Get out of mah belly

Okay, Elvis, you weren’t down with my Father’s Day birth plan – or any of the plans I’ve had for you to come since then! I’ve dealt with that, and even been somewhat pleasant about it most of the time. But the due date is tomorrow and it’s officially time for you to come out already! Everyone is asking and wondering about you, we’re all so eager to meet you and find out who you are! And Grandma and Grandpa Klein and your uncles are coming from Illinois in just 8 days, so you’d better hurry up!

Should you decide you’re not coming on your own, the doctor has scheduled an induction on the 5th. That is the soonest we could do based on bed availability, protocol, etc. It’s really cutting it close, that same night the out of town family arrives! I would have chosen sooner myself, and hopefully you will, too! We don’t have to wait, just come on your own anytime! (Well, try to avoid the 4th if you can, it’s Mom and Dad’s anniversary and already a holiday and I have a pie contest to win.)

Can’t wait to be able to post the news of your arrival! Don’t make me hold my breath too long, it’s not good for either of us!

Wouldn’t it be handy to go into labor and have the baby tomorrow, on Chad’s fifth father’s day? Wouldn’t it just be nice if I went into labor? With the countdown to our due-date now at 10 days – tomorrow we enter single digits! – the impending delivery and baby are very much on my mind. I continue with contractions that seem to go nowhere and the back pain, which I was expecting due to the herniated disc but that doesn’t make it anymore comfortable. The last couple days my feet and ankles have started swelling and sleep or even rest at night is hard to come by. At my appointment this week I saw a different doctor who guessed I was having a girl who would weigh about 7-8 pounds, just like Ruby did. The weight was based on his feeling my big ol’ belly, the sex was just a guess. He also said “anytime” in terms of when I could go into labor, this based on an exam but also just a guess. Could be ten days, could be ten hours. Let’s hope for the latter!

Not only would it be handy to have such an awesome gift for Chad on Father’s Day, but the baby coming this weekend would be like a gift to (from?) my own dad, too. Before his passing in December he had been so excited about the coming baby. He will be with us today as we gather with family and friends in honor of him, as well whenever his fourth grandchild enters the world.

We’re ready Elvis! Are you?

June is here, Elvis will soon be making his/her entrance into the world! At the time of this post I am not technically due for another 25 days, but I’d surprised if I make it another 3 weeks. That is not just hopeful pregnant lady talk, either, my body has already started latent labor. At the last doctor’s appointment I had dilated to 1-2cm and was 50% effaced with the baby’s head “verrrrry low.” It is a hopeful sign, but I can’t forget this happening last time and Ruby didn’t come until 4 days after the due date. This feels different, but we’ll see. Whenever labor really kicks in, the doctor announced that it will be an easy, quick labor. Thanks for jinxing it!!!

In the meantime, I have been continuing to try to limit my activity in hopes of staving off delivery until the baby is really ready. Don’t want him or her before the little lungs and other body parts are ready, but now that we are in the 37th week it should be safe for him/her to come. In the past few days the contractions I have been having sporadically have started coming a little more often and a little harder, but I think it is just false or practice labor teasing me.

Just in case, we have finally gotten totally prepared for the little one’s arrival. I am pre-registered at the hospital, the carseat is in the back of the van, and the nursery is ready. We had to move Ruby out of the nursery and into a big girl room before we could put up the crib and get out all of the baby clothes. It was quite the project, especially for poor Chad since I haven’t been supposed to do much work. I helped with washing and putting away linens and clothes and stocking diapers, butt paste, and all the other necessities. Everything is ready and waiting for a baby to come wear the tiny clothes, sleep in the bassinet, craddle or, crib, and complete our family and home.

Below is a picture of Chad and I at the beach, something of a end-of-pregnancy tradition for us. See more recent pregnancy and nursery pics here.