37 Weeks- Dun Dun Duuuuun....

      Woo-HOOOOOO! We have hit the last big milestone in pregnancy besides birth! Lucy is now considered full-term and free to safely leave her wet nest whenever she would like now. I know it's best for babes to cook as long as they need but there is a certain amount of anxiety that feels like it was lifted now that we've hit this milestone. I no longer worry about those contractions, I say bring it on. I no longer worry what if she is born too early. I'm free to labor symptom spot as much as I want. She is for the most part just practicing for her debut as a newborn now. Things like sucking, swallowing, sleeping, and rolling are her main hobbies. She is gaining weight at around half an ounce A DAY! Her head is also still growing...great...

     I can't believe the due date is just three weeks away. The end of this pregnancy has just really snuck up on me. Having Roxas to run around after has absolutely made it easier to forget about the fact that we are going to have another baby VERY soon. I'm usually very much aware of her but honestly I have forgotten a few times. Then there are the moments of startling clarity too where my brain starts freaking out completely. I have no idea how I'm going to deal with all the newborn stuff again plus a 16 month old toddler who has an amazing talent for getting into trouble. Lord help me. Seriously. I need all the help God can give me now.

     I'm a bit of an over-preparer. I like to have everything planned and ready to go. I like knowing exactly what the plan is. With Roxas I think I had the hospital bag packed at least 3 weeks ago. Now I've finally gotten our bag packed and Roxas's bag packed. They sit at the ready by the door. It dawned on me today I kind of forgot to pack Lucy's bag. Whoops. It's on my to-do list for today. Normally I would find myself all prepped and ready to go by this point and honestly...I feel SO not ready. I'm not in any huge hurry this time. She can just stay in there for a few more weeks and give me a bit more time to prepare.

     At my doctor's appointment on the 5th I was a whole whopping centimeter dilated and while it's a good positive step in the right direction I'm not reading much into it. I think that was part of my problem last time. As soon as I started dilating it put me in the mindset of "ok, labor should be starting any second right?" Then I waited...and waited...weeks went by and then I found us wandering the halls of our hospital after some cervadil and getting much too close with a bag of pitocin. I drove myself insane last time trying to get labor going and I think I just might have learned from the past. [pause for stunned gasp] Sure I'm not going to retire my exercise ball and I'll be doing a little extra waddling in hopes of making progress but I don't expect labor to happen miraculously because I bounced on a ball for 30 minutes. Just little things that may help, but aren't in the least bit harmful. I'm taking a very relaxed approach this time and I think it's paying off.

     Well, that's pretty much all that is going on for now. As my doc said "just hurry up and wait".

Until Next Time...