Welcome to the World, Little One

Yes, that's right. Baby #3 is here, healthy and perfect as can be. And, here is how it all went down...

Tuesday evening (5/5), I was in the hospital for some monitoring when contractions started up. They started up pretty strong, but they weren't lasting too long, or coming consistently. They were measuring on the monitors and gaining strength as the night went on though. We arrived home from the hospital around 7:30, had some dinner and got the girls settled in for bed. Christian and I watched "24" while I did some work on the computer, and the contractions just kept coming stronger and faster. I sent myself to bed around 10:00PM with things picking up, but I didn't see much sleep in my future.

As the night progressed, I started tracking my contractions with an app on my phone. They ranged from 7-10 minutes apart pretty much all night, lasting about 45-60 seconds each, probably about a 5 on the pain scale, and there was no sleep anywhere in sight. Christian woke up in the morning and hopped in the shower, not really aware of what had been going on all night (he was sleeping on the couch). When he finished showering, I told him I didn't think he'd be going to work today...that things were happening and I was pretty sure this was it. We got the girls ready and he dropped them off at school. I took a shower, walked around, making sure things didn't die down with activity. Just the opposite really...as I got more active, the contractions came faster and stronger; more like 4-5 minutes apart, and around a 7 on the pain scale. Christian made me some oatmeal and we called the hospital. Because if my previous c-section and the fact that this is my 3rd, they told me to come in. So, I quick packed my bag and we were off.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:00AM. They checked me into triage, got the monitors going and took down my information. The midwife eventually came in to check me and I was dilated to a 1.5, around 80% effaced and baby was starting to drop, but hadn't made a ton of progress yet. Just like with the girls, the monitors were showing that my contractions were pretty strong, even though things weren't progressing much. The midwife talked to the OB's to come up with a plan, and officially checked me into a room. I was staying, and this was happening, and I was getting VERY nervous!

Once I settled into my room, they hooked up the monitors, took some blood, got an IV going along with an antibiotic for my GBS. I couldn't believe things were actually happening. The first plan of action was to try to get my cervix to soften faster. Because of the c-section I'm limited in induction options, but they agreed to try a transvervical foley balloon. It's a catheter like decvice that is inserted and hooks to the cervical wall. Every 30 minutes or so the nurse pulls on it and the irritation is supposed to help soften the cervix, making the contractions more favorable. It was uncomfortable at first, but didn't take long to forget about. After about 45 minutes the nurse came to pull it, and the whole thing came out. She called the midwife in, unsure if it had just worked faster than expected, or if it wasn't inserted correctly. The midwife checked me and I was dilated to 3.5 now and around 85% effected, so, a little progress.

As time went on, the contractions were becoming pretty unbearable. They weren't "ready to deliver" strong yet, but they were coming non-stop, one after another, and I had quite a ways to go yet. At that point, I gave in and requested an epidural. I was hoping I would be able to avoid it, like with Amelia's labor, but things were just so different, and I was already in so much pain. So, around 2:00PM in came the anesthesiologist, and in went the epidural. I have to admit, it was pretty heavenly then for a while. I spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening relaxing, watching some TV and napping My mother in law came up a while later to bring Christian some dinner and hang out with him for a while since I was pretty out of it. At epidural time, and for quite some time after, I was dilated between a 5 & 5.5, just not going anywhere. It was getting very frustrating. My mom stopped up with the girls around 6:30PM. I was excited to see them, and we were hoping things would progress and maybe they would meet their new sibling before the night was over, but no such luck. They left around 7:45PM and headed home, and my mother in law wasn't far behind.

They checked me again around 8:00PM and I still wasn't going anywhere too fast. The midwife and OB talked again and decided to insert and internal monitor so they could get a good gauge on how strong the contractions really were. After about 30 minutes of monitoring, they agreed to start some pitocen. I expressed some concern over it, just because I know pitocen can be a big leading factor to c-sections, but they felt really comfortable with it, and thought at this point, it could only help things.

At about 9:00PM I was up to a 7/7.5, almost completely effaced and baby was moving down fast. We were finally feeling hopeful that things were progressing, and while the epidural was still keeping my contractions at bay, I started feeling a lot of pressure. The pressure got stronger and stronger, and before long it was almost constant, and I was almost in tears. We called the nurse in and she asked if I felt like I needed to push. In all honestly, at this point, I couldn't tell what was going on. It was so different that my labor with Amelia...with her, I KNEW that I needed to push, there was no question about it, but this time around, it just felt like pressure. At this point, the midwife team had changed, and my midwife, Ann, was actually on duty. That was pretty exciting, she was finally going to delivery my baby for me after seeing her for so many years. She came in, and while I was not quite at a 10, this baby was coming. They got everything set up, took the bed apart, and it was time.

The pain, the pressure, the exhaustion...everything was setting in. I had so many emotions running through me...fear, excitement, anxiety. Pretty much everything. I finally cleared my mine, beared down and pushed. After 9 minutes, I felt the baby come out and a huge relief fall over my body. I couldn't believe it was finally over. I had done it...all of my self doubt and worry didn't matter, I did it. I heard a tiny cry out, looked at Christian and asked him what it was, and with a slight laugh in his voice he said "It's a girl!".

Yes folks, at 9:59PM on May 7, 2014, we welcomed our 3rd baby girl into our family. Meet Eliza Jane, the final piece to our little family puzzle. 7lbs 14ozs, 20" long and perfect as can be!

They placed her on my chest, cleaned her off and I couldn't help but let out some tears of joy. I couldn't believe I was finally meeting this little person, and that I got to feel the joy of meeting our baby for the first time again. There really isn't anything like it. I was just in a daze, in complete admiration for a while. Pretty oblivious to anything going on around me really. Just staring at this new, perfect little person.

Meanwhile, I delivered the placenta and they started cleaning everything up. I did have a couple tears, including a 4th degree, but none of that mattered. I couldn't feel anything while focused on my new little girl. After holding her for a while, and nursing, they took her to take her measurements, footprints, weight...all that fun stuff. I FINALLY got to eat something, and man was I starving! And a short time later they wheeled us up to my postpartum room. The nurse got us settled in, helped Christian give her a bath and we settled in for the night. With that, our lives were completely changed. And we couldn't be more excited about it!

2014 - Week 18

This week didn’t start off too hot. I woke up Monday feeling a bit under the weather. I think too much work around the house this weekend, too much activity, left me feeling drained. I decided to work from home, just in case I started feeling worse. Luckily, I finally have that “gotomyPC” program installed, and seriously, it’s amazing! I can finally do ALL my work from home! It’s ridiculous how excited I am about it, but whatever, it’s awesome! Amidst working the day away, I was surprised with some awesome gifts in the mail from one of my online mom groups…over the weekend I received a couple packs of onesies from them, but it turns out that was just a start. Today I received a big box of diapers, AND the baby swing we registered for. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know I got so lucky, making so many wonderful friends, but we couldn’t be more grateful for their generosity. The rest of the evening went pretty well. I picked the girls up, we had some dinner and played for a while, and it was bedtime before we knew it. I still wasn’t feeling great, but hoping for a better day tomorrow.

My surprises of the day...

Tuesday did not start out great at all, and took quite a crazy turn. First, the evening was pretty rough…I went to bed with my stomach turning, and it just got worst throughout the night, resulting in me waking up running for the bathroom in the middle of the night. There's nothing quite like a little stomach bug at 38 weeks pregnant, that’s for sure! Needless to say, I started the day working from home again, until I was off for my weekly check-up. At said check-up, I was surprised with a non-stress test (NST) to kick it off. This resulted in one hour of laying around, listening to baby’s heartbeat…always a welcomed sound, but delayed my arrival at work significantly, so I was getting a little anxious (not exactly optimal for a NST). After the NST, I was off to the lab for blood work for a new round of pre-e testing…another unexpected turn, since my blood pressure hasn’t been too crazy this time around. Finally, I met with Ann, my midwife. She checked me and there hasn’t been much progress…still just dilated to 1ish and slightly effaced. Baby is still measuring big, and Ann is still coming off a little pessimistic about my VBAC chances. In fact, she has me coming in on Friday to meet with one of the OB’s for a discussion…seeing that OB’s are not notoriously supportive of VBAC’s, that makes me a little nervous. And, icing on the cake, she has decided she doesn’t want me working anymore. Of course, that’s not really an option, but I compromised to work from home rather than going into the office. She’s not a huge fan, but she agreed. Seriously, an appointment full of surprises! After 2 hours in the clinic, I was finally off to work, to talk to my supervisor about the sudden change in plans, finish off my last day in the office and make sure everything is done and ready to go. It was very strange leaving work, knowing that I wouldn’t be back for three months. It sounds like such a long time, but it’s going to go so fast. I did feel quite a sense of relief pulling away though; it’s definitely less stressful being at home. To end the day, we were all off to Olivia’s kindergarten orientation. We met the kindergarten teachers, saw the classrooms and took a little tour of the school (note, we are still hoping she gets into the magnet school, but haven’t heard back yet regarding the state of the waiting list). Olivia was very nervous at first and wouldn’t really talk to the teachers, but she warmed up towards the end. Amelia on the other hand had no problem introducing herself…I’m pretty sure she thought we were there for her. I don’t think we’ll have any issues with her when it comes time for her to start school. I myself, could hardly keep it together, I can’t believe my baby is starting kindergarten in a few months! I’m so excited for her, but so overwhelmed at the same time. I can’t believe they’re growing up so fast! This day was definitely quite a rollercoaster!

Kindergarten Orientation...AHHHHH!

Wednesday was my first day officially working from home, and it was most definitely much more relaxing! No phone calls, nobody popping into my cubicle to chat or ask questions. I stay in my jammies, put my shows on in the background, settle in on the couch and work the day away. It is a little stressful, only because I’m trying so hard to get as much done as I can, but it’s still much more preferable. This week was supposed to be Olivia’s first week of baseball (Monday and today). Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t get the memo, because this week has been a complete washout, literally. It’s pretty expected in the spring, but I’m just a little bummed because she’s nervous about playing, and I’m afraid she won’t have much practice before their games start. I know the whole season is pretty much just a learning experience, but I wish she could get a little non-game learning under her belt before the games start. So, because of the rainout, we had another quiet evening at home.

My little "Littlest Pet Shop" game addict, takes after her mama!

Thursday marked the first day of May…MAY!!! It’s finally baby month. I guess I shouldn’t really say finally, Lord knows time has been flying by. I just can’t believe it’s actually here though. It’s May, and I’m SO ready to get this show on the road! I spent the day working from home again, and it’s still oh so wonderful. I also watched “The Business of Being Born” documentary today, and OH MY GOD, I can’t believe I had never watched it before. This documentary should seriously be mandatory for all expecting parents, it's very eye opening and has a lot of vital information that a lot of new parents should be aware of. I honestly can’t say enough about it. I followed it up by watching their special on VBAC’s, and it was so spot on. I could hear myself in almost everything they said, it actually made me really emotional. It’s a very empowering, and eye-opening, series all around, that’s for sure. And, that was pretty much the highlight of my day. The evening was another standard, fairly quiet one.

On my search for a good TBT picture for this week, I stumbled upon this treat. Our first official family photo, circa 2005. Had me cracking up..

Friday was my day off, but I had two doctor appointments to keep myself busy. First up, I was off for my 3^rd biophysical ultrasound. They didn’t take measurements this time, but they checked fluid levels, baby’s breathing and heartbeat, stuff like that. Again, s/he scored perfect, so there are definitely no worries there. Thankfully! My second appointment wasn’t for a few hours, so I picked my mom up and we headed to the mall to kill some time. We got some walking in, I bought a couple of dresses for Olivia and we had some lunch. We also stopped at Target to get a few things, mainly a helmet and glove for Olivia. I dropped her off back at home, and was back to the clinic for my meeting with the OB. Still nervous and unsure how it would go, they called me back. Surprisingly, the appointment was AMAZING. I LOVED the OB, he was super supportive and really easy to talk to. He doesn’t have any issues with the baby’s size, especially because I have had a successful VBAC, and based on the scans he doesn’t see the baby being ridiculously big anyway, which was reassuring. He didn’t bring up anything about setting a deadline or anything of that nature. Honestly, as much as I love Ann, my midwife, I wish he would’ve been my doctor all along. All in all, the meeting was a HUGE relief and made me feel so much better about everything, which I definitely wasn’t expecting. The rest of the afternoon and evening were pretty low key. I felt like I could finally relax after weeks of chaos and stress and not knowing what was going on. I’m reaching the end, and I finally feel like I can breathe a little easier. Yes, today was a good day!

Saturday was a pretty busy day. We had breakfast and were all off to swim class. After class, I decided it was high time I treat myself to a little pampering, and I decided to get a pedicure. So, I dropped the family off at home, and went on a search of a nail salon with an opening. It was over before I knew it, but it was such a nice, relaxing little escape. I really need to do that more often! Once I was home, it was back to reality and I was on Mom duty, while Christian started taking advantage of the first really nice day we’ve had so far this spring, and started on some yard work. He put out some of the lawn decorations, mowed the grass, fertilized and picked up the post-winter mess and trash. He gets exhausted, but he LOVES his yard, so I think he really looks forward to it. Meanwhile, the girls and I were off to Amelia’s first friend birthday party, for her little BFF Lizzie from school. Lizzie’s mom is one of the teachers at school, so a lot of the teachers were there, and all the kids were from school, even a couple of older ones, so both of the girls had some friends to play with. I got a chance to talk to a few of the other parents from school, which was nice since there really isn’t time for chatting when you pick up or drop off, so it was a pretty fun party for all of us. The girls were pretty exhausted by the time we got home, and lack of naps had them pretty crabby and acting up, bedtime couldn’t come soon enough. Christian headed out for a few drinks with a friend and I watched  few shows before I passed out for the night. Busy day for this super pregnant mama!

Amelia and the birthday girl, Lizzie. So sweet!

Rico is going to be very happy when I actually have a lap again...

Sunday was a pretty lazy day around the house. I did a little laundry, and a liiiiitle bit of picking up around the house, otherwise we really just took it easy, watched some movies, took some nice long naps and relaxed. I think knowing we’re severely limited on opportunities to do that kicked in, so we took advantage…

Christian was giving baby a little pep talk today...

…and, speaking of which, today marks 39 weeks! By this point, Olivia was already born. Amelia came at 39 weeks 5 days, so I have a good feeling this will be the week. I don’t really feel anything going on yet, or nothing too crazy yet. Of course, I’m about as uncomfortable as you can get…lacking sleep, going to the bathroom constantly and feeling like I’m lugging around a bowling ball everywhere I go. I have started to feel more and more pressure with each passing day, so I do think baby is starting to make his/her way down, little by little. I really don’t have much energy left at all at this point, so we’re most definitely in the home stretch. Reality of labor, and delivery, certainly starts to settle in around this time, and is starting to make me nervous. I feel more nervous about it this time around than I did with Amelia honestly…maybe because I actually know what’s coming this time around. But remembering that feeling when baby comes out, knowing that baby is finally here, and seeing baby for the first time pretty much takes over any feelings of fear I may have. So, here we are folks…39 weeks down, and hopefully only a matter of days before our family is finally complete. I CAN’T WAIT!!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2014 - Week 17

I'll be honest right up frong, this week was pretty quiet. I don’t have a ton to report on until the weekend rolled around. I also really sucked it up on the photo taking front as well. Oops, sorry for the ultra-boring week, readers!

Monday was just a pretty standard Monday. I really don’t have much to report. Christian and I were off to work, the girls were off to school. The evening was play time, some TV, dinner, bath and bed. This is pretty much life…

On Tuesday I as off to my weekly check-up during lunch. It was actually the best appointment I’ve had in quite some time. My blood pressure was not only good, it was actually NORMAL. I can’t even tell you the last time I had a normal blood pressure reading. Ann, my midwife, didn’t think the baby was feeling quite as big as it had been, so we’re hopeful that baby’s growth has slowed a little bit. For once, I felt like I left the appointment breathing a sigh of relief, rather than having something new to panic over. Something new to derail my birth plans. It was a very good feeling. After the appointment, I was back to work to finish off the day. Can I just say, I am SO, SO, SOOOOOO sick of traffic. I have traffic under normal circumstances, but my road rage and annoyance level definitely grows when I’m pregnant. I feel like you can just never win, if it’s not ice/snow/rain slowing everything down, it’s construction, or an accident, or a stalled car, or, in todays’ case, a grassfire. Yes, a GRASSFIRE, smack dab in the middle of the city. I mean, come on! I just with everybody could just drive normal, and stop worrying so much about everything else going on, it would make such a difference. By the time I get the girls and get home, it’s right to making dinner and I’m exhausted. I’m sure a lot of it is pregnancy related, but still, annoyed!

Wednesday was another pretty boring day. I did however get Olivia’s baseball information, which I’m SUPER excited about. Softball was my sport growing up, I played from about 6 years old through high school and just loved it. I’m hoping the girls, or at least one of the kids, will follow in my footsteps. There is no t-ball league in our area, they go right into coach pitch, so I’m a little nervous about that. Olivia is most worried about catching the ball, which makes me laugh a little. We just keep telling her that everybody is learning. I was quite disappointed to find out that she is the ONLY girl on her team. I’m hoping we can spin that as a good thing, and she doesn’t panic because of it. There’s actually only 4 girls in the whole “league”. How sad is that?!? Since when don’t girls play “t-ball”?

Again, Thursday was pretty quiet. Not much going on, which at this point, is a good thing. I will share one event from the day that just pushed me over the edge emotionally. When I picked the girls up from school tonight I gave Olivia a hug, then started making my way to get Amelia. As I walked away, one of the other little girls went running over to Olivia, calling her name. As I left the room I heard Olivia saying “No she’s not, you can’t say that!” and go over to tell her teacher what was going one. The teacher got really upset and put the girl in a timeout. I knew she had said something about me. As we walked outside I asked Olivia what happened and she said “Eva told me that you are fat and I told her you’re not and told Miss Carla.” Even though I pretty much knew that’s what had happened, and knew this was coming from a 5 year old that really doesn’t know any better, it made me very emotional. I started crying in the car and I just couldn’t shake it the rest of the night. Kids can be so cruel, without even realizing it. Although, can I just say, I was SO proud of the way Olivia stood up for me. You could never really know how your kid would react to a situation like that, and I feel like she handled it perfectly. With each passing day, I’m definitely ready to move on from the pregnancy phase though, I don’t like feeling so bad about myself, over something that should be so amazing.

My TBT photo this week was a flashback to our last day as a family of 3, as we prepare for our last day as a family of 4!

On Friday, after plowing through some work, I spent a good portion of the day cleaning my cubicle, getting my timesheets done for the next few weeks and sending out the last of the instructions on my work for the people taking over while I’m out. Work wise, I’m officially ready to go…anytime. Literally, I’m ready to go! It would not be the end of the world if I didn’t return after this weekend, that’s for sure. Other than that, one of my favorite things about summer is watching the girls on the playground with all of their friends when I get there to pick them up. I find it very interesting to see how they really play and interact without us around. Olivia is always with the same little group of kids, usually all girls, and they are TOTALLY the little girl group on the playground…they run, they scream, they squeal, they laugh. Amelia on the other hand, is often on a timeout when I get there, sitting on the bench with the teacher. Today was no exception. She just can’t keep herself out of trouble. I find it very interesting that they are rarely playing together. They each do their own thing, with their own friends, which isn’t unusual, but being so close in age, I do think it’s interesting that they don’t play together, or play in the same little group. Once I finally loaded them up, we made our way home and had a pretty quiet Friday…dinner, some more playtime and a movie before bed. We did spend a little time around our first fire of the summer, which was great! Nothing too exciting.

She was acting up, getting in trouble, but even though I was the worst mom ever for disciplining her, she still takes a picture with me. Awwww!

Olivia played photographer for a while tonight...

Our ducks have been roaming the neighborhood this year

Our first bonfire of the summer. YES!

On Saturday, things started to pick up for a pretty busy weekend. For  me, the main event of the day was the baby shower my friends offered to throw for me. For Christian, he was off to our nieces’ First Communion ceremony and lunch, which was unfortunately scheduled for the same day as the shower (but not known until just a couple weeks ago). I was pretty bummed that I couldn’t be there (we are the girls’ godparents afterall), but I was not aware of the ceremony until it was too late to change the shower. So, Christian got himself ready, and was off to his parents’ to go with them. I took our girls to swim class, then we were off to the shower. It was a pretty small shower…no games, just some food, some conversation and some gifts. It was perfect! I had so much fun catching up with friends and spending some time with all of them. The girls came with and it was really fun to have them there with me. We got some pretty awesome gifts too…a lot of the little necessities, which is perfect. I was bummed when it was over and time to call it a day, but it was so appreciated, and I was pretty exhausted. The girls ended up talking my mom into taking them for a while, so they left with her to hang out at her house for a bit. Christian met me at home and emptied the gifts out of the van, then was off to have a couple drinks with a friend, while I rested and started putting some of the new stuff away. Everything is getting more real, so exciting!! My mom brought the girls home just in time to get into their jammies, watch a couple of videos and go to bed. I wasn’t far behind.

On Sunday, I was on a mission. Christian was on Dad duty for the day, while I spent the day cleaning and nesting away. I finished putting away all of the new baby stuff AND I finished re-organizing the kids’ room and closet to fit everything. That was quite a chore, but finally done! I spent some time doing our weekly chores…some laundry, picking up, dishes. The usual. And, finally, we were all off to Target to “finish” our registry and get the last of anything we need before baby comes. We’ll pretty much just need to get some clothes once we FINALLY know, boy or girl, and we’ll be set. I can’t wait!!

You forget how cute and soft and cuddly new baby stuff is!

Today I also turned 38 weeks. I know I say it every week, but I honestly can’t believe we’re almost there. We’re SOOOOOO close, it could literally be any time now. I know we’re in for quite a shock when baby does come, even though everybody says going from 2 to 3 is nothing, I’m still nervous! To be honest, I’m really nervous about the whole newborn stage again. As cute and sweet and cuddly as newborns are, it’s really not my favorite stage. Starting over with breastfeeding, the completely unscheduled way of living, the long nights and exhausting days, playing the guessing game every time baby cries or seems upset…it’s definitely overwhelming. But, as scary as it is, I just can’t wait to meet this little one and complete our family. To see how we adjust and change and grow as a complete unit. To see how the girls react and what they think. To have the chance to watch another little person grow into their own being. Those are the things that are so exciting to me. Almost there!! I didn't get a chance to take a weekly picture this week...my mind just wasn't in it.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2014 - Week 16

This week started off pretty normal. My new usual morning conversation with Amelia at drop off has become her telling me how she’s not going to get in trouble, she’s not going to hit anybody and she’s not going to the toddler room. Seriously, she is quite a character. Too bad she doesn’t actually follow through with this plan most days. And, can I just say, it cracks me up that her punishment is going to the toddler room…or, according to her, being with the babies. Ha. Speaking of babies, this baby seems to be developing some serious opinions on food these days – I’ve been having some major reactions to different foods all of a sudden…apparently s/he is developing quite the palate suddenly. Outside of that, it was a pretty standard Monday.

Tuesday started of pretty busy. Christian was off to work, the girls were off to school, and I started the day working from home. After a couple hours, I dropped Chuy of at the vet for his 6 month check-up, then I was off to my appointments. First up, a biophysical ultrasound. Baby got a perfect score again, which is great. They took measurements again, and baby is still measuring big, but not AS big, so I’m feeling a little better. The femur bone still measures exactly on point with 36 weeks; his/her head is now only 2 weeks ahead, 66% which is better; but the abdomen is still measuring 3+ weeks ahead, 97%. Baby must just be packing on the pounds in there! They estimated his/her weight to be 7lbs3ozs right now, which is 1-2 pounds over where s/he should be. But, the fact that the measurements are different than the last scan makes me feel a little more comfortable, and makes me trust the scans less and less. Other than that, my fluid levels still look great, baby continues to move down, baby is breathing great and his/her heart rate was around 150. I met with my midwife for my usual appointment after the ultrasound. She is still very supportive of everything, but doesn’t seem overly optimistic, which worries me a little. I’ve seen Ann for all three of my pregnancies, and I really trust her, but I will admit it’s a little disheartening to feel like she’s not 100% on board with everything. She did however reaffirm that regardless of what the scan says, we can’t know for sure how big baby is, until baby gets here. And, that’s what I’m trying to focus on. After my appointment, I was finally off to work for the rest of the day. But, I was met with some more frustration. This weekend is supposed to be the big mini-van purchase weekend, but it’s shaping up to be a very difficult thing to coordinate. My uncle works for Dodge, so we can get a discount through him. He goes through a specific dealership for his discount because he feels like he gets the best deal there, which is quite a drive from our house. On top of that, my stepmom has to co-sign on the purchase because she is the immediate relative. And, of course, Christian has to be there because we’re trading in his truck for the purchase. So, trying to coordinate so many schedules has proved to be pretty stressful. On top of that, loan applications and getting all of the paperwork together – my brain is going to explode! By the time I got home tonight with those crazy girls, I was EXHAUSTED!

First time in 3 pregnancies I resorted to using one of these parking spots! It was lovely...

Well, all of the stress from yesterday somehow turned into the best night of sleep I’ve had in a LONG time. It just made Wednesday come way too fast though. How can you be so tired when you actually get a good nights’ sleep for a change?!? The day went by very slow. The slow day turned into a stressful night. These girls of ours will NOT stop fighting with each other. It’s constant…over everything, and anything. I feel like we already live in a house with teenagers, and they’re only 3 & 5! And, it’s not just arguing and a little slap here and there, they literally beat the crap out of each other if you let them. Honestly, I think “moms of boys” would be pretty shocked to find out what a couple of little girls are really like! Trust me, it’s not all sugar and spice over here!

Thursday was a pretty typical day. I’m still feeling completely overwhelmed by all of the unknowns in our live right now, and all of the planning as these final weeks tick by. Car buying, maternity leave planning, FMLA, Short Term Disability and insurance paperwork, and of course, all of the final preparations before baby gets here. It feels like so much more than with either of the other girls. The planning and to-do lists just keep growing and growing, I don’t feel like I ever actually check anything off of my lists! This is pretty much what consumes me now.

Friday was my Friday off and THANK GOD, it could not have come soon enough. I needed a day to myself, some quiet. I had a list of things I wanted to do today, but I sat around watching my shows instead. Not very productive, but much needed, so whatever. I did get the girls’ latest school pictures, and they were pretty disappointing. Olivia had her first filling done the morning of their pictures, so her mouth was a little numb still. Her pictures still turned out pretty good though. I don’t know what was going on with Amelia, but she was apparently not cooperating AT ALL. She must have just not been in the mood for pictures that day. And, I have a feeling in their sibling photos, Olivia was driving her nuts. Oh well, they do crack me up. The girls and I spent the night inside, watching some movies and hanging out, while Christian cleaned out the last of the truck. I know he’s having a tough time accepting it, but I’m hoping the moping doesn’t last too long!

Always in my face...

Saturday started off pretty normal…Christian was off to work for a while, and the girls and I hung out around the house. I put them down for a nap, Christian arrived home and we both got ready. My mom arrived to watch the girls, and we were finally off for the big event…it was finally mini-van purchasing day. Everything had finally come together, everybody who needed to be there, showed up. We were nervous but very excited (well, I think Christian was holding back tears all day, but I could tell he was still excited.  We chatted with the salesman for a bit, then settled on a van to test drive. We took it around town for a bit and it was pretty dang awesome! We were sold (though, we had pretty much already decided anyway). The van has pretty much everything, except heated seats and an auto start. It’s a light gray/silver with black interior, and it’s their “sports” series. It has two DVD players (which, we don’t actually plan on using, but they’re standard), navigation and electric everything. Seriously, I’m in love. My dad and stepmom surprised us with a little cash gift, to use towards the car or towards baby stuff, which was a pretty amazing surprise. We’re going to save that for some baby clothes! We ended up getting $11,500 for the truck, which was about what we were hoping for, put down our down-payment, and just have to take out a small loan through our credit union for the rest. In the end, we should have the van paid off by the end of 2015, then we’ll be on to getting Christian a new car. It was quite a process, but I’m glad it’s finally done. It started raining on our way home, and my mom was on her way as soon as we arrived. We had a pretty quiet night at home…dinner, some TV and play time. Once the girls were down, Christian was off with a friend to have a couple beers and mourn the loss of his truck. What a day!!

Forced morning cuddles for Rico

The new van!!!

Amelia, listening to baby

Sunday was Easter Day, and we were looking forward to a pretty quiet day. The girls were up pretty early. We didn’t do Easter baskets this year…their ponies from the mall last year were their “Easter gifts”, and there has just been too much going on for me to worry about baskets. Luckily, the girls didn’t even realize they were missing anything. They don’t even remember they usually get baskets. I started laundry and did some cleaning up. We had breakfast and took the girls outside to do their egg hunt. Man do they have a blast with that every year. I think we just may skip the baskets from now on and just focus on the egg hunt, they just love it! Next up, we got ourselves ready and we were off to my in-laws for Easter dinner. The girls played with their cousins for a while, but they left shortly after dinner, and the girls started acting up big time. So, we had to cut our visit pretty short a well and head home. The girls watched some videos and relaxed for a while, while Christian took down the Christmas lights on the house and I finished up laundry. A busy weekend comes to an end!

Easter Pictures

Today also marks 37 Weeks for me…that means I’m officially FULL TERM!!!! I can’t believe it, I seriously feel like I JUST found out I was pregnant, and now here I am, full term and ready to go any time now. I’m definitely reaching that point of being ready to go, especially with all of these threats of a giant baby. Baby’s movements have become much more compact, but boy do they have a lot of power! I get more uncomfortable with each passing day, but nothing too miserable yet. We just getting very anxious to meet this little one and welcome him/her into our crazy little family!