Dear Baby Helland: (Of 29 weeks):

Dear Baby Helland:
We survived sisters weekend. But just barely. Here's what happened:
I specifically looked up which stores would have maternity clothes so I knew what to expect. We usually go to Burnsville Center and when I looked on-line, Old Navy and Gap didn't carry maternity in those stores at that mall. Since there was talk of heading to Eden Prairie, I requested that we go to the mall there. So that was our Friday night plan. We headed into the mall and I found the Gap. Absolutely nothing. So I tried Old Navy. After walking around the store about three times, I found the wall of empty racks with a sign attached stating "Sorry for the inconvenience but we no longer carry maternity clothes within this store. Please check oldnavy.com". Boy that'll tick off a pregnant woman. I was about to cry. That was breakdown #1. I texted frauntie Jessi and Daddy. They both replied which made me feel better. And for Daddy to text back, even the simple phrase "hang in there", that's pretty huge. (He says it takes him too long to text anything or doesn't know how to do it.) The rest of the sisters finished up at the mall and we went to Don Pablos. Food made Mommy feel MUCH better. Connie had cheescake waiting at her house so the night ended much better than it started.
Saturday morning we started with a stop at Caribou/Bruegger's Bagels. I didn't have any coffee because I knew I wanted some pop in the afternoon. The smell was good enough. We headed to a Kohl's and Herberger's next. I had it set in my mind that I was not going to find any clothes and that I'd just get a good walk out of this weekend. I walked around Kohl's looking at shoes and then wandered to the baby section. Such cute stuff, but I'm trying to hold off buying you any more until after you're born. I looked up at the ceiling to see what sections were around and right in front of me was a sign that said "Maternity". Score! But wait.......everything under that sign was little boy clothes. I was about to get angry again. Why do this to pregnant people? Do stores not understand that our emotions are already on edge? Then, I looked across the aisle. There were four racks of maternity clothes. I grabbed whatever I could find and started trying them on. It's interesting trying on clothes when you're expecting because you are such a goofy shape. It's hard to tell whether or not the clothes are making you look goofy or you just look goofy anyway. I grabbed a few outfits and made the sisters approve. Luckily we found a summerish outfit and a dressy outfit. I decided that anything I found the rest of the day was just a bonus find. Then came breakdown #2. We were in the Dress Barn and I found a necklace that I thought was pretty neat. I thought and thought and thought. Do I really need this necklace? Do I have something else like it already? What could I really wear with it? Will I find something better at the mall? I was driving Auntie Cindy nuts. She whips out a $20 and says "You're driving me bonkers, just go buy it or give it to me and I'll buy it!". For some reason, this made me tear up and I felt really goofy trying to hide my sniffles while making my purchase. I still don't exactly understand why that got to me. I like the necklace. I plan on wearing it today. I must be more emotional than I realize. The rest of the day was spent at the mall where I found even more clothing options at JCPenney and some shoes. Speaking of feet, I didn't realize that my feet have grown. All I've been wearing lately are my brown or black flats because they are comfy and don't make me fall off the podium at school. Luckily I did find some silver flats that were pretty comfy.
I'm starting to feel more and more pregnant. My feet are sore (but I think it's from all the walking during sisters weekend), my back is starting to ache, and I've started to feel this sense of entitlement. For example, when waiting in a restaurant, I looked at some people sitting on the waiting benches and thought "hello, let the pregnant lady sit!". I may not be a "house" quite yet, but I'm sure that will come in a few weeks and I bet when that day arrives, I'll expect people to step out of the way even more.
Ah the joys of pregnancy!
Well, it's time for Mommy to get ready for school. We'll talk soon.
Mommy