I am or questioning whether I'm going to give birth during CPR demonstrations; it's having to wear wrist braces to bed and sleep with my arms straight while laying on my left side; it's more frequent meltdowns; it's continued obsessions with food and shopping; it's antenatal classes where I feel anti-social; and it's fear and self-doubt.
On the plus side, it also means there is a party coming up. A baby shower. I was thinking of just planning and doing it all myself but my friend, Bianca - who is also expecting, offered to help me plan and execute it. I love planning parties and I've seen, and blogged about, some pretty cool baby shower ideas. I don't know if we'll go for an all out theme but we're planning a meeting next weekend to talk about it and do a bit of brainstorming. The other thing that makes it so amazing that Bianca has stepped up to do this, is that she will be on holiday the week before the date we've set for the shower. Thanks again, Bianca, it's going to be so much fun :)

Products for Preggies that bring on the LoLs

Ages ago (okay a few months ago), I was complaining about belly bands and my pants falling down. No one came to me and told me there were garter belts that would keep my pants up. When I saw them today, I burst out giggling. Would I actually attach suspenders to my bra to help keep my pants up? They seem really funny but at the same time, useful. Hmm... If you're interested, you can find Belly Ups here.


So I suppose I'm at the stage when people are going to start touching my bump. I'm not sure how I feel about that. When I teach classes now, to avoid being bombarded with questions about the bump during breaks, I've begun to add small details about the bump in my introduction (it's a girl, due Oct). The bump is certainly quite big now and there are times when you can't just feel the movement but see this little monster kicking me. These temporary tattoos are a good novelty item if you're into exposing your belly. These tell people where they can touch, what the sex is, or on a bad day tell them to get lost. If you want them, you can get them at Perpetual Kid.

I'm not one to pass up a party

Any reason for a party seems like a good one to me. 3 year old's birthday, I'm there; celebrating a promotion, there too; baby shower - bring it on! Not that I'm hoping to host my own baby shower or anything, but I've been checking out ideas on the web for putting one together. There are tons of websites with squillions of ideas to use at baby showers.
The very best themed shower I've seen online was blogged about by Kendra at MyInsanity. Her sister was acutally the hostess of the party, but Kendra helped think up the theme and design some of the decorations and invitations. The theme was "She's about to POP!" and included things like POPcorn, sodaPOP, POPart, etc. Take a look here at "the coolest baby shower ever".
If my friends and family don't go to such an extreme and amazing effort, I hope they at least take a look for some creative ideas online. Good places to start:
Coolest Baby Shower Ideas
NZ Girl's Guide to the Perfect Baby Shower
Martha's Alphabet Baby Shower
Martha's Noah's Ark Baby Shower
Martha's Spa Shower for Baby