I had my 37 (and 4 days... but who's counting) appointment last Friday. All is well in Liamland! My BP is normal. My urine looks good (and no, we're not talking aesthetically). L Bean's heart rate is good. I was sent-home with another 4D picture of his adorable little mug. Oh my goodness. THAT FACE. His cheeks look chubbier than last week. And he has the cutest chin - to whom in the family it belongs, we have no clue. Full lips (mom). Cute little ears and button nose (dad). And what look like big eyes (mom). It was the shortest appointment yet. Maybe five minutes. Doc came in and gave me a big hug hello. Have I told you how much I love my doctor? I could put him in my pocket and take him home. If nothing happens before next Friday, he'll check me (we're talking internals, people) to see if I've dilated. Holy cowsers.
I can't believe I'm sharing this, but I promised honesty. Saturday I noticed some stretch marks. Not on my belly (thankfully). I won't tell you the exact spot because I'm still in denial. There's one in particular that looks pretty angry - I call it Murphy. Luckily, they're not really visible to the general public. Hopefully with time (and body shrinkage) they'll get smaller and less angry. I have no one to blame but myself. I've mentioned this before, but I'll tell you again. I've gained some serious poundage during this pregnancy. It may not look like it to you, but trust me - there is at least 40 extra pounds on my frame (I don't know the exact number. I literally cover my eyes when I get weighed). I was a smidge underweight for my age and height when I got pregnant, so some of the weight gain was needed for a healthy pregnancy and baby. But certainly not all of it. I've pretty much consumed whatever I felt like whenever I felt like it. Especially these past few weeks. This is my only regret throughout this entire pregnancy. I wasn't active. My food self control was non-existent. Thankfully I'm at the end, so it can't get much worse. I will tell you - this weekend was an all-time pregnant self-esteem low.
We met baby Jax (Jack for long) last week! He was a week and a half old and so cute you could eat him. We took the family dinner, and in exchange we got to snuggle their sweet boy for a bit. Husband was swoonworthy. He cradled Jax so naturally, and he kept stroking his little arm with a single finger. His face told the story of what was going through his mind - he's SO ready to hold his own son. My heart reached the near explosion level. Jax's mommy looked AMAZING. She has just given birth a week or so before, and she was just glowing. I wasn't expecting her to look rough, but I wasn't expecting her to look THAT great. She wears motherhood so well. It was so fun spending an hour in that kind of emotional climate. We couldn't help but feel the love.
This past weekend Josh had a soccer tournament. His team won! I baked cookies and banana bread. I cleaned and did laundry. I napped and rested. The weekend passed by WAY too quickly. I went to Target and got my "after birth" goodies (the ice packs are already in the freezer).
I figured it wouldn't be very nice of me to send Husband to the store to buy HUGE maxi-pads and hemorrhoids pads. Hopefully I won't need the hemi pads, but I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared (Who, me?! NEVER). I also got some big 'ol cotton undies. I'm not much for regular underwear, so it'll be interesting wearing those pad-hammocks for a few weeks. When I brought them home and showed them to Husband, he said, "Sometimes full underwear is really sexy. You know, like boy shorts." To which I said, "Honey, these are NOT boy shorts. They're sole purpose is to hold a pad in place. Think granny-pantie." He stopped smiling after that.
Today my feet are swollen. Husband even noticed. We're keeping an eye on them to make sure it's not happening really quickly, as that's usually not a good thing. I've definitely noticed an up-tick in activity this week. More contractions. More uncomfortable contractions. Longer contractions. A general dull ache in my lower belly from time to time. I'm exhausted; although I think this has more to do with work than anything. I plan to stop working when I pop or until my due date, whichever comes first (that's nine more workdays, max, but who's counting). As each day passes, I realize that working until my due date will be tough. But we have a big deadline coming-up, and it's too important that I contribute. At least it's a desk job.
My dad booked his flights to come visit right after L Bean is born. I can't even tell you how excited I am. I can't wait to see the tears :)
Just for fun, here are two pictures of our oldest kids:
They're ready to be the best big brother and big sister to L Bean!
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