The Home Stretch

Firecracker is due on Saturday.

Someone asked me yesterday what I was doing for the holiday, and I was like, "What holiday?" Though Firecracker has been due on the 4th of July this whole time, I had completely forgotten that the weekend would be full of people leaving town and/or celebrating with flags, hot dogs, watermelon and fireworks.

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Usually by this time, I am flipping through recipes and planning on making some kind of ultra cheesy cake with a flag on it made of blueberries and strawberries. I am never one to shy away from loading up a cooler and going into the worst crowd so that I can watch fireworks and eat unhealthy food and listen to live music. I love the smell of bug spray and beer in a fireworks-awaiting crowd, and I love the look on children's faces as they wait in anticipation for the big show, eating Popsicle after Popsicle to stay cool and interested.

DC was, of course, an amazing place to see the fireworks. At some point, we ended up trading the crowds for rooftop views from our tall apartment buildings. While it was always fun, I always missed the chaos of the National Mall and walking all the way home in a mass crowd because the subways were too packed. Being back in Austin, I wonder what we will opt for with kids in tow. I will certainly drag the family down to Zilker Park or Auditorium Shores for several years so that we can see great live music and eat roasted corn and BBQ while we wait for fireworks. But I'm sure we will also have some years where we go to Grandpa Chuck's out in the Hill Country to do sparklers and watermelon and to take it easy. Or maybe we'll go out on the lake and watch the fireworks from a boat. If Firecracker isn't here by the 4th, we may be going to Grandpa Chuck's this year.

It's crazy to start envisioning the traditions we will form for our kids. For some reason, it really excites me.

For now, Firecracker is happily content to stay put another day.

And then there are the contractions that make me wonder how content...

So we are trying to be ready! Here's all the stuff we need for the birth (things have been added since I took this picture...lots of things, like a heating pad and candles and other random stuff to help me "relax")! Under the chest is a packed bag for the hospital just in case. This beautiful chest is a piece that was my mother's - something I got after she died. This is something that was in my house when I was little, and I'm so honored to have it now.

Among the pile is this reminder of the many different positions to try out as I move about the house with contractions. Some of them are like, OMG you can't be serious.

Here is the required stack of receiving blankets (8) and a first outfit with socks and a hat.

Here's the birth kit! Yikes - what's in there! This is something my midwife had me order - a customized box of stuff for a homebirth. Each midwife tends to have their own list of things you order for a birth at home with them.

And here is the baby room pre-baby (and pre-art on the walls - bad mom!). There are MANY possible sleeping arrangements, as we were given many beautiful options. Here you see the luxurious organic baby hammock hanging in the door - something that can be moved from room-to-room and that nuzzles baby tightly like your own arms. Thanks again, Ravyn, for this!!

And now we move onto the beautiful rocking crib that was shipped to us from Erik's dad in Italy - he used it with his two younger sons. Did I mention how beautiful it is? Next to it is the like 50-year old bassinet that his mother's side has been using and passing around for generations. This will most likely move into our room close to our bed. Thank you for mailing this to us, Bianca (Erik's sister)!

This is the beloved cradle that Erik's Grandpa Summerfield built for his brother before he passed away. I can't even begin to express how beautiful and meaningful it is to us. It also rocks - so sweet. Thank you, Rick, for sending it to us!

Here is my attempt to have a nicely organized closet for Firecracker right off the bat. Hopefully it will last! I wish our closets were this big or I'd do it for us, too...

Diapers, burp cloths and blankets, OH MY!

And now we just wait.

I am still leaving the house and staying gone for most of the day, picking up last-minute things and doing some "studying" outside the house while I still can. Tonight we take a CPR class in case we ever have to revive our child. While I'm glad we're doing it, I'm seriously not looking forward to 3 hrs of mouth-to-mouth with a dummy...