Two Months More

I think I can safely say that in two months I will be holding a newborn baby.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE newborns. They are so sweet, cute, cuddly. There is nothing like a newborn.

These last few months are packed full of events and vacations which makes preparing for the little one just a little bit harder. I think I could fly by the seat of my pants if I wasn't fully prepared when the little babe arrived. I have some newborn clothes around, a place for the little one to sleep, almost a full supply of diapers and diaper covers-what more do you need?

I want to make some baby bedding or at least buy the fabric for it. If I was really ambitious I would make the quilts I have been dying to make for the girls and N. But buying the fabric is absolutely something on my to-to list. I also need to buy some more newborn diaper covers, maybe a dozen more prefolds or some newborn AIO's. We need to get all of our bins of baby clothes from the in-laws' house and the Arm's Reach baby bed. We need to buy a new car seat because I'm sure ours is old enough to be expired. We need to order homeschooling curriculum before June 30. I do not think we will have time to paint but I at least wanted to get the ugly flower wallpaper out of the spare/baby/my/homeschooling room. We need to buy our birthing supply kit.

Two months is not a lot of time and it could be less than that.

Emotions lately have been extreme. I wish I was more mellow.

This big, huge belly makes it difficult for me to sleep. N cannot sit on my lap anymore which doesn't prevent him from trying then when he can't succeed he climbs on me. He really loves being close.

J feels the baby move often. He jumped about five feet the other night after a sharp kick hit his hand. It was funny. I don't find it funny that I get kicked like that all the time. Honestly, if the first 7 months of pregnancy felt like the last 3 I wouldn't have children. These are the months I forget about. I think they get harder and harder every time. Especially with the active children outside my womb that I have to chase on a daily basis.

I AM TIRED.

But in the end it is all worth it. Plus, this is my second to last one. I only plan on doing this once more. I can do this. Seriously though, next time I might check out those prenatal yoga classes. I think that would help my body feel better the last few months.

Well, 32 weeks, here we are.

Not what I was hoping for...

Have you ever had time just slip through your hands?

Have you ever really, really, wanted to get something done and just never got around to doing it?

Yeah, that's me and this week.

So I was suppose to take a super cute photo of my pregnant self last week. Do you remember me saying that I would?

Well.....yeah.... didn't really get around to doing that..... maybe we'll shot for next week???

But.. rest assured, I did get something....

This is M and me at a wedding this past weekend. Taken by five year old L.

Not to shabby, eh?

We are cute people so it makes up for any flaws.

So what's going on at 31 weeks...

other than utter exhaustion and the fact that for two days this past week it was around 100 degrees up here in the great state of Michigan and that we have zero air conditioning and two large fans?

things have been great

Actually, this is what gets me through those days and more importantly those nights..

I have a pregnant friend who lives in one of the Carolina's that is 32 weeks along with twins. With the heat they have there I cannot even imagine it. So that gets me through. If she can deal than I can. Also the fact that we are in Michigan and not Oklahoma where 90 degrees plus with humidity is an every day starting in early April or May into August and September thing, that seems like it never ends gets me through. I'm not there. I'm here. Check weather report. This is only going to last two days and then on the third day we barely reach 60.

OK.

I can handle this.

It's all about the positive, people.

Then I call my best friend who lives in the Oklahoma heat and she says

"At least there is air conditioning EVERYWHERE"

Thanks friend for pointing out reality. :-)

I like lying to myself and trying to stay positive so I don't

die

of

heat

So that's 31 weeks for you.

I had a day of minor pain. I think I stood up too fast from the sitting position twice. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Other than that I was fine. Baby is moving a lot. It's fun getting to know the personality. I'm getting anxious to meet this little one and add one more to our crazy bunch of children.

pains

Terrible pain this morning. I was sitting on the floor changing N and when I got up I must have pulled something. I couldn't stand or walk without horrible pain for about an hour. Thankfully it is gone now. Baby is fine, moving like normal.

Thirty Weeks

Thirty? THIRTY? I cannot believe I've reached this point.

Ten more weeks to go. Give or take. I'm leaning towards the take only because of that conference we have going on on my due date. I got a little snappy with J the other day when he said he was going to preach at a church two hours away from where we live on August 7. "What?" I yelled at him. "You know we can't plan anything after the end of July!" Then after he calmly said "Whoa, I'm sorry, I forgot" I realized how I must have sounded and apologized. Really, I shouldn't expect him to remember everything, like the exact dates that we need to burrow down at our house until the babe is born.

Thoughts this week are solely financial based. Not, "how am I going to afford this baby?" but rather "how am I going to afford everything else that is happening in my life right now?" I feel a little stressed about money which isn't normal because when we were in OK and J was in seminary I promised myself to never be stressed out about finances and I never was. But we aren't in Oklahoma anymore. I guess my mind needs to not be stressed about finances no matter where we are. I'll work on that.

I've realized that I need a new pregnancy photo. I'll work on getting that done this week.

I've also realized that I want a little more support during my labor and delivery. If it can be arranged. I also need a photographer since I can't take awesome photos of myself, even though I've done so in the past, it would be harder taking awesome photo of myself holding a beautiful baby after giving birth. So I'm going to ask around and see if anyone would be willing to come over and witness the miracle of a birth. Relatives are excluded. We are going to try to wait to inform them of the birth until after it happens. :-)

Here's to thirty!

One More to Thirty

I guess I write this in a tired/exhausted mood. I really don't know how I will make it another 11 weeks. I feel like I tire easily. Sleep is either good or bad. Heartburn is on and off. Baby likes to turn in a transverse position which is more than a little uncomfortable. I am sometimes a little more snappy with my children than I should be. Honestly this past week has been filled with the little thoughts of "How are you going to handle another one?" Today I was thinking "Yes, we produce beautiful children. But they sure are crazy." I try to love the craziness of this life and that is a big part of what keeps me sane at the same time wishing my children were a little more calm. Writing this makes me smile because honestly I do love their spunk and life would not be the same without it.

So 29 weeks definitely brings mixed emotions but I think that just comes with being pregnant.

Oh, and I found the perfect crib set! I am loving owls. Sorry, not going to say if it is blue or pink owls that I am loving. But its one of those colors and it's owls and I just wish that I could somehow afford it. But maybe I can afford to make my own? I'm going to look into that route. Because really if it comes down to a crib set or homeschooling curriculum I will need to go with the curriculum, even though the crib set is super cute!! Maybe I can sell my iPad?

28 Weeks- Beginning of Third Trimester

Wow, can I really be this far along? It does not seem possible. This pregnancy seems to be slipping by. It doesn't help that I've been busy with moving, packing and un-packing, organizing, all on top of the normal day to day activities. I think I say this every time I post but this baby seems to be moving more, or I can just feel the babe move more.

I bought more prenatal vitamins along with some magnesium supplements and omega 3 supplements that the midwives recommended. I usually take my vitamins at night, I have other medication that I take in the a.m., so I took them all tonight at the kids snack time with some blueberry yogurt. I would like to say that all the energy I have right now if because of them but maybe it's all in my mind.

I'm not sure we will be able to work on the babe's room before the little one arrives. Maybe I should just work on getting our room in order since he/she will most likely be sleeping in with us for the first year of life.

I have a feeling the next 12 weeks will go much faster than the past 28 weeks.

Randomness at 26 Weeks

So I guess I'm 26 weeks preggo + a handful of days. Needless to say with the craziness of the move I lost count. Or maybe I lost count because I've had how many children? and after the first or the second there is no need to count anymore. Baby will arrive(hopefully) sometime between July 24 and August 14. I am hoping for the first week in August. If we keep in line with our previous birth dates, all on weekends, two Fridays and one Saturday, my estimated date of arrival for this little peanut would be August 5. Now my Grandpa's birthday was August 4, so it would be nice to have the little one born on that date. I am positively wanting the babe to arrive before August 12, we have a conference that weekend that we are suppose to be at, J was volunteered to lead a bible study in the morning.. guess no one thought that I might be giving birth that day! Anyways, obviously I won't let him go if I am still knocked up. It's a couple hour drive from here to there and we are already hoping the midwives can make their one hour drive to our house. I've talked of the possibilities to Jake, what if they don't arrive on time and have eased his fears a little. But still, he really hopes he is not the baby catcher or if he is the baby catcher there are at least a couple of supporters there to help in the "just in case" moment.

Talking of the midwives, I emailed our new Michigan one a couple days ago and we set an appointment up right away. Drove out to her farm in the middle of nowhere Michigan and met with her and one of her apprentices. It was great. The children had toys to play with. Relaxing. The drive though really brought the reality of how far away we are back and he said he would pay for any speeding tickets they might acquire on the way to our birth. Now there are a lot of things to think about. Waterbirth. Birth in our bed. What do I want? Rent a tub, use our bathtub. I asked her about tearing and she said birthing on your side actually seems like the best is that is a concern. So there is a lot to think about and consider.

Movements. Still weird because of anterior placenta blocking me from feeling anything. I feel movements down almost right about my pelvic bone and around the edges of my belly. J has yet to feel a good kick, abnormal compared to our previous pregnancies.

L has started calling the baby the "surprise" baby. Right now we are having a conversation about what the baby is a boy or a girl. She wants me to tell her, "someone should know" "you can tell me" she says. She has determined the baby is a "girl" and can't be convinced otherwise. But because every time she says "she" when referring to the babe I say "what if it's a he?" She has started saying the "surprise" baby. I like that. Poor sisters, It is frustrating for them to not know.

Little N is going to be surprised for sure when he becomes an older brother and is kicked out of our bed. He falls asleep in his bed but always comes to ours in the middle of the night. It needs to be fixed soon before the babe arrives. We will work on that along with his potty training.

Did I say how well cloth diapers are going? They are going great. Can't wait to order some for the little babe.