Final Countdown

I have 5 days left of this pregnancy. Probably of pregnancy ever. While this has been a relatively easy one, my overriding thought every time I check my baby countdown and see it go down by one more day is THANK YOU JEEBUS. For one, I don't think my back can take any more pressure on the curvature of my spine.

ridiculous, seriously

I feel like I have a torpedo sticking out of my middle and that torpedo kicks me and gives me heartburn and makes it impossible to learn forward when I'm sitting or bend over when I'm standing. I also look forward to being able to roll over in bed without executing a careful three-point maneuver and finding myself out of breath at the end. The out of breath thing has been my most special "side effect" of this last month of growing baby #3. I can just be sitting at my desk or laying down in bed and all of a sudden I'm gasping or panting for oxygen. It freaks JP out. I am also eager for the return of: my normal clothes, my waist, my hip bones, wine, my lap, and frozen margaritas. Of all those things I might have missed the margaritas the most.

In pregnancy progress news, at my appointment last week my OB said I was 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions of increasing intensity and frequency since then, so we'll see what she says at my final check-up tomorrow. Officially, I want to wait to have our baby girl until her conveniently scheduled time of noon on Nov. 12, largely because my mom will be here to stay with our two already-birthed children and I'm not quite sure what we will do with them should I go in to labor at a random day or time before then. But, the part of me that enjoys making progress on any project, and the part of me that really would like to hold my baby in my arms rather than having her stick out from my torso, reallllly wouldn't mind a "hey, you're making so much progress let's just move you over to the OR and have this baby!" moment at the doctor's office tomorrow.

In other news, we bought a glider on super sale at Target and set it up on Sunday. Claire has been practicing holding her baby in it ever since.

She and Landon have so many plans on the baby care front, baby #3 has NO idea

The kids have been using the boxes from my online Christmas shopping (all done!) to create some pretty structurally sound forts. Landon is chief architect, Claire provides plastic food products and blankets. Baby 3 already has a standing invitation and a blanket set aside just for her. I'm starting to be concerned the kids will be disappointed with their baby sister's initial ability to play with them. I think Landon remembers Claire starting at about age 1, and not so much the tiny helpless relatively useless as a fellow fort builder newborn phase, but she'll get there eventually.

 

We went on a family walk/bike ride on Sunday. I mostly plod, but it was lovely.

 

There's no real narrative for this one, but it's how Claire came into the family room early Saturday morning and I had to snap a picture. Not having plans to leave the house all day is no reason not to be fully accessorized.

 

Kids are fun. I'm really looking forward to meeting the third one. Five more days! (At most!)