02-08-2015

I have reached one of my favorite end-of-pregnancy milestones...

The expiration date on the milk I bought this weekend is one day AFTER my due date! Clearly that is significant. Or at least it is in my crazy little mind. It's a "milestone" I have looked forward to with each of my pregnancies and it felt like it might never come this time. But alas it did! The proof is in our fridge right now. 

More significant is the fact that we are (mostly) physically ready for this baby to arrive. We have a fully stocked changing table - including teeny tiny clothes and sleepers, blankets, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, pacifiers, nursing supplies and more! The bassinet & swing are out and ready for use. I wrestled with the carseat straps and buckles and the seats themselves and WON! We now have four seats installed in our van. FOUR SEATS! (Although admittedly I am kinda dreading having 3 kids in 5 point harnesses...we will only be going on absolutely necessary drives after baby arrives!) And most importantly Joe is home (as are my parents). Oh and we toured the hospital's labor & delivery floor last week - not nearly as important, but I like to see ahead of time where I will be delivering. It may seem unnecessary as this is my fourth baby/fourth delivery BUT it is also my fourth hospital I have delivered at! (Also coincidentally the fourth state. See below for details.)  So yea, I just like to take a peak ahead of time. It helps me feel ready. 

Speaking of feelings. I had forgotten what a mental battle the end of pregnancy can be! Ack. Let's just say I am emotionally labile these days. Physically I feel fine. Pretty good actually. But the not knowing WHEN this baby is going to arrive is driving me crazy. I WANT TO KNOW how much longer I will be pregnant. And since I don't know I just want to hibernate until labor starts. Which is obviously not a healthy course of action - despite the fact that I am spoiled with having Joe home (taking an online course only) so I could in theory hide away all day. And maybe I try to sometimes...maybe:)

Speaking of labor, I have been wondering lately how I am actually going to birth this child. Because I can barely make it up and down a flight of stairs without needing to stop for a rest! And anyone that has birthed a baby knows labor is A LOT more strenuous than walking stairs. My solution for this concern? Reading lots and lots and lots of birth stories on other people's blogs. At first this little activity was helpful. Encouraging actually. Which is bizarre because clearly a complete stranger's ability to birth a child has NO bearing on my ability to birth this baby. But whatever. It helped. Until it didn't. Now it just frustrates me. Because these ladies already had their babies...and I have not. Which I realize makes NO sense at all. But I'm telling you, end of pregnancy does crazy things to me! 

The girls are SO excited to meet their baby brother! They hug him and kiss him (ie my belly) ALL THE TIME. It's sweet (and slightly uncomfortable). Multiple times a day Hannah will run up to my belly and talk to baby boy. Her favorite conversation is as follows:

Hannah: Baby Boy you come out?

Hannah-using-a-baby-voice: Yeah!

Hannah: Okay. (Looking up at me) Mama, baby boy come out in 2 minutes!!

Me: Okay. 

If only it were that simple and QUICK! That would be a dream come true. 

And anytime I leave the house, upon my return Hannah is genuinely disappointed that baby boy has not come out of my belly while I was gone! It's sweet & funny. Little does she know that once baby boy does come out HER world will be turned upside down and never the same again!

And now as a reward for reading all that rambling nonsense, here it is MY LAST BELLY PICTURE with my kids! I know, I know. Pregnancy is 40 weeks (on average) and I am 38 weeks in the picture. But I only take these pictures once every four weeks and I REFUSE to believe this baby boy will torture me and stay put for another four weeks. Nope. Not going to happen. FYI - he will be born in Minnesota. 

And now my previous LAST belly pictures...

39 weeks with Hannah (baby #3) - the day she was born! FYI - she was born in Illinois. 

40 weeks with Charlotte (baby #2) - a week BEFORE she was born and that belly only got BIGGER which is hard to believe! Its pretty obvious why my family called it the "torpedo belly", right? That's 9 pounds of baby PLUS excess amniotic fluid in there. I am only 5'1" so the only place it could go was straight out! And YES it was uncomfortable. FYI - she was born in Wisconsin.

38 weeks with Isaiah (baby #1) - the day he was born! Gosh I look young in this picture...and completely oblivious to the way my life was about to change forever:). FYI - he was born in North Dakota.

Apparently when I am pregnant with girls I photograph my right side and when I am pregnant with boys I photograph my left side. And I promise that was NOT planned. I am pretty OCD about pictures, but not THAT obsessive! Just a funny little coincidence.