D-Day

Well, I made it. I can't even believe it.

TOMORROW IS MY DUE DATE.

Well, Sydney's due date. Will she show up? Only God knows right now. Not that we can be upset if she doesn't- Rob and I aren't always the most punctual pair. As he put it, "Late people begat late people." So we won't hold it against her. She gets her procrastination genetically.

It's been an interesting week, and I've learned so much- about God and His faithfulness, about myself, about life in general.

I'll be honest here. Last Sunday, I hit "the wall". Up until then, I was feeling really good and was relatively content with my 39-week pregnant state. I don't even remember what happened, but I reached that point where I was finally DONE and wanted my baby out. I think the emotional exhaustion from waiting on edge was more difficult than the physical exhaustion of pregnancy. I was tired, and tired of waiting, and I wanted my little girl. I got over it though, and by Monday everything was better. Monday night I started having contractions. Bad ones. I decided to try and get some sleep, and was woken up at 5am Tuesday by the pain. "This is it," I thought. Nesting mode kicked in, and I got busy around the house. I'm not sure what time the contractions stopped- they were off & on for hours at a time all day long- but I got so much done! I mopped our whole downstairs (until I had a blister), I vacuumed our whole upstairs, I changed the sheets on our bed & the guest bed, I wrapped Christmas gifts... And then I had to go back to work Wednesday, and hear all the comments of "You haven't had that baby yet?" and "You're still here?"

It was somewhat frustrating. I never thought I was going to go full-term. I didn't really even want to. There are a lot of old wives' tales that point to allegedly "sure-fire" ways to induce labor. And I tried them all. More than once. Except castor oil, but even that crossed my mind! God gently reminded me, in the midst of all my frustration, that He is in control and there's nothing I can do to get her out on my own. How many times in the last nine months was my doctor concerned about pre-term labor, and I prayed to God to let me carry my baby full term? Even on the very night Rob and I found out I was pregnant, the doctor was concerned that the pregnancy may not be viable and warned me that there was a chance I would not have a baby this time. We begged Him to prove the doctor wrong. And that's exactly what He is doing! Why was I upset about this?

God is the giver of life, and He knows exactly the moment He's going to release Sydney Claire into our arms. I'm so excited- I can hardly wait to meet her!!

I'm so thankful for the tiny girl inside me right now. She has already changed my life. I'm thankful for the last nine months we've had together and for the bond we already have. It's been a long, tiring, emotional week- 40 weeks. But the end is in sight and we're ready for the next chapter!

Resting, but not Restless

Ok, my last post was about how much I'm missing sleep. A week later- my doctor put me on partial bedrest. Um, ironic? Honestly, I haven't napped at all one day on bedrest. I've layed around a lot and watched a couple of movies A DAY, but in less than two days boredom was starting to creep in. So I decided to be productive, and I pulled out my old knitting & crocheting bag.

Over the weekend I had gone to Michael's and bought a few new supplies, totally not knowing I'd have so much time to try them out so soon! I made a few baby hats, but they needed "a little something". I found a website with free craft patterns and downloaded a pattern for crocheted flower embellishments. Now, I'm still a novice (I couldn't even read the pattern myself!), so I called a sweet crochet-er from my community group yesterday and Eloise came over to help. She patiently helped me understand the pattern and guided me through three petals before she had to leave. I was so excited when I finished- and it looked like a flower! I got to work and made several more last night (I was afraid I would forget if I didn't get it firmly into my head immediately!) And tah-dah!!! They're not perfect, but I had fun making them, and will probably be making a lot more in the next several weeks. Does craftiness count as nesting?

This post brought to you by the letter Zzzzz

Sleep.

I miss you!

I find it pretty ironic, and somewhat heart wrenching, that everyone tells me, "You better sleep now because you won't get to sleep after the baby comes!" Well, obviously those people have never been 34 weeks pregnant! At this point in the game, sleep is a fond memory.

I love Sydney, but she's a night owl like her daddy. I lay down and she thinks that's her cue to practice tap dancing on my ribs. My doctor and all the books have said that I need to be sleeping on my left side. Apparently, Syd's not so crazy about that and she literally throws a tantrum when I try, pounding on the mattress or pillow underneath her. (I tried the right side too. Same results.) I usually end up laying on my back, slightly panting because I can barely breathe. And let's not even get into how ungraceful I am when I try to get up from my back! I have lots of opportunities every night to practice that getting up... bathroom runs, leg cramps... I'm wondering how much it would decrease the value of our home to install a pulley system in the ceiling of the master bedroom...

Seriously, though, I don't want to be a complainer. Overall, I've had a great pregnancy! I wasn't sick at all, I'm still feeling good enough to walk a couple of miles a day, my "hot" hormones didn't kick in until the fall weather arrived, and Rob has been an incredible support, doing more than his fair share of cooking and housework without complaint. He has also been more than happy to oblige my late-night-cravings for jalapeno poppers and root beer floats! I love feeling Sydney move around inside me (most of the time!) and I think I'm really going to miss that.

The reality is really starting to sink in that we are going to have a baby. And soon. Six weeks or less, soon. WOW! It's going to be the slowest and fastest six weeks of my life!

Still Waiting

Pregnancy is so weird! There are days when I'm so anxious to meet Sydney I can hardly stand it; other days I'm crying because she'll be here so soon and I'm not ready! Ready or not, she's coming- and no matter when that happens, I will be absolutely thrilled to see her little face!
My girl & I had one of those moments today I think I will remember forever (at least, I hope so!). I was sitting at my desk after lunch, enjoying a moment of quiet. I could feel Syd up high, right in the middle of my belly. I had been rubbing, but I started pressing on her a little harder- trying to figure out what body part of hers was right there, when the little stinker scooted away from me! Seriously, I felt her sort of roll out of the way toward my left side, and suddenly the spot I was pressing was very soft- she was gone from there! I felt bad for messing with her, so I quickly apologized and started gently rubbing again. A minute or two later, I felt her slowly ease her way back up, right underneath my hand. I was thrilled that she "came back", and then she gently kicked right at my palm! She may have been trying to say "Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep!" but I loved it, and immediately texted Rob to tell him! This was the first time I've felt like our interactions were intentional.

So, Maybe I'm not as ready as I thought

I got a good, healthy dose of perspective yesterday.

I called my doctor Monday afternoon because I'd been having some cramps in my abdomen since Saturday. They weren't bad and not constant, so I thought maybe it was Braxton-Hicks. I wanted to be sure though (I've never felt a contraction before! How was I supposed to know what it was?) Well, I talked to the nurse and she wasn't quite as reassuring as I'd hoped she would be. They told me I needed to come to their office in the morning to get checked out, and go home and rest in the meantime. I resolved myself not to worry and headed home to put my feet up.

My sister-in-law came over to hang out with me for the evening since Rob was out of town, and she brought me a root beer float from Sonic. Have I mentioned that I love Joanna? We had a fun time catching up and I welcomed the distraction.

Anyway, I went in to see the doctor yesterday morning and instead of her normal, laid-back self, she came in and was all business without even a hello... "Tell me exactly what's going on. Where does it hurt? When did it start?" She totally threw me for a loop when she said, "We need to make sure you're not going into pre-term labor." WHAT?! I didn't know what that would involve, but I knew for sure that 26 weeks was way too early. Fortunately, she started by checking Sydney's heart rate, which was good, and I instantly felt just a little better. (If they'd checked mine at that moment I'm pretty sure it was racing) They did some lab work to send off, and thus began my very long afternoon of waiting.

After what felt like forever, the nurse finally called to tell me that the test came back negative and the labor was false. I cannot describe how relieved I was! I know that if I HAD been in early labor, the doctor could have stopped it and everything probably would have still been fine. But I'm so thankful I don't know what that feels like today.

I've said a lot lately that I'm ready to hold my sweet baby, but I realized yesterday how untrue that is. I want her to hang out right where she is for a while longer. I'll be happy to continue dealing with heart burn and leg cramps, swollen feet and clothes that don't fit from one week to the next if it means that Sydney is ok for now. Stick with me a little while longer, Baby Girl! It'll be worth the wait!

Getting Ready for Sydney

Sometimes it's hard to find time to just to sit and rest (and update your blog). But what about when your doctor tells you to go home and put your feet up? Well, daytime TV was interesting for about ten minutes and here I am.
Rob went out of town last week, and I was left with the decision whether or not to keep our plans to go to Jackson, TN, and see our friends from Rob's college days by myself or not. I decided to go, and it turned out to be the right decision. I thought I was going for a baby shower for our friend Sabrena (whose baby is due TOMORROW, by the way!), but it was actually a surprise shower for both of us! The girls did a great job throwing us off, even going so far as to send out two evites- one for each of us to see a shower for the other- and have everyone respond to both. The brunch was delicious, the laughs were abundant, and the gifts were precious! (Our two little girls are going to be adorable!!) Can I just say right now that baby girl clothes are the cutest and SO much fun to shop for? Yes, it's my blog and I'm saying it! Anyway, it was a wonderful surprise and I had a blast with our friends!
My due date is three months away, and I'm about to enter the third trimester. Wow! Have I started getting the nursery ready yet? If you count picking out a crib and bedding started, then yes. If "getting started" requires actual moving of furniture or painting (or choosing paint colors) then not so much. It's ok though- I tend to work better under pressure! We'll get it done, I have no doubt about that. I'm just not sure about when... Nursery or not, I'm ready to meet and hold my little girl!

Hello Again

Yes, I know it's been a while since I posted anything. Ok, Ok- a LOOOONNNGGGG while. BUT- in my defense, I predicted that it was going to be a busy summer, and it absolutely has been just that!
Here's the quick recap...


June

I made a quick trip to Louisville for the Southern Baptist Convention for work. It was a good time of networking, but I was pretty distracted the whole time, mostly because I knew we would have an important ultrasound the day I got back! We had the ultrasound on a Wednesday afternoon, saw that everything was healthy, and had the tech write down the gender and place it in a sealed envelope that we didn't open until that Sunday (yes, we waited FOUR DAYS!!!) I wanted to keep it a secret until after my sister's wedding, so that meant I couldn't know either. We had a wonderful, humidity filled weekend in Baton Rouge with my family, the wedding was sweltering but beautiful, and then my mom got to open the big news on Sunday morning... "You're having a GIRL!!!!" Rob and I are beyond thrilled that Sydney ________ (middle name still undecided) will be joining our family in November!



July

We had our second trip of the summer to Washington DC for the Servpro national convention. We flew out on July 4 so that we could see the fireworks behind the Washington Monument from the National Mall- incredible! The highlight of the week, though, was when Rob was named Servpro's Rookie of the Year for 2008. I'm so wildly proud of him- he has worked very hard to grow a successful business and I was thrilled for him to receive this recognition. Sydney started getting bigger and stronger, and kicked hard enough for her daddy to feel her for the first time.

There's a lot more I want to update about, but I'm just not feeling it tonight. I started this post a few days ago, so I'll just put it out there and write more later. Adios for now...