Ready

Okay, I am to that point. The point where I want this baby OUT. But as you can see from this picture, at least I have a nice little place to put things, like my phone! I was folding laundry the other day and dropped a washcloth and it was great because my basketball sized shelf neatly caught the washcloth and I didn't have to bend over to pick it up!

Other than that attempt at thinking positive, I am having a really hard time waiting out the end of this pregnancy. I am just SO uncomfortable. There is no comfortable position for sitting, standing, sleeping, or doing anything really. I am going to feel light as a feather after this baby is born.

I know I have to be realistic and remember that there are many days of exhaustion and chaos ahead of me and that even though I'll be able to bend over again and sleep on my back and not feel like I weigh a million pounds, I'll also be up all night soothing a crying baby, juggling four kids for the first time, changing a million diapers, etc., but I'm still ready for her to be here!

I keep wondering what she looks like, how much hair she'll have, what her personality will be like, and how the other kids will interact with her. I can't wait to feel that little bundle on my shoulder feeling again, to kiss her head, and to hear her little baby noises.

I am almost 37 weeks now so hopefully something will start happening in the next couple of weeks to get this show on the road. I've had two six hour episodes of false labor which were extremely painful but I am glad to say that I waited it out and did not run to the hospital, only to be sent home. That is SO frustrating and thankfully I've been able to avoid false alarm trips to the hospital this pregnancy. It gets harder when you have three other kids to plan around and you can't just pack up and leave the moment you feel a pain. This time around, I am determined not to go to the hospital until I KNOW it's time!

The false labor is not fun, though. I had constant, painful contractions for those six hours (on two different days) and it felt very much like back labor. The reason I knew it was not REAL labor is because although painful, there was not an increase in intensity or any pattern developing with the contractions. It's frustrating to have so much pain but not have a baby at the end of it.

Sam had to take his mom to the airport very early the other morning and when he came home, he got back in bed for another hour or two of sleep. I was totally passed out sleeping, he said, but he kept feeling this bouncy sort of vibration coming from my side of the bed. He eventually turned over to see what was going on and said that our little girl was wildly flipping, rolling, and squirming in my belly so much that it was shaking the bed a bit! This baby is busy! I'm just glad I am able to sleep through it since she pretty much never stops moving.

So, that's the latest baby report!