The Home Stretch

Well it's 4:49 a.m. and I've finally made myself get up out of bed. I haven't sleep AT ALL tonight. I've peed more than normal, I haven't been able to find a comfortable spot, and Koda was about to strangle me with her paws at any second, so I'm up. Maybe this is some tricky thing my body is doing- maybe I didn't' sleep tonight, so that I will Tuesday and go into labor Wednesday for the full moon. HA, doubt it. I can't believe we only have 6 more days until our little baby is here. I've been trying to soak up every little movement from him while I still can. I don't even think the full realization has hit either of us yet. I can't wait to hold him and kiss those chubby little cheeks we keep getting shots of. YAY!!!!!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last day of work. I have a pre-op on Thursday and then I'm sure Sunday night will be much like tonight and no sleep for me. We go in Monday morning at 9:45 and the surgery is scheduled for 11:45. The hospital told me it typically takes about 4-6 hours before I'll be in the room for visitors. So just a heads up for everyone. All of these words still feel so funny- hospital, surgery, baby, breastfeed. Not to get graphic or anything, but I literally cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I will be able to FEED my little boy. This whole pregnancy experience has been great, and scary and amazing to me. I'm sad it's almost over, but sooo happy too. I've gotten so uncomfortable. Everything seems to ache, hurt and be stretched out to the max. If I have to hear one more person tell me just how big or swollen something is, I may scream....be a little nicer please people!! As "huge" as it seems to you, it freaking hurts me.

I still feel like there's so much to do on my list. I've redone my budget about 50 times, retyped my birth plan about 30, checked my bag about 20. I want to clean, install the car seats in both cars, finish packing for hospital, stuff my face with food since I can't eat Monday. Which, btw, the surgery rules stink- no eating, drinking, gum, deodorant, shaving, makeup, nail polish, jewelry, contacts, etc. So before anyone comes into the room, I'll need a few minutes to put my contacts in and a quick swipe of makeup. Call me vain, I don't care, I want to be pretty happy mommy for my 1st pictures with Austin.

So here's the deal with the hospital. We go in Monday and I'm told to expect to be there for 72 hours. We are more than happy to have visitors. If you want to see the baby the first few days, the hospital would probably be a little easier on us than home. Give me a couple of weeks to recover from surgery and I'll let everyone know when they can head over to the house. (this of course does not apply to the grandmas) Visiting hours at St. Joesph's (Womens) are from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. I believe. Our cell is (813) 352-6428 / (813) 767-2612, you may want to call or text us and give us a heads up 1st.

I wish I would've taken more pictures but my nesting stage has come more in the form of baking and crafting. One disaster- these terrible little pumpkin nasties (picture got lost). The recipe said not to bake, Eric's face said they should have just been thrown into the trash from the beginning. Whatever, I don't like pumpkin anyways. Then there were these little pretzels, hugs and candy corn fun guys. Too sweet for me but I still thought they were cute. ( picture doesn't look as cute)

Sunday I made about 200 muffins- blueberry, banana nut and chocolate chip. I wanted to take some to work for a thank you gift for the shower. I think I probably ate about 100 of them (shh don't tell Eric) Then after the baking I began playing around with making hair clips. I've been recently obsessed with Pinterest and was trying to make some fun stuff for my hair for the hospital or other upcoming bad hair days. I wish I could sew or knit because there is some cool stuff on there. Austin's lucky he's a boy because oh my goodness the little girl bows I could make is ridiculous. Heather and I may be loading Gianna up soon with a new collection!

Here is a hair clip I made from an idea off Pinterest, Fireflies and Jellybeans . I'm not usually a hair bow/clip/flower person, but like I said, I may need the help in the upcoming weeks with things to control the hair.

Anyways, sorry about the randomness of the post- that's what happens at 5:15 a.m. on no sleep. I'm going to jump on Pinterest now for a little while, hehe.

38 WEEKS- How your baby's growing:
Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds (AUSTIN WEIGHED IN AT 6.14 2 WEEKS AGO) and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

For many women, the next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of necessary tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps, catch up on your reading, and spend uninterrupted time with your partner while you can. Some swelling in your feet and ankles is normal during these last weeks, but call your practitioner without delay if you notice excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, more than slight swelling of your hands, any swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, or have a sudden weight gain. Also let her know immediately if have severe or persistent headaches; visual changes (such as double or blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, light sensitivity, or a temporary loss of vision), intense upper abdominal pain or tenderness, or nausea and vomiting. These are symptoms of a serious condition called preeclampsia.