[caseymunn]

I too am waiting for 30, so I thought I'd pass along something I'm doing while I wait. Since we intend to be DTC in February of 2006, I can sort of figure out timelines of when we'll travel to China and about how old Olivia will be. I realize this could be off by a month or two (or even more) but this is still something I've done.

I figure that if we're DTC in February, then we'll hopefully get our referral in August and in my little dream world, Olivia will be about 8 months old at the time of referral. With that info I can sort of figure out when her birthday was and then go back to her date of conception. In my dream world, Olivia was conceived around April 1st of this year and will be born this December. Once you sort of figure out when your child may have been conceived, you can go along the pregnancy with her! You can sign up for one of the online pregnancy calendars that email you updates or you can look through a maternity book. This way I can (sort of) know how she's growing in her birth Mom's tummy. I don't feel so far away from her when I travel along her journey with her. It also helps me to remember how her birth Mom must feel and how hard it will be for her to give up her little girl. I pray for Olivia and her birth parents everyday that the pregnancy will go well and that someone will come into their lives to witness to them so that Olivia might one day meet them in Heaven and so that we'll one day be able to thank them for our beloved daughter.

Anyway, trying to envision Olivia growing in a womb in China helps me through the endless days of waiting. Right now (again - in my dream world) she's about 10 weeks! That means my little girl has all of her (very tiny) organs! Olivia's heart has been beating for weeks now! If my timeline truly is correct, she'll be born around my son's birthday. I think that would be so neat.

I also buy anything I see with her name on it - which doesn't happen very often with the name Olivia. As much as I know I shouldn't, I've also bought her lots of clothes. I can't be sure of her size or season, but I'm guesstimating! I only buy things on sale, I promise! (My dh is ready to strangle me!) Oh and I buy Asian dolls on the incredibly rare occasions that I find them.

I'm so glad I have other under 30 friends to wait with! I would be lost without you guys!