slowing down

"Slowing down" is a concept I am having a very hard time coming to terms with as I head into the home stretch of this pregnancy. I do find it ironic that during the time I feel like I have so much to do to get ready is the same time I'm supposed to be resting and not pushing myself. Unfortunately, two episodes this week (the 32nd of the pregnancy) have finally hit it home that I've got to slow down or else this baby's gonna show up way sooner than anyone would like.

Saturday afternoon we made a quick trip to one of the outlet centers in Troyes to find a crib. We had already scouted out the two baby stores that offer furniture and large items which are thankfully right next to each other, because a Saturday afternoon is not the time to mosey around Troyes's shopping districts (seriously, people come from very far away, even Paris [yes, it's true!] to hit up our outlet centers so they are pretty much insane every weekend). We eventually settled on one that was right at the limit of our budget but since it was the floor model of a discontinued product that was in perfect condition and 100€ off the original price, we feel like we made a good buy.

Sunday we moved a few things around upstairs in order to make the place for the crib in the baby's room. After removing all the books from the bookcase and moving it next door to our bedroom and putting all the books back, we got all the furniture moved around where it's going to stay and the crib set up. We didn't even spend a lot of time cleaning, as we've got another weekend of tidying and reorganizing coming up. I don't even think we spent two hours on the baby's room but it was enough. By the time we went to bed, I was in pain. The baby was moving around just fine but the bottom of my uterus was tight and sometimes downright painful. Sometime in the middle of the night, Stéph fetched me a Spasfon (an over the counter medicine to stop contractions) and the pain finally subsided in the middle of the morning sometime on Monday.

Obviously that was a huge sign that I need to really think about my actions now. Still, I thought doing a little walking around and shopping would be relatively safe. Yesterday I went to Troyes on my own to run a few errands - the yarn shop and the bio store downtown, the grande surface store for some things I can't get in Tiny Town - and by the time I got home I was completely wiped out. Not only did I sleep like a log last night, but I found myself in dire need of a nap this afternoon and slept hard for two more hours.

I am not used to this. But this is good for two reasons - one, I know I have to start taking better care of myself now, and two, I know I need to just let it go because pretty soon my schedule is going to be out of my hands and will be centered around the little human being now gestating in my body.