A leg and Then Some

The Leg
Today, as I sit at my desk, feet propped up, and typing away, I am feeling our son move more and more.  the midwife says he is around 6.5 lbs, head is in the pelvis area, and he’s just doing his thing until its time for him to come out.  Back to today, I started to feel around my belly and based on what my midwife said, I can tell what is a leg and an arm. I feel him rolling around, and can move his legs.  The image I got was like when you are scuba diving,  and you can see the bottom, but then you get to the edge of a  cliff and then it just drops off into the abyss. That’s what I feel like is inside. I can feel his bum, legs, shoulders, and then nothing.  But he is running out of room, so it won’t be like that forever.

An Emo Moment
Also, tomorrow is the day that says I have been pregnant 37 weeks now. It is quite the experience, as any mom would agree. This week there was one night where I was up from 2-3am for no real reason. The baby wasn’t even moving around to keep me up.  So I managed to go back to sleep, wake up around 7:30 and start my morning routine.  As I was almost ready to go, just trying to finish a cup of coffee (which really never happens, I really don’t know why I drink the stuff), I mentioned something to David, and a couple minutes later tears came, and then didn’t stop for about half an hour.

I would like to say that I am a fairly emotionally stable person. There are only a few things that make me cry for long periods of time (pre-pregnancy). And so I told David that I can’t tell if I am “prego emotional” or if I would have cried over the situation regardless of me being pregnant.  I think I can count on both hands the number of times I have woke up randomly for a short period of time combined with emotional days where I couldn’t snap out of it. Seriously.

On Another Note
We have now gone to two labor/delivery classes.  The more I see laboring video’s the more nervous I get because I know how grumpy and agitated I get when I am really tired or passing a kidney stone. Obviously neither of these is laboring, but I still wonder how I will respond to laboring pain.  One of the women in a video I saw reminded me of what I do when I am tired, so that’s why I brought it up. I know it’s different, but it’s not so far off the path.  I am really grateful for these classes as they help bring to reality what is about to happen for a first-time mom.

 The Fun Part
Talking to the Lord about my fears, anxieties, and worries about labor, and asking Him to help me set my mind of things above, meditate on Him and how He feels about me, and contending for His presence in every area of my house, delivery room and recovery room.   Why?  Because I can. Because I am his favorite one. He delights in Me!  And, why not? Seriously.  If I don’t ask, I don’t have. And even if I do ask, and something goes wrong, He is still worth my attention and affection.  The Lord loves to meet us in the midst of all things and I have been so blessed by His attention to me through these past few months.  He loves life, and to speak to people through the process.

36 Weeks and On A Mission

Some people have asked if I have started nesting. The answer was “No” until last Wednesday.  Why, you may ask.  There are a few reasons.  One, is I am pregnant and have had low energy. The energy I do have is spent at work or in the Prayer Room. When I get home, I am too tired and all I do is think about what needs to get done, and then I get more tired.  You may be thinking, why doesn’t your husband help. That’s another reason why I haven’t started to nest.  At the end of March he left for a weekend to go to a conference where he spoke at a session and enjoyed the rest of it.  When he returned, he started planning for another conference that he had to travel to for work. This conference was a big deal that he needed to prepare for.  While I knew he wanted to help with the baby & nesting, the timing just wasn’t right for us.

And to be honest, since this pregnancy has been amazing, I am not necessarily ready for him to come out yet. I think if I had been sick, uncomfortable, or had some sort of complication worse than acid reflux/heart burn, I would want him out sooner. But that hasn’t been the case, and therefore I am not really in a hurry to get him out.
Also, for me, the sooner I nest the sooner I want him to come, then the mental games kick in, and I don’t know if I can handle thinking the baby is coming sooner than later.  I don’t know if my heart can handle that.  I am expecting May 14-20 for baby to make his arrival

LET IT BEGIN
So with less than 4 weeks, give or take, my nesting has begun. While David was in Vegas last week (for work), I had some friends come over and paint the baby room!

Yay!

The Color: Grape Leaves from Bahr paint (home depot).  It needs one more coat, which will get done today!  I wanted a green baby room, and was at another baby shower and saw this color in the Kitchen with black & white color scheme. If I hadn’t seen it on the walls, I don’t think I could have ever made the decision because there are so many colors of green and it’s soooo overwhelming.

I feel like this is the biggest step.  Once the room is painted, that’s when I can start moving in the crib, changing table, glider, and all the other goodies.

Project #2: Baby’s Dresser.  A couple of friends & I went antiquing back in February, and we found this dresser for $32.  These ladies, while they aren’t amateur antique shoppers, they have been doing it for quite some time and know quality when they see it.  They inspected the wood, sturdiness, and draweriness (made up word that the drawers worked properly), and said that it was a good buy.  I trusted their judgment of the piece,  and so we got it!

Oldie but goodie

This morning, after two months of it sitting in the basement, I mustered up the energy to get this baby done! I have sanded this thing down, and had to give my hands a rest (as I type this, my hands feel funny).  In a bit, after a really late lunch, I will start on the drawers, which are the easy part… or so I think.

I will start posting some pics of the baby room as it comes together.

Week 35 & Hebrews 11

Tomorrow is another weekly marker that says I have been pregnant now 35 weeks.  I am so grateful that this time is going by quickly because that means that our son will be here soon.  The past few weeks we have been looking into birth plans and learning about the whole laboring process. I have spent many weeks trying to figure out what my body is doing, and now it is time to figure out how to get our son out of me!

It truly is amazing the way the Lord created the female body and how natural the whole process is. From our hips shifting within our bodies so there is a bigger opening for the baby’s head to make it through, production of milk, the Nurturing & Mothering Instincts within us start to surface, and down to hormonal & nutritional changes so that the baby gets what it needs to grow and then get out.   The end result A human being.

My midwife this week said that everything is going well. His heart beat is in between 120-130 and my uterus is measuring 35 cm (which is good, it apparently should measure around what week you are pregnant).  She also calmed some fears that I had when it came to birthing in the hospital. I love that my body knows what to do to get this baby out of me, and am also grateful for medical advances that can help babies & mommies that are in distress.  While I am not some uber healthy organic all-natural junkie,  I am for going as natural as I can and am praying for a labor that is as natural as possible and contending for no interventions unless absolutely necessary.  That is why we are going with a midwife instead of  the more conventional way. The most important thing is that at the end of the day, we have a healthy baby.

Today I read Hebrews 11 and am encouraged that the Lord loves to hear us ask Him to help us.  He loves to inhabit the praises of His people,  and as I thank Him for the gift of Life and to be a part of a bigger picture, I have faith to believe that the desires that are in our hearts are first from Him and that He wants to fulfill the longings in us for the birth of our son.  Like Abraham longing for the New Jerusalem, Moses choosing to be with Israel, Enoch pleased God, Noah preparing the Ark,  Gideon, Barak,  Samson, David, and the others mentioned in that chapter, they all had faith and believed that God was for them They endured all things because they knew that God was worth their time, affections, praises, their whole lives.

I have heard it said recently that marriage & families are to make us holy before the Lord, and happiness is the over flow. I am praying that our son helps us become more holy and into the image of Jesus, and as we learn more about who we are freedom and happiness flow like streams of living water from our souls!

A Texas Shower

At the beginning of March mom and family members threw us a baby shower.  Here are some pictures. *Side note, there were like 7 other cameras so it was hard to get everyone looking at one camera* It was a great shower and I really enjoyed being with my family. I miss being around them so it was really special to spend this time together.

Sisters

 

A cute little summer outfit & basket full of goodies!

 

Mom & the Daughters

The Lovely Hosts

Most of the Ladies that came

Our team getting ready to play baby charades!