40 Weeks with Baby D #3

I have to admit that I was hoping to not have to write a 40 week blog post. I would much rather be snuggling my little one, but as it turns out, I'm not in control. 

Today is Baby Danner's due date, the day we've been waiting 10 months for. And although it feels a little anti-climatic, I'm thankful that baby is still safe and growing smarter and bigger.

Trying to have a little fun while waiting on baby.

I have about two shirts and a pair of pants that still fit, my feet are swollen and my long slender fingers have turned into man hands. My back hurts and I think I got up almost every hour to use the bathroom last night. 

I'm definitely ready to be done, BUT God is good. I've received a lot of sweet messages with people checking up on me. We had a fun morning with cousins, Addy and Remi are playing well and making me smile and there are some fun things going on this weekend that will be fun to go to if Baby doesn't make an appearance. I'm tired but trying to trust in His timing.

"My times are in your hand." Psalm 31:15

Looking forward to my next update introducing you to our new little one!

39 Weeks and 5 Days with Baby D #3

Tomorrow I will be two days away from my due date. Two. Days.

Our lives will be forever changed any minute from now or 1-2 weeks from now. Waiting on a baby is the weirdest thing right? There's nothing like waiting on a baby to remind you how much you are NOT in control. Some days I am better at giving up that control than others. Today, I am trying really hard to trust in His timing and not my own. 

Today I am 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant and can greatly relate with this lady that I found on Pinterest.

(http://thislittleadventureofmine.blogspot.com/2014/08/39-weeks.html?spref=pi)

I've entered Stage 5 of pregnancy according to the Scary Mommy blogger:

"You feel enormous and none of your maternity clothes fit. You want to crash through walls and shout “oh yeah!” like the KoolAid man. People keep saying “Haven’t you had that baby yet?” You have a new appreciation for how difficult it is for the elderly and morbidly obese to get around and swear you’re going to become an advocate for their rights once you catch your breath. You’re no longer scared of birth you just want this kid out of you and if that means pulling it through your right nostril, so be it."

That pretty much sums it up. I could add to the list of aches and pains and reasons why I am so done being pregnant, but instead, I'll leave you with a few lines from a book that I picked up again tonight after not giving it much thought at first. I was just telling someone the other day that I didn't really care for the book, Loving the Little Years, because it had too many analogies or metaphors or whatever those things are called. I wasn't really getting anything out of it. But in my insomnia,  I gave it another chance and found some really encouraging words in chapter 14 titled "Me Time" that I thought were particullary encouraging giving my current state.

"Motherhood is what your stomach was made for - and any wear and tear that it shows is simply the sign of a well-used tool. We are not to treat our bodies like museum pieces. They were not given to us to preserve, they were given to us to use. So use it cheerfully, and maintain it cheerfully."

The author goes on to say:

"Scars and stretch marks and muffin tops are all part of your kingdom work. One of the greatest testimonies Christian women have in our world today is the testimony of joyfully giving your body to another while so many women choose to not have children or abort the children that they were given, the testimony of women who know the cost and joyfully pay it is profound……… So realize that your body  is a testimony to the world of God's design. Carry the extra weight joyfully until you can lose it joyfully."

That last part is something I definitely want to remember in the next months as getting dressed becomes the question of "what will fit today." I want to enjoy my new baby and when the time comes, work hard to loose that weight with a joyful heart. I'm sure I will have to look back at this several times.

I read a few other chapters and they were all so good and so timely, which seems to be a theme lately. God is using books and bible studies to speak to my heart, just where I am at and I am so thankful. And since I have the worst memory ever, I do my best to document and put things in places where I can look back on them. I usually do that here, which is the reason for the quote overload today. Sorry friends.

In that same chapter in Loving the Little Years, the author Rachel Jankovic, suggests that our identity as Christian women is intertwined with our family, our husband and children. I would ague that our identity is actually in Christ and finding our identity in other people could be a dangerous thing, however, she did have a good point in that we don't need a day alone to shop to "rediscover ourselves" or find out what we are really all about. Instead if we're looking for "me time," she suggested going on a date with your husband or doing something special with your kids. And I think that I will do just that. 

Instead of banking a bunch of alone time before the baby comes, because who knows when I will get it again, I'm going to take the kids out to do something fun tomorrow. It probably won't be life changing, because it's pretty hard to move, but maybe I'll buy them a scone at Starbucks and let them pick out a drink that they always ask for, because it will only be just the two of them for so much longer. Hopefully not too much longer, but you get the idea. 

Here's to ceasing the day! Carpe Diem and all that.

Adelyne is 4 and a Half Years Old!

Today is Addy Grace's half birthday.

Im a weird mom and don't usually feel emotional or sad at birthdays, but on half birthdays I feel all the emotions. Tomorrow she will be closer to five than four. And five brings us closer to kindergarten and middle school and driving on her own and before we know it, she will be getting married and having babies of her own. Someone hold me.

But in all seriousness, do any of you other mommas feel like more changes come around their half birthday? Maybe I notice them more because Im not busy planning a party and shopping for birthday gifts.

Anyways….

This little lady can get dressed all on her own and for the most part does a pretty good job at putting her outfits together. We've made a deal that she can pick out her clothes on the days we don't go to church and on the other days I try really hard to let her have some creative freedom and only give a few guidelines to make sure everything fits and is decent. 

We recently upgraded to a van to accommodate our growing family and during that process Addy became obsessed. She loves to make vans out of all our kid chairs and uses pillows for the doors. Her and Remi go on several trips with all their "kids" and pack their van out with snacks and blankets and anything else their kids might need. 

Addy doesn't have an imaginary friend but there is an imaginary dog named Olive that goes with us almost everywhere and sometimes even takes the form of one of her stuffed animals. 

At four and half, she's definitely out grown her afternoon nap but can sometimes be found napping during quiet time, taking a little snooze on the couch while I make dinner or even dozing during church. 

She's shy and reserved like her momma around most people, but when you put her around family and good friends she can be pretty silly and goofy like her dad. She's actually turning into quite the little chatterbox and we often have to remind her of the appropriate times to talk and when to be quiet. 

Addy loves to wear high heels and princess crowns around the house but has also developed an interest in snakes and other amphibians. 

She continues to be a wonderful little momma to her babies and often imitates our friends that have little ones by "feeding" her dolls under blankets. We already know she will (and is) going to be a great big sister and we're excited to see her love on another little sibling soon.

She's challenging us in new and frustrating ways but continues to warm our hearts as she learns new things and loves on her family. She's probably the best person to have around on your birthday since she doesn't let a "Happy Birthday" go unsaid and will enjoy each birthday activity just as much as you do if not more. 

We are so thankful for our sweet little Addy Grace and can't wait to see what the next 6 months and years have in store for her.

37 Weeks with Baby D {Early Term}

I learned something new at my check up today: 37 weeks is no long considered "full term" but "early term." I won't be considered full term until 38 weeks. However, if I were to go into labor today, they wouldn't do anything to stop it. But either way, we've made it to the safe zone and even though it could be a week or 3 weeks before baby, I'm getting really excited (and a little anxious) about meeting our little one.

Matt and I toured the hospital this weekend, bought a new car seat and finished the nursery. We're in the process of buying a new car, the few baby clothes I've bought are being washed as I type and I'm hoping to have us all packed and ready for the big day by tomorrow.

I'd say we're ready to do this baby thing!

35 Weeks with Baby D #3

Well friends, we are 35 weeks along with our third little one and I think I am finally starting to slow down. With a lot of our friends gearing up for back to school and summer winding down, we've spent a lot of time at home this week. Typically, I love to go and do, but just thinking about loading the kids up and getting out in the heat makes me tired and I'm learning to love our slow days spent together at home. 

I managed to give myself (and Addy) a pedicure the other day, but Addy refused a picture with me.

Being home more has also given me more time to work on the nursery. Things are finally starting to come together in there and after I get Matt's help hanging a few things up, it will be ready for baby. I'm looking forward to bringing our little one home to the same room that both his or her siblings have lived in and enjoyed. 

A blizzard because it's hot and messy shirt because I don't fit under the table. I seriously need a belly bib.

Speaking of siblings and rooms, the big kids are loving sharing a room and we've had a surprisingly smooth transition. Bedtime takes a little bit longer and we can often hear them talking to each other past bedtime, but Remi has given up his paci and is enjoying being a "big boy." We've made zero progress in the potty training department but that's ok. All in good time right?

With our due date getting closer and closer, I just keep dreaming about the day we will meet our little one, literally. I've been having so many random dreams about the baby. In one, we found out the gender but only told some people. It was a girl. In another, we had the baby, a boy, and then I completely forgot about it! Someone asked to see him and when I went to get him from his crib, he wasn't there. I had totally forgotten he was in the NICU. I woke up feeling so irresponsible and had to remind myself it was just a dream. But thankfully, crazy dreams are usually a sign of good sleep.

32 weeks. Photo credit: Addy Grace

These last few weeks have gone by so fast and yet so slow! I can't believe in two weeks I will be full term. We'll see if this little one will be early like his sister or late like her brother.