30 weeks!!!

30 weeks!  We've done it!  We've hit the big 3-0!!! No more 2s.  Only 2 more weeks until 32 weeks and "8 months".  Wow, wow, wow!  T-70 days to go! ;)

30 weeks! WOO HOO!!!! WE DID IT!!!!

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I've had folks ask (or badger, depending on the person!) about having a baby shower.  I have no issue if other folks have them, but I grew up where showers were really only done once for a couple.  The exception was if a really long time had gone between births (like a really REALLY long time) or if the couple had had, say, several boys and then a girl, or something along those lines.  I know that, for many folks, they are an opportunity to just celebrate and party- and I'm all for that!- but the idea of a shower and registering, and that stuff (for me) just seems off.  (Again, if others do it, I have no issue with that, but for me, it just doesn't feel right.)  Depending on the folks who ask, I've blown it off, but with the friends, I can see how it would be nice to get together and celebrate.   I truly want something special for Michael- that isn't an issue at all- it's more that I just don't feel right having a 'shower' when I had one for Bobby and Maya a few years ago.

I was talking to Sarah about it, and how, while I wanted to celebrate, I just didn't want to deal with the whole shower thing, how I felt uncomfortable with the idea of registering for gifts, etc. And Sarah, being the awesome chick she is, managed to find a happy medium.  We're having a girls luncheon in celebration of Michael at our local pub!  (nothing says "Irish" like a baby gathering at a pub...) ;)  And, because she is just that groovy, she even figured out wording for the invitation that didn't have me cringing about gifts. 
"This is an “unshower” (it is in a pub, after all!) intended for Michele to share the company of her female support network prior to Michael’s arrival. Peter and Michele are grateful for the support shown to all of their children over the past few years, and therefore are not requesting gifts. We recognize that some may want to bring more than themselves and well wishes, so if you feel the need to bring something, we ask that you bring jarred baby food or formula to donate to the local food bank (a wishing well will be set up for these donations). For those who want to bring something specific for baby Michael, expendables like Nature’s Babycare diapers, Aveeno diaper paste, or in lieu of cards, a child’s board book with a special message to Michael are the best ideas."
I just thought she did such a great job of wording something that could come across as awkward with such grace and style. 

She sent out invites last night and I'm really looking forward to just hanging out with some of my homegirls. :)  It's the day after my birthday (which I don't really do much for... typically, Sarah and I have a girls outing to just hang out on hers and my birthdays and then there is dinner with the fam and I bake a cake... this year, Maya told me she wants to bake me a cake!), so it's a nice little mix of "I'm 33" and "There's a baby in there!"  When Dr. B. asked if I was doing a shower, I told him about our little plan and he laughed about a pregnant girl in a pub then said "But your Irish after all."  I lamented that it'll suck watching the bartender pull a perfect Guinness and he winked and said that a drink of a Guinness wont hurt anything.  I told him to watch out or I'll wear a T-shirt that says "My OB says this Guinness is just fine!"

I'm excited. :)  It's going to be so nice to just be with the friends who have been such a part of our journey and have a 'girl time' with them.  And, we're going to make a labor/nursing necklace.  Each person can write out a prayer, blessing, or warm thought, which I'll put in a prayer jar and then, to coincide with each prayer is a bead.  That bead gets put on a necklace.  My stepfather made me a beautiful glass pendant for the Christmas after Nicholas, Sophia, and Alexander died, and I always thought it would make a beautiful nursing necklace.  Our breastfeeding journey with Bobby and Maya was pretty much a pumping-and-bottle journey, so I didn't really get to use it for that.  I'm excited to integrate that into the beads and have it as the focal point of the necklace.  Something from my parents, surrounded by the love of all our friends.... what could be better? 

(For those who aren't local but who want to participate in the beads, feel free to leave a prayer/blessing/thought on this post, and I'll have a bead for you, and write your prayer for the jar.  Although many of us will never meet, your prayers and warm wishes mean so much to me. :) )