thoughts on the last week

Beware... this is going to be a doozy of a blog post! As always, I'm writing this stuff down for my own sake, and I don't want to forget all of the various emotions I've felt in this (potentially) last week of pregnancy.

It has been crazy to not go to work every day! I love it, but it just feels like I'm on vacation, not waiting/preparing to have a baby. I got a mani/pedi, worked on sewing projects, returned/exchanged baby stuff, semi-organized said baby stuff, saw friends, took the dog on more walks than he's gotten in the past several months and made 6 meals + several loafs of banana bread to freeze.

Bryce & Crawford's Easter outfits

Overall, I have felt SO unlike myself - in the best possible way - this week. I've been totally calm and relaxed about this little guy's arrival. I know it is out of my control, and there is great freedom in that! David has been taking his cues from me, and since I haven't been feeling at all (maybe to a fault) that labor and delivery are immanent he's cool as a cucumber. Granted, it takes a whole lot to stress that kid out, so he's pretty much being normal. I think my parents are anxious enough for all of us! My mom said my dad is like "a cat on a hot tin roof" and he says he's just so "freaked out". ha! This is going to be a wild ride :).

I have never in my life texted as much as I have this week! So many friends and family members have been so, so sweet to think about us during this "last week". Everyone has been checking in for updates and sharing their well-wishes, and it really has meant so much!

My longest-friend Niki came to visit! I'm working on an entire post dedicated to that, but having her here was exactly what I needed. In fact, I'm amazed by how the Lord has given me the exact conversations and exact people to spend time with for the past week. Niki will graduate in May from med school as an OB/GYN, so I talked her ear off with questions about what is to come. I've been so free from worry about when Crawford will arrive, but as we've neared his due date and begun the conversation about potentially inducing, I've had much more anxiety (though, still not much!) about now having to make some big decisions. Talking with Niki (and Samantha and Alex) totally put me at peace about inducing if it comes to that. Overall, we're waiting for my due date doctor's appointment to determine exactly what the plan is, and I'm praying for progress (effacement! dilation!).

So, the only baby action we've seen this week started Friday night around 7:30pm. We had just gotten home from dinner with the Linhosses, and I started having Braxton Hicks contractions. Granted, I've had these since right at week 20, and they've been fairly regular all along. This time, however, they were back-to-back-to-back. They kept on coming, and I did start to wonder if it was real labor. I've been nervous that because I'm SO used to the BH that I won't know when real labor happens. So... I went to bed and slept for a couple of hours, but after a midnight pee break, I never fell back asleep. I ended up watching tv on the couch for the rest of the night, and finally called the doctor around 8:30 Saturday morning. After 13 hours of BH + some intermittent back pain and menstrual-type cramps, I thought something real could be going on. The doc on call said it didn't sound like real labor, so he advised a warm bath and some Tylenol to relax the uterus. I was a little bummed, but David hooked me up with an awesome bubble bath and Downton Abbey on the iPad, so I enjoyed a relaxing bath. Of course, it was snowing all day Saturday- the one day I really wanted to walk and walk and walk until this baby comes out! So, I headed to the mall to do just that. I walked laps (and stopped a bit to shop, of course) like the old people.

enjoying the fire, BH contractions

We met the Rochas for lunch and spent the afternoon getting stuff done and laying low. I had a few real (read: not BH) contractions, but they stopped after a few hours. We got a huge surprise when David's grandparents called to say they were in town! We knew they would be driving through on their way to Florida, but we didn't think they were planning on stopping in this trip. We met them for dinner, and loved getting to have a surprise visit with them. Our plan for the weekend was to relax, spend time together and spend time with people we love, so seeing them was a perfect addition to our plans!

By Sunday morning everything was back to normal. Lots of BH, but nothing unusual. We went to church and then to lunch at the club with the Bryants (including Kevin's parents!). Again, this was totally unplanned, but such a nice way to spend part of our weekend! Everyone told us to go see a movie, so we saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It wasn't what we expected, but a really good movie none-the-less. We spent the evening napping, cooking and washing everything in our house (nesting, much?).

Though I didn't intend for this to be a play-by-play of our last childless weekend, it was exactly what we needed, and I'm so thankful for all of the time we had!

up next... unless he comes today, I'll post my "official" 40 week picture and and update from my due date doctor appointment tomorrow!