first things first

The first of August.

Which also means it is the first day of the August Break, the photo project organised by Susannah Conway. I have joined in on the blog in previous years, but this year I will do the daily posts on instagram, as I anticipate my capacity to take part might reduce over the coming weeks! The first prompt was Morning Light, and above is a version of the photo I chose.

This month should also be our first as parents, which is an unbelievably exciting thought. Although, with my fondness for firsts, I had liked the idea of our baby arriving today on the first day of the week, and the month, the midwife has assured me this morning that it is showing no signs of making an early arrival just yet! It is exactly a week until the due date now, though I am anticipating we may go past that point. It is strange to think that the next time I do one of these posts, our family will have expanded, and our much longed for baby will be here.

This is the first Monday in a while that we don't have an antenatal class too. The sessions covered all sorts, although there was no sitting on the floor practicing breathing and panting, which disappointed The Husband a little as he had been fully expecting it to go down that route. Instead we have had a myriad of things, including fabric babies with a placenta attached by a press stud, knitted boobs, relaxation exercises involving magic carpets, and a tour of the various delivery rooms, which made everything feel rather real. It has, in the most part, been reassuring, though having booked on to the classes many months ago, it is strange to feel that we have now attended them all, and that the baby could arrive any day.

As tonight will be gentler than recent weeks, where we had to dash out as soon as The Husband got home, and try to squeeze in a meal somewhere along the way, I am planning to make gnocchi for the first time today, as well as homemade pesto. I think my nesting instinct has been mostly focussed on the kitchen (unsurprisingly) as I am getting the urge to batch cook, and try new recipes, which unfortunately tends to have the opposite effect of making the place messier rather than the typical approach of intense cleaning!

Right now, I have a dog snoring gently beside me, flowers in front of me, and a wriggling baby in my belly. I think I shall have my first cup of tea of the day, and enjoy the peace while I can. Whatever August may bring us I am sure it will be full of incredible firsts, and for now I am excitedly anticipating each and every one.