39 weeks... and tomorrow we're parents...

I'm 39 weeks today... and delivering our first child tomorrow morning at 10:30am. Whoa! Can it be true... we've finally reached this point in the pregnancy?? I'll be honest, we've prepped and planned and got all the necessary cute baby stuff ... but I don't think I've actually thought about the 'big day' until the last week or so. It's surreal...that's the only way I can describe what I'm feeling. It's almost like I'm going to wake up and all this was a dream or something... lol... stupid sounding I know.

As we travel through our 'last day alone together', Dave and I keep looking at each other saying things like, "Last day for sleeping in for a while...", " Last time we'll be doing this alone...", "Next time we'll have a baby in tow..." Though it is weird to think that starting tomorrow we'll have a little one with us, we're so excited!!

This morning Dave and I got up when we wanted (last day to sleep in, check) and then took the boys to the groomers (make sure we're at least productive today, check). After we dropped them off we headed out to Birmingham and went out to breakfast at The Original House of Pancakes... YUM! (last day to go out to eat without lugging around a caravan full of stuff, check) It was funny... we actually ran into one of my old co-workers who obviously had no clue we were pregnant ha her face was priceless... we then were sat next to a couple who is also schedule for a c-section tomorrow morning at Royal Oak Beaumont just an hour after us... crazy. So we chatted and joked for a bit about how this was our 'last day' without children, etc. So that was fun to see someone else, complete strangers, going through exactly what we're going through...

After breakfast we went and picked the boys up and headed back home. Dave then went and got a hair cut... and now we're just chillin'. We plan on relaxing, going out to a nice dinner together (the Melting Pot...yum!), and then heading home to start last min. prep. for tomorrow.

It's so amazing and bewildering to me that this time tomorrow we're going to be parents. I'm so excited! I'm not sure that it's officially hit me yet though. Maybe once I'm actually laying in the operating room it'll hit, or maybe once we hear the first baby cry, or maybe when we're alone bonding in the recover room... who knows. But I do know that I'm so thankful and blessed to know that the Lord has allowed this to happen in our lives. We joked with our breakfast companions today about how the hospital is just going to let us go home with a child in a few days even though they know nothing about us. And it's funny/maybe not so funny to think about it that way... especially when you see some people with kids.. yikes. But Dave and I know that God has chosen us and has chosen our path. He meant us for each other and he formed our baby in my belly for us specifically... and he's known about this since the beginning of time. He knows every hair on its little head and it's life path already. That's so amazing to me! Amazing to know that Dave and I were selected to be this little one's parents... wow...

So anyway... we're excited... we're enjoying our 'last day of freedom' lol... and we look forward to this new journey. Just maybe not the first few weeks of it LOL... ;)

AAAAAND... tomorrow is Dave's birthday too!!! Happy 30th Honey!!! I love you so much!!

Oh yeah... and below is my last belly pic... sorry for the delay lol

One week and counting...

One week from now we'll be parents... That is assuming nothing unexpected happens like the baby deciding to flip or my water breaking.

I'm not going to lie... it's a bit nerve-racking... okay more than just a 'bit'...

1. Becoming parents is a HUGE lifestyle change. Dave and I have been together since about January of 2003... that's over 8 years... 8 years of doing things by the seat of our pants... vacationing when we wanted... dropping everything and just going out... spending our extra money on us... basically have the option of being irresponsible if we wanted... That is now changing. Our choices now will effect our child directly. (which I think a lot of people in our society today def. don't realize). Don't get me wrong, we're excited the Lord has blessed us and put us on this new path together. But I'm sure it may be a shock to the system... I will say that pregnancy has slowed us down quite a bit. We've spent the last 9 months prepping and reorganizing ourselves... and slowing down... the bigger I get the less I want to do... which maybe is God's way of making me slow down and think and prepare... if so "Thanks God" :)
So... that is why we're going to devote the majority of our 'last week alone together' to each other and just spend some relaxing quality time. :)

2. We're going to be responsible for another human being... that's scary. Food, water, shelter, discipline, financially, etc., etc., etc...for at least the next 18 years. I know we'll be fine because the Lord will provide us all our needs. I know my instincts will kick in just like all the mothers I know have told me... but that doesn't make me any less nervous to be a mom. Especially since I really don't have a good resource to pull from.

3. I'm scheduled for a c-section. That's a pretty major surgery. I've also gotten several calls from the hospital for prepping purposes (tests I have to go through the day before), I received a laundry list of things I have to do the 48 hours up until the surgery (you'd think I was having my head amputated or something), I've read and heard different testimonies about c-sections and their recovery in detail to... prepare me. And to sum it up... I'm nervous. I wasn't worried about it when we were scheduled... and I'm still not worried. We've/I've been praying about it and I know we have friends praying for us too. And I know the Lord is taking care of us and the baby and I are in his hands. I know that it'll be worth it and that once I hear our baby cry for the first time I won't even think about what I just went through. But the anticipation leading up to that moment is a bit unsettling. So I'm working through that this week...

4. I've never had to take care of a newborn before. Sure I have little brothers and I used to baby-sit a lot. But that doesn't count. Will it be a good baby that sleeps right away? Will I have problems breastfeeding... in that area I have NO clue what to expect or do... I think because I'm such a planner and A-type person... the fact the next month is pretty much an unknown is what freaks me out.

5. I'm SOOOO uncomfortable right now... enough said...

So all in all... We're excited and feel so humbled and blessed that the Lord has put us on this life path together... but I just have some prayer requests and some anxiety I'm just going to have to work through this week.

So yeah... 38 weeks and 1 day today... I have my last doctor's appointment on Tuesday and then my last day of work is Wednesday. Thursday I have to go in to the hospital and get some blood work done ... and then Friday morning (after completing my very specific instructions) we head to the hospital and have a baby...

p.s. I'm going to try to remember to post a belly pic tonight... I hope I don't forget lol (that's also happening A LOT more these days... I think the longer I'm pregnant the less I'm able to use my brain... so annoying).

Hospital Tour and 36-37 Week update

On July 25th we had our tour at the hospital (Troy Beaumont) where we'll be delivering. I must say that it was quite impressive. I think it was a milestone for me because I realized it was actually happening. Not that my growing belly wasn't obvious enough, I know, but somehow seeing all the rooms and the instruments and the moms with their new babies made it very real to me. The maternity ward is VERY nice, the nurses that we met seemed very pleasant and they were very informative. They also seem to provide a lot more than I anticipated; BONUS!

I hit 36 weeks on July 29th but my Dr. appointment was on July 28th. The Dr. did an ultrasound to confirm what I already knew... that baby Ackerman is still breech. Apparently the little one is quite comfy where he or she is... lol. He then decided not to do the normal 36 week check up stuff (i.e. Strep test, cervix check) and just schedule us for a c-section considering the baby's position and the fact I haven't dropped at all...

So...(drum roll please)... we're officially scheduled for a c-section on August 20th. We're having our baby two weeks from today... wow ... very overwhelming feeling...

I'm now scheduled to be at the doctors every week so basically I feel like I live there. My last appointment was August 4th and because the baby was being evasive I had to be hooked up to a fetal heart monitor for about 30 minutes in order for the nurses to hear the heartbeat ... sinker... But everything is fine and we're still on schedule for the 20th.

I'm officially 37 weeks and 1 day today and my next appointment is August 11th.

I will say that my mobility has diminishing. Waddling is now involuntary. We went shopping at Sams Club and Target last night. Needless to say I was concerned I wasn't going to make it from the parking lot, let alone shop two whole stores to grab some things to last us for the next month. Then I saw the motorized carts. After a moment of saying "no no... I don't need that... how embarassing" I gave in. And, wow, I'm so happy I did! They were a Godsend, truly.

So these days we're just hanging out... trying to not fill up our schedules and just relax and enjoy our time as much as we can before it's consumed by our little one... for the rest of our lives :)