The Waiting Game

Written July 5, 2017

Everything was sunshine and rainbows a few weeks ago when I wrote my last post.  Ha how quickly things change in pregnancy!

At 36 weeks, I started the downhill slide.  I felt off all day and then that night I was having 6-8 BH contractions every hour.  Called the midwife and she told me to lay down, drink lots of water and call if anything changes.  I did, felt better and was able to get some sleep.  But I woke up at 4 am having cramping and consistent contractions.  Called again and she sent me to the hospital for monitoring.

Everything was fine with the baby and I was wasn't dilating.  Excellent!  But apparently this was going to be my new "normal".

After that, shit got real for the first time.  I started to panic.  Up to that point, the only preparation I had done for this baby was to order a new crib and carseat.   It was clearly time to get my butt in gear and start thinking about the weeks to come.

The following week, my girlfriend from Colorado and her three kiddos were in the area visiting.  J had to go out of town for work so it was perfect timing for overnight guests.  A few days later, some of the neighbor ladies threw me a little "baby sprinkle" at Bunco.

And next day, my mom came up to do some baby shopping.  By Friday, I was beyond exhausted.  We were suppose to go to Pontiac for a cookout and fireworks but I was so overwhelmed and anxious, all I wanted to do was be home.  Nesting was kicking in big time!

I spent part the weekend cleaning, unpacking baby gear, doing lots of laundry and checking things off my list.


























But then I overdid it on Saturday.  I was up a good portion of the night with constant contractions, cramping and lots of pressure in my bum.  At one point, I started to get my toiletries together because I thought there was a trip to the hospital in my future.  But after a shower and lots of water, my body started to calm down.

In the following days, I have had to switch gears to neutral.  My new normal has caught me off guard.   I know anything is possible but I have convinced myself that he will come early.  Every morning I wake up with an anxious feeling and wonder if today is the day?!

L

35 Weeks

Written June 16, 2017

I am 35 weeks pregnant...for the third time.  I get asked a lot of questions these days.  1) Am I getting my girl this time?  Nope.  2) I bet you are ready for him to come out?  Nope.  Life is a lot easier with him on the inside.  3) How are you feeling?  Great, actually.

Now that I am in the home stretch, I must admit all of my pregnancies have been healthy, normal and realatively easy.  I realize and am grateful for this good fortune.

The hardest part about my pregnancy with Jack, was that it was my first.  The unfamiliar and unknown make you worry about every little pain.

The only thing I remember about my pregnancy with Leo was the very end, I was SO uncomfortable. Sleeping was a chore and I had really bad sacrum pain.

So, I was expecting, baby boy #3 to be the hardest one yet.  I'm seven years older than I was with #1 and I have two extremely active little boys in my orbit.  But honestly, this has been the easiest one yet (KNOCK on wood!).  Physically I've felt pretty great.  Throughout, I have tried to exercise on occassion and frequently take walks around the hood.  J started the Atkins diet a few months ago which has forced me to significantly tweak our dinner plans.  I have been craving meat (and off pizza/pasta...weird!) this pregnancy so it has worked out swimmingly.

I had the usual nausea, superhuman smell sensitivity and tiredness in my first trimester.  During my second trimester, I started to have sacrum pain. I have been going to the chiropractor every two weeks since then and haven't had anymore back/neck problems.

Now, well into my third trimester, I still feel pretty good.  I just recently started having to get up two or three times a night to use the bathroom but I have been falling back asleep quickly.  And when I put Leo down for a nap I usually sneak in a 45-60 minute nap as well.  So I consider myself fairly well rested for 8 months pregnant!  I think my biggest frustration lately is not being able to bend over long enough to get all of the weeds pulled from the yard.

We just got back from our last vacation as a family four.  I had originally wanted to go to Colorado for a week.  Unfortunately by the time Jack got out of school, I was going to be 34 weeks pregnant and Colorado would have been a lot of bouncing around.  I think it would have just been too much for me physically.  So we decided on our usual spot in Longboat.  We swam, played, ate and napped for a week.  It was perfect.

So here I sit, just waiting for little one to finish cooking.  My labor with Jack started two days early and he arrived on his due date.  Leo came a week early and was already 8 lbs, so in theory we could have a baby here in 3.5 weeks....fuck.  Fastest.  Pregnancy.  Ever.



L

(And yes, I wore a bikini the whole week!)