Guys. We have three more weeks. Three. More. Weeks. I’m not really sure what to say about that. Its SO SOON. Everything is wrapping up, timelines are being met, things are getting done, and I am really realizing just how real things are about to get! I have quite a few thoughts on the subject from the week.
Size Comparison: My favourite comparison from this week is that baby is the size of a cabbage patch doll. I could see that being true. Not weight wise, but general mass wise, perhaps. This little miss is ALL up in my ribs, ALL down in my business, and there is often an obvious elbow or knee jabbing out the sides. Its getting FULL in there, and I think she and I are both feeling it. I think we’re pretty anxious to meet each other on the outside.
Appointments: Remember, in my last blog, I talked about that special butt swab I was forewarned about this coming week? Lol! I hesitated to write about it at all, and then pretty much all of the comments I received on that post were based on that topic, haha! I am VERY happy and relieved to report that my student doctor offered for me to perform my own GBS swab, which I immediately agreed to. We had a bit of a laugh together and he commented that he’d vastly prefer to do his own also, if one was necessary. I think we all would. So thats taken care of! Hopefully results are good 🙂 The other significant topic of conversation that came up in my appointment was that bizarre night of labourish feelings from two nights before. He was definitely interested in all the details, but there is really no way to truly know what happened or why. I decided against a cervical check, and basically we were both just happy that the pain and contractions have stopped for the time being. I’m happy with this conclusion for a handful of reasons, but the biggest reason being that Dr. Guselle was not around for our appointment, and I trust her opinions and judgement calls more than that of my student doctor, as well as the doctor who was overseeing our appointment and who did not make an appearance in our appointment, even though he was technically required to. Not my fave. I’m anticipating seeing Dr. Guselle on Friday again. We’re officially in the weeklies!
How am I feeling emotionally: I’m not going to lie. I am emotionally spent. I’m tired in ALL the ways, but I am so very weary, and just tired of worrying. I just want her home finally. This has been the longest stretch of uncertainty I have ever experienced in my life, and while I have worked hard to cast my cares at God’s feet, and He HAS rescued me time and time again, I am completely exhausted from it all. I want to be able to take in some deep breaths as I hold her fresh little body while she cries through those first few breaths of air. For her to be in my arms, ALIVE, and in need of her mommy and daddy to just drench her with love and care. To listen to her snorty sleep sounds, and feed her, clean her, and kiss her delicious-smelling head over and over and over again. I. Cannot. Wait. I’m tired of the “what ifs” and the “hopefullys.” Who knew waiting was such a fatiguing thing??
How am I feeling physically: We’re at a funny place physically, where I think, despite my best efforts, I’m just going to be sore. There has been a significant shift in the last week or so, and even though I’m still following all of my very strict chiro/physio rules, I am positively aching. My pelvis is looser than ever, and makes audible crunchy sounds when I so much as shift in my bed. Rolling over is next to impossible. Just now, I looked up from my laptop and saw Solly had his arm, up to his elbow, down his pants. I laughed at him, and my pelvis and lower back crunched. So, thats fun.
Wish Lish/Purchases: It was an exciting mail week!!! My baby party dress AND my period panties arrived on the same day!!!! I was SO amped! Unfortunately, the dress didn’t fit 🙁 Weirdly, it didn’t fit in the top. It gaped in the shoulders and pits pretty badly, and holding kids and such will only stretch the neckline. Since maaad cleavage isn’t so much what I’m going for, I had to return it :/ Now I decide whether or not to pay for shipping again, considering its an online exclusive and I can’t buy it in store. Hmmm… The period underwear, however, are a WIN! I obviously haven’t tested them out in full capacity, but they fit, and they’re WAY more comfortable than the slightly cheaper (though still expensive) brand I tried recently. Win!! I discovered I can remove one thing off my “to buy” list, which is disappointing, but saves me a few bucks, anyway. I got some cute little tongs for the fruit trays that we’ll have at the baby party, which have been weirdly hard to find. Lastly, for anyone who wants to help in a big/small way, I found the soothers I want on amazon, and they appear to be virtually impossible to find in store. They are only a $5 add-on for an Amazon Prime member, which I am, but I literally have NOTHING to buy from Amazon right now! Anyone local friends ordering from Amazon anytime soon? If you’re willing to add $5 on for Bambina, please let me know!
Pictures: Bumpity bump!
I. Am. Huge.
She. Is. Growing!
How are the kids feeling: This week, at Dekker’s track and field day, someone approached Laela and asked her what was in my belly. Laela, who tends to be a bit standoffish around new people, dove right into the conversation about the baby. She told her right away that it was a baby girl. When asked if the baby being a girl made her a more exciting baby, Laela answered with an excited “YUP!” immediately! Hahaha! Sooooo I think thats a positive! Lots of people have been saying to me recently that Laela needs a sister, and really, she doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, we are AMPED that Bambina is a little lady! I couldn’t be more thrilled, seriously!! But as I’ve said since the beginning of Laela’s life, if she is the one little girl I ever get, whether we stopped having children or continued on to have ten more boys, I was completely thrilled to have her! She is a LOT of little girl, and I love her to death. In the earlier stages of my pregnancy, she was the one kid who was guessing that the baby was a boy. She wasn’t itching or twitching for a girl at all! But now that Bambina is coming, she is THRILLED! As we all are.
Getting to know the baby: Ok, todays guess about Bambina is that she’s going to be more so from Brady’s side of the family. I THINK she will take after Solly and/or Dekker. Just based on how I’m feeing in this last month, its quite reminiscent of how I felt with those kids in particular. I could ALWAYS be wrong, obviously, but thats my guess. We’ll know soon!!
The BEST part of being pregnant: The best part of being pregnant these days is finding a song with her nickname secretly tucked in it, and listening to it over and over again, just to hear her name said out loud, or to even sing it myself! Saying it out loud feels SO taboo, but singing it when no one around knows her name feels sliiiiightly safer. Eek!
Favourite thing: I’m going to go out on a vague limb and say my favourite thing right now is second hand maternity clothing! I’ve been beautifully showered with hand me downs this pregnancy, for myself and for Bambina, and its been really fun to build wardrobes for us that I genuinely like! Truly, I’ve appreciated and enjoyed it! Recently, a friend added me to a buy and sell page on Facebook specifically for maternity wear. Where have I been that I didn’t know about this page?? Since I was added, I’ve scored two AWESOME items for $5 each! Firstly, I got an obnoxiously bright and beautiful coral hoodie, which I was really in the market for, as my ONE maternity hoodie is from when I was pregnant with Dekker. No lie. SO worn out! The other item I scored is a beautifully stretchy, comfy, black and white striped pencil skirt. It will definitely work postpartum as well, which is a huge selling feature! I actually tried to buy this skirt from Thyme a while back when it was new. I placed the order, and before they sent it my way, it sold out, and I couldn’t actually get it in the end. Someone bought it in my size, wore it once or twice, and sold it to me for $5! It is even comfier than I anticipated! I am THRILLED!!
I hardly know what to say, guys. Three more weeks is SO few! I’m seeing my lists get shorter and shorter as more and more stuff gets done! As tends to happen, things also get added, but its not as overwhelming anymore. The biggest, more important things, are done. If we were to have our baby girl today, she would very likely be fine, and the rest of the stuff on the lists would either get done or it wouldn’t, and it would be fine. I’m a firm believer in adding stuff to my list that I’ve already done, just so I can cross them off and feel good about myself and what I’ve accomplished. Today, I took the opposite approach and I removed everything off my list that I had originally just stoked off. While its now a full list with nothing crossed off, it is WAY smaller and feels doable and exciting! The biggest stuff is definitely gone and done!!
Except the hospital bag… I should probably pack that sucker before the kids comes…