Well, my duedate is two weeks from today. Monday I had a good OB check-up…the baby’s head was down, heartbeat was steady (135), and I was 1 cm dilated. Not that it means much, because I was 1 cm dilated just hours before having Tommy on his duedate and 5 cm dilated for several days before Elizabeth finally made her appearance 10 days past hers!
I’ve scheduled out fun things (haircut, company, pedicure with a friend) up through my duedate, as I want to have things to look forward to instead of just sitting around waiting for the baby to come. Thank goodness no one is getting married or graduating in the next month–we really have no deadline we have to make for this baby’s arrival, and he or she can come whenever. We toured the hospital a week or two ago. It’s not Prentice Women’s Hospital by a long shot, but I’ve heard the L&D nurses are good, and that’s all that really matters, right?
I’m finding that nesting is a lot harder with two little mischief makers running around. I try to clean up a room, put away laundry, or start a project, only to turn around and find that one of the kids has come behind me and undone all the work I just did. Monday I set the kids up with breakfast and ran to take a quick shower before my doctor’s appointment. I came back downstairs 5 minutes later to find my uneaten bowl of oatmeal on the floor, cracked in a hundred pieces, and a whiney daughter insisting that the yogurt and chex she’d asked for was not in fact what she wanted for breakfast. Yesterday she got into a highlighter we thought was out of reach and did a number on herself, her clothes, and the kitchen table. Tommy clogged up and overflowed the toilet in my freshly cleaned bathroom last week and then did it again yesterday (now I know why we were going through kleenex so fast–half the box was in the toilet); Elizabeth took all her clothes and diapers out and scattered them all over her room; and the contents of my dish cabinent are reduced weekly with the combination of overzealous kids and tile kitchen floor.
I’m really tired, and I’m having a lot of trouble sleeping on my own unless I take a sleep aid before bed which then makes me feel drugged and woozy in the morning. I want to keep doing our normal social activities (Bible study, play group, Baby Boot Camp) as long as possible, and I want to finish up some craft/sewing projects while I still have the time, and oh, I want to keep up with the daily cooking, shopping, and laundry! I know I have more energy now than I will after the baby comes, so as hard as it is to get out of bed in the morning these days and push through my daily tasks, it’s better to do it now…between naps and rest breaks! Oh, and I’d rather not go into labor today, as Elizabeth’s nose is pumping out green snot at a truly alarming rate, and my official childcare-provider-while-I’m-in-labor, Jenny, has three kids of her own who I’d rather not infect!
So here are my two-weeks-to-go prayer requests: that I’ll stay patient with my kids, that I’ll get enough sleep, that the essential household tasks will get done, and that Elizabeth gets over her cold (or is at least non-contagious) by the time I go into labor and we drop the kids off at Jenny’s! And for those of you who aren’t already praying for the Talcotts, some of our dearest college friends are having a baby April 14, just a day after my duedate. Baby Hope has a birth defect involving an improper closing of the back of her skull, and we have been praying for her every time we pray for our baby. I’ve forwarded on Anna’s blog to many of you–she is doing a great job keeping everyone posted on how we can be praying specifically for Hope and the whole family. Check it out and lift them up, please!
Here’s the belly picture that a couple people requested, too…
I’m praying for all of those things right now. I wish I lived in the same town and could put love into action by coming over and playing with your children while you clean or take a nap. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be in these final weeks of pregnancy with a four-year-old and an almost-two-year-old. You are an amazing woman! May the Lord pour out grace on your and give you the energy you need to enjoy these last weeks as a family of four.
Hang in there Emily! You are doing an awesome job! I wish I were closer so I could give you some extra hands or a break.
Sounds like you are doing great!!
I totally get the whole can’t-get-a-minute-of-sleep-without-meds thing. For some reason, it didn’t occur to me until late in my pregnancy with Judah that taking half a dose (one pill instead of the recommended two pills) is a good compromise. It was just enough to make me drowsy and more likely to sleep, but not enough to kill my morning energy. I still slept less with one pill than two, but it was worth it in order to be alert in the morning. Maybe you’ve already discovered this, but if not, try it!
Can’t wait to hear the good news of a healthy baby arriving soon!!