Waiting Patiently

I can't believe in less that one week our next baby will be here...weren't we just finding out that we were expecting our third baby. Well this week has been a big reminder that we are in the home stretch.

Monday evening I realized I was have contractions every 10 minutes and I thought there is no way we are ready for this tonight. I started drinking lots of water, laid down and took a warm bath, really anything I could think of to slow down these contractions. I was caught off guard, I have experienced my fair share of braxton hicks contractions but those usually came while at work or a really active day out with the kids. Monday was low key, just an outing to the post office and out to lunch with Jason and the kids. Nothing out that was out of the ordinary that would make labor start. So when these contractions started they also came with lots of back pain and cramping, I was starting to panic a little. What good is a planned c-section, where you can have everything set up and the people in place to watch your kids if you go into labor before the day? Well after five hours of contractions every 10 minutes they finally spaced out to every 20-25 minutes and have continued that way for most of the week. I have started maternity leave,  there is no way I could work at this point, I am sure I would find myself as a patient quickly...and in the ER most pregnant patient once past 20 weeks are not welcome, they are sent to labor and delivery. I have spent most of the week taking it easy and as soon as I don't my body quickly reminds me to slow down.

I spent time this week reflecting back on this pregnancy and my previous two pregnancies as well. I have been feeling the aches and pains of this pregnancy more than ever for the last six weeks. Pain everywhere, occasional headaches, mild swelling that makes my hands and feet ache, and my vision is terrible. I feel like I have been a little bit more whiny with this pregnancy but I have come up for a reason for that. My first pregnancy was filled with unknowns, I was excited about all the new experiences. While I was pregnant with Norah, I was preoccupied with Norah. Time was passed praying and focusing on her, how was she developing. Any aches and pain I had were minor, I was repeated reminded that there was a chance that Norah would survive the pregnancy, let alone after she was delivered. Much time was spent in prayer and thinking of the numb left index finger and carpal tunnel symptoms I was experiencing. So this time around I have been told based on several ultrasounds that I have a healthy baby boy growing inside me and I would like to keep it that way so all these aches and pains could mean something isn't right. Thus more attention being given to them.

I did focus on finishing on the blanket I had started back in December. I have to admit I am pretty proud of it. I suppose this week I should get around to packing a bag to bring to the hospital. Jason and I have talked about many names but the list is not narrowed down at all. We have decided that we will meet this little guy first and then we will know what his names should be. I have some nesting urges but again my body quickly reminds me of its' limitations. There are lots of little things that could get done, but we'll just take one day at a time and see what get done.