8.days

Wow!!  I can't believe that a week from tomorrow we'll be having this baby!  He or she had given me a major break during the last week or so and barely moved at all.  Well, I believe that my rest time is over.  We're totally back to moving all over the place again (both of us, really!). 

After my second stay in the hospital, my legs swelled up like stovepipes.  They.were.huge.  I went to the doctor after being in the hospital, and I had gained 8 lbs. in two weeks.  Yikes.  Then, the following week I went to the doctor, and I had lost 4 lbs.  Not surprising since my legs actually looked like legs again instead of having to sport that stovepipe look (just not very practical for this momma that has to move a lot). 

In honor of my loss of weight, I bought a (small) bag of bite-sized twix and consumed them in about 12 hours.  (Shhhhh...don't tell Josh.)  In my defense, I did share a few with my kids.  Who really wants to claim that they ate an entire bag of candy themselves (even if it was the smaller bag)? 

Anyway, then, I had another doctor's appointment this week (one week after the 4 lb. loss), and I lost another 2 lbs.  Typically, they frown on 9-month preggos losing weight 2 weeks in a row, but believe me...I was losing all that fluid that I had swimming around in my thighs, calves, and ankles.  In honor of this weight loss, I decided to skip the bag of candy (sigh) and have a strawberry milkshake instead.  Much healthier, don't you think?! :)  (It was even a small...made with real strawberries.)

My ankles and feet are still swollen to the point that I can't wear my own shoes (thank you Kristi for letting me borrow yours!).  But they don't ache like they did for the first week.  They feel bruised, but all is well as long as no one touches them!  I can handle that for 8 more days. 

So, here I am with 8 days to go.  I'm ready.

• I have my bag packed.
• I have gifts for the girls (thank you dollar store!). 
• The pack-n-play is set up in the family room.
• The swing is set up in the kitchen.
• The sheets are washed.
• I have boy outfits and girl outfits ready to go.
• The house is in decent shape. 

So, bring it on!  I have mixed feelings on whether or not I'd prefer this baby to wait all the way to the 18th.  I've said over and over again that I think he or she will come early.  My original guess was March 11 (which is tomorrow!).  However, I've gotten to the place where I've got childcare set up for the dates following my c-section (the BEST part of having a c-section).

It would be nice to not have to scramble, but then again, I love surprises! :)  Either way, I'm definitely ok with it...actually, I don't really think I have a choice.  I'm just in it for the ride at this point. 

So, does anyone want to make any predictions?  I had my friends on facebook predict the baby's sex/date/weight.  I must say that based on the guesses, people think we're having a boy and most people think we're going early.  Out of the 25 people who guessed, 19 think it's a boy. 

I'm not spilling the beans, of course, but it seems to be getting harder and harder not to slip up.  I told Josh last night that we must be referring to the baby (between the two of us) more and more as what we're assuming it is!  I almost slipped up to my mom on the phone yesterday...wow...that would have been crazy! :)  I just find myself speaking more slowly and thinking so far ahead in my conversations...not the worst thing in the world!! 

Anyway, if you'd like to make a guess, please feel free!  I'd love it! :)  And I can't wait to introduce you to our newest little critter (as Josh likes to call all of them) once it makes its appearance!

9.days

10.days

pregnancy.brain.round.6

So, thankfully, I'm only going to be in this shape (actually bigger than this...this was in January) for about 12 more days.  Can you hear the excitement in my voice?  It's totally there! 

Anyway, so I fell into a bit more pregnancy brain the other day.  Josh was reading a book to Amelia.  It was an I See Me book.  They are so cute.  My mom buys one for each of the kids for Christmas after they're born.  It goes through each of the letters of their name and tells about how all of these animals have brought a specific letter.  The letters all spell the perfect name, of course! 

Anyway, so I was doing laundry as Josh was reading to Amelia.  I was bragging on the fact I knew all the words to this book because I had read it sooooo many times.  So true.  However, now I'm pregnant, and we all know that pride comes just before the fall...right?!  Things that used to be so clear in my head are now a bit cloudy and turned around. 

So, we come to the eagle who brings an "E" for the name.  This is how the line is supposed to go:

 The eagle pronounced, "We must use an E, so the name will sound majestic like me!"  

I proudly said it this way instead:

The eagle pronounced, "We must use an E, so the name will sound domestic like me!"

Josh completely lost it.  I thought I was going to pee my pants.  Josh then responded, "You've been pregnant way too long!" 

Agreed. :)

broken.legs

I was just sitting here on the computer updating my facebook page and checking emails.  It's been 10 or 15 minutes since I saw Amelia (always a bit scary).  I assumed she was back in the bedroom playing with the girls. 

Claire comes out to get some supplies from the playroom. 

Me:  Is Amelia with you?
Claire:  Yeah.  She's with Meredith and me.  She's fine.  She just has a broken leg...so does Meredith.

Oh, yeah, sure...not a problem at all.  Playing doctor is the best! :)

glimpse.of.the.future

Josh and I got a glimpse of our future with Claire yesterday.  Over the weekend, my mom had taken the girls to a fundraising event where they had to dress up.  While there, the local newspaper took the girls' picture and published it in the paper.

I was telling Claire that her picture was in Grandma and Grandpa's newspaper.  Her response?  "If I would have known I was going to be in the newspaper, I would have worn my other dress!" 

I'm a little scared if we're already debating outfits at 7 1/2! :)

what.a.week

Can you hear me exhaling? 

Life has been c.r.a.z.y over the last week and a half.  A week ago Friday, Claire was sick, sick, sick.  Vomiting, fever, headache, completely lethargic.  Amelia was also running a fever, and I was sure Meredith wasn't far behind. 

Meredith took over the sickness on Saturday, and I was hopping all weekend keeping everyone comfy, hydrated, and medicated.  By Saturday night, everyone seemed to be doing fairly well, but we kept all of the girls home from church to be sure.

I woke up Sunday morning with a scratchy throat.  You know...it's that I'm-not-sick-yet-but-I-probably-will-be-tomorrow sore throat.  By Monday (Valentine's Day), the girls seemed great, and my throat was definitely sore.  It was already so bad by Monday that I was taking meds...not like me (especially not when I'm preggers!). 

I didn't even feel like enjoying Valentine's dinner with Josh because my throat was so miserable...not good.  By Tuesday morning, I was in so much pain that I headed to the doctor.  No strep, and Wednesday was no better.  It was horrible.  The single most terrible sore throat I've ever had in my entire life. 

Wednesday night also brought contractions which were about 3-7 minutes apart.  I called my doctor, and she had me head to the hospital to be monitored.  By the time we arrived at the hospital, my contractions were consistently 3 minutes apart.  They slowed my contractions down, but then came a cough, fever, and runny nose.

It was determined that I had the flu and pneumonia.  Ick.  So, I was in the hospital until Friday night.  I definitely felt better by the time we headed home.

This is what I brought home:  several prescriptions, complete exhaustion, and the most swollen legs and feet ever.  No joke. 

Thankfully, I'm feeling so much better overall.  I'm constantly taking medication to keep from going into labor, and I have to take it easy (which can be difficult in this house!). 

I have to send a special thank you out to my Mom who woke up to my phone call in the middle of the night on Wednesday and drove right over to stay with the kids while we headed to the hospital.  She stayed with them Thursday all day as well as Friday.  Then, she kept Claire and Meredith through Sunday.  She disinfected my entire house while we were gone, washed my dishes, did my laundry, cleaned my bathrooms, and I'm sure she did things I haven't even noticed! :)

Thank you, Mom!  I hope to be able to drop everything and help my kids just like you do!  I love you so much!!  Yay for moms!!

We had so many people praying for us last week, and we're so grateful.  We cannot thank all of you enough!!

Only 24 days until this baby arrives.  I'm totally counting down at this point...me and my swollen legs. :)