Saturday, October 8, 2011

Home

Well we are home.  My brand new baby girl is officially part of our home.  I am glad that she is here and is healthy.  Coming home helps me realize how much easier it was to take care of her before...but it wasn't as fun!    She is a typical newborn, eat, sleeps, poops...cuddles with me during nap time. 
I will admit that I was not near as anxious to come home as my husband was.  Not that I didn't want to be home but because I new I would have to return to being a mom of multiple kids and many "duties."  The responsibility of taking care of things in my home, rather then just being taken care of and having little to no responsibility can be enjoyable.  Not that I would want it very long or very often, but I was enjoying it.  I guess being waited on now and then is just fine.  Being home just makes me feel like I should be taking care of my typical responsibilities.
Thankfully my mom has taken over some (probably most!) of my responsibility around the house.  It is very nice to have her here and also to have my dad here because the boys love playing with him and it gives me a break.  The real life of being a mom of three will begin when my husband goes back to work and my parents leave.  Luckily I have a few days before then.
So until then I will just enjoy the next few days and keep telling myself it is okay to let people do things for me :)

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Time: fast vs slow

Normally time seems to go fast. i.e."wow the summer sure went fast,"  "I can't believe my baby is already in school" etc.  In the scheme of the big picture this pregnancy has gone by relatively fast...until yesterday.  The day seemed normal until the evening when it just seemed that time was slowed way down.  I had gotten the kids to bed before my husband got home from church meetings and my mom and I were just sitting at the table when he got home and sat with us.  The thought came to me (as I had felt for the last few hours that there was more that I should be doing since time was going so slow) that this was the calm before the storm.

Now it is the wee hours of the morning and again I find time going a bit slow.  I'm sure that it will speed right back up once the sun starts to shed it's light on the day.  I'm sure time seeming to slow is because of the anticipation of the day...Today is the day baby 3 will join the family.  She was due yesterday and given the past 2 children's disposition to stay inside for several extra days, we were not thinking she would come much earlier and got approval from the doctor to induce today.  Tuesday he said that my body was showing readiness but that the baby was not looking as interested (meaning she is still high in my belly).  I guess my kids just like being all tucked up inside until they have to come out!

I can honestly say that I am gong through a range of emotions for this day: 
*I am excited-ready to meet this little girl, see what she looks like
*I am nervous-everyone says three is the hardest; still not so sure I can handle a girl
*I am anxious-there comes a point that you are just ready for something to be over with.  I have loved being pregnant and have felt toward the end of this pregnancy that not going into labor has been okay since it is much easier to handle her without actually needing an extra hand...but there comes a point when even that though can't stop the anxiety from hitting.
*I am scared-labor is not really that fun and I know that I will be sore and I don't really like having pain...truth be told, I kind of am a pansy.  I know that it won't last long but still the idea it will be there for several days is just enough to scare me.
*I am happy-Life is good, really it is despite all the bad in the world.  This may seem crazy to say I'm happy then mention the bad in the world, but thanks to my Savior and a knowledge of his Eternal plan, I am happy!
*I am grateful-to be able to have another child...to have a husband I love, to have two wonderful (and very trying of my patience) children...to have my parents here to help and also the whole family support that I have felt and know is there among my siblings and in-laws and friends...I think this list could go on and on, I am TRULY blessed and VERY grateful for those blessing!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Due Dates

Several months ago when it came time to start telling people we were expecting our third we also found out that two of my good friends were also expecting.  It was also both of their thirds and we were all due within 2 weeks of each other.  I was first, then one friend was due one day after me and the other friend was due 2 weeks after that.  Well...it is almost my due date and I am the only one still pregnant!  We received a text from the friend due 2 weeks after me that they had their baby boy yesterday.  They got the 10-2-11 baby that I was wanting (I thought the birthday of 'ten to eleven' would be cool).  My other friend delivered on the 25th of September...she had a girl.  So this is the 3rd time that someone I knew pregnant and due after me has delivered before me.  I am not really complaining because in a way life is a bit less chaotic right now, but it would be nice to have all the waiting and wondering 'when' over with!  But as I am learning/have learned you can never predict these pregnancy things especially when statistically only one percent of babies are born on their due date.  Not even the medical field has good odds of telling you when your baby will come!!
So if you want to deliver early I guess you should get pregnant when I do ;)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

What a difference a day makes

Mentally what can a day give you?  I have thought about this the past few days...probably because I had mentally planned and prepared for something just to have the date pushed back by a few days.  I thought Friday would be my last OB appointment before this little one joins our family on the outside, but due to living in a small town, scheduling rules and a few other things, I will have one more OB appointment and a few extra days of being pregnant.  It is okay in a way because it is easier to manage things right now, I don't have lifting or activity restrictions (not really but I of course can't do what I could if I was not pregnant) and I get more sleep then I will with a newborn.  So, in a way I have to look at the situation as a blessing even though in my head I was prepared for something else.  Now I could go into labor on my own and avoid one more OB checkup and a few extra days of being pregnant, but given my other pregnancies, I (and my husband) quite doubt it. 
I think part of the mental aspect is that I had worked it out in my head to maximize time...time that my parents are here, time that my husband would have off work, time to get stuff done, etc.  Now I have less time with some things a more time with others.  My 'to do' list just grew exponentially.  I thought I was being on top of things like cleaning and laundry that were done, but I know they will have to be done one more time (not that they are ever truly done but for the maximal amount of time until they need to be done again).  I guess it is good because it will keep me busy and make the days go by a bit faster.  I should just remind myself that a few days is nothing when you look at the whole picture of it has taken almost 40 weeks to get to this point!
So the lesson learned (which I seem to repeat learning very often in my life...I guess I just don't learn some things very well!) is that even if you mentally plan/prepare yourself for something, it can change very easy and so you have to be mentally prepared for that too!