39.5 Weeks

I cannot believe that I have more fingers on one hand than I do days until my due date!  Andrew has attended all but one of his classes for the week and with Fall Break on Monday and Tuesday, we have a nice huge window where we don’t have to worry about him getting behind if the baby comes.  Logistically, it would be nice if she didn’t come too many days late; but everything will work out just fine if she does.

Monday evening I started having braxton hicks again after not having any for a week.  They were getting consistently stronger and more painful during the 3 1/2 hours while Andrew was at an evening class.  When he got home they were stronger still, so we took time to pack for the hospital.  I was really tired and decided to see if they would stop if I went to bed.  It took about an hour, but they did stop enough that I could sleep.  Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday morning I had braxton hicks fairly consistently, although there was no pain involved and they didn’t get stronger.  When the contractions stopped, our little girl decided she was going to take advantage of her space.  She moved all day yesterday and into the evening with what I can only assume are baby acrobatics based on the strange contorted shapes my stomach was making and the pain that was being inflicted all over insides.  But it is still fun to see, despite my discomfort!

In this last week I have finally reached a new level of exhaustion.  There simply isn’t any replenishing energy, and each day begins with me feeling a little more tired.  Fortunately, my super long to-do list of things I wanted to accomplish after moving here is just about at an end and down to some longer, on-going projects!  I was able to teach an Introduction to Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign at the public library a week ago, which went really well and was a lot of fun.  Andrew and I got our 72 hour kits in order and replenished with non-expired food.  We’ve completed everything on our “Getting ready for baby” to-do list and are ready for the first few weeks of her life.  There are a few last minute things we should probably pick up still (like sheets for the pack n play), but we figure we will get along okay without them if she comes tonight.  We’ve paid our bills for the month so we don’t have to worry about missing deadlines when she comes.  I am still walking 1 1/2 – 3 1/2 miles each day.  We are as ready as we can be, at least physically.

It isn’t real to me that in no more than 2 1/2 weeks from now we will be welcoming a new life into our family that is completely dependent on us for everything.  I am so grateful that we are close to this next phase in our life.  It feels like our home is a little closer to heaven, knowing that we will soon have a daughter of God in our arms that recently left the spirit world to join us.  I can’t really picture what it is going to be like having more than two of us in the Jackson household, but I am so excited for all of the new adventures that await us.