I am now on my 35th week of pregnancy and as anxious as ever to give birth.  Albeit, life had never been more hectic lately.  I had been keeping myself busy with arranging my children’s bedrooms and making checklist after checklist of all the things we would need for the baby while at the same time checking my toddler’s needs.    One tricky thing about raising children is that they grow very fast – literally.  With the changing season, I have to constantly check that my son has adequate and appropriate clothing for the day’s weather.  Last season’s pants are now too short, and although he didn’t gain much horizontally, some of his shirts are also getting shorter.  I know that I will not be able to do a lot of shopping when the baby arrives, so I have now stocked up on some fall and winter clothing.  Plus, I made sure that all his vaccinations and doctor and dentist check-ups are up-to-date, and made an effort to schedule some of these appointments ahead of time so I will not have to worry about it when I have another child to take care of.  As you may notice, I am a freak when it comes to organizing things.  I believe that in order to be successful in anything, adequate preparation has to be done and that means everything has to be well-organized.

I have also been reading about how to help older siblings cope with the arrival of a new member of the family.  It is said that since all the attention will now be focused on the baby, it is important for parents to be mindful of the older child.   My husband and I have already talked about it and we have decided to involve Jakub in everything that has to do with his sister — from helping out with diaper changes to being on the lookout for hazards that may be harmful to the baby.  Almost everyday, I remind him that he is going to be a big brother soon and I am happy to note that he exhibits a certain sense of pride in his new role.

Anyway,  we had a maternity photo session last week to document the anticipation of our little one’s arrival.  I am sharing with you some of my favorite shots.

It is normally difficult to get a toddler’s full attention in this type of activity, but my little boy was surprisingly enjoying it.  He was willing to oblige to every pose and was always excited to check out his own image in the camera after a shot was taken.

Here’s one of my favorite photos.  The big brother communicating with his baby sister.

She is already loved.

My growing belly….and family.

We still have about a month to go before we finally meet her.  I feel SO HUGE that it seems like there’s no more room left for growing.  This is the longest month ever.  Although I am suffering from all the discomfort that pregnancy brings, I am happily looking forward to finally hold my little girl in my arms.