Here we are at the end! I'll probably be in the middle of writing this when Alexandria makes her entrance. I might be able to finish before she arrives if she decides to come late, but otherwise I'll probably be posting this after she's born. Pregnancy seems to go faster with each child. Probably because I am more distracted and busy the more children I have. It's hard to believe I could be days from meeting her(I'm writing this between 37-38 weeks). On the other hand it still could be weeks. It's weird when you have to keep living your life like normal when at the same time you know any day it could be wildly different and never be the same again. I'm excited for the change, but I think every mom can tell you the waiting and anticipation of labor makes the end of pregnancy kind of a strange limbo time of life.
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| 32 1/2 weeks |
Around 32 weeks I start feeling like I really need to have everything as ready as possible for her arrival! I know there's still almost 2 months left at that point, but I remember how fast those last 2 months went last time with Atlas and I don't want to be caught off guard! In the last few weeks I ordered and received my birth kit, packed a bag of items I would like easy to find during and right after birth for both Xan and myself, got some old towels from my mom, bought some gatorade for labor and showed my mom around the house to make sure she knew where all of the items we might need for birth were in my house. My mother-in-law gave us my favorite style of baby book and my mom gave us a new video monitor to replace our broken one and a Wubbanub lamb for Jane to wrap and give to Xan when she's born. Those were the last items on my to do list to have done before she comes! So I'm as ready as I can be now! Which is a good thing, at this moment I have just 5 days left before I'm within the 4 week time period that 85% of babies are born.
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| One of my favorite outfits, pregnant or not! |
I always seem to snap to the fact about how close the due date is when I think to myself "This is probably the last time I have to schedule the bills to be paid before birth!" I said this with Atlas as well, but I know it's because every time I pay the bills it feels like I had just paid them. ;) So they always creep up on me and that's how I know it will feel like I'll blink and this baby will here! When I'm working I realize, oh this is probably the last time I'll do this task before Xan is here, for example reconciling bank statements and I did that almost two weeks ago! OH my goodness, it's soooo soon!
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| My belly button is sticking out a little now. |
Seriously, everything I do I start thinking, "This could be the last time before I have 3 kids!" or I'll start counting down, like I have only like 2-4 grocery store trips left before I have to figure out shopping with 3 littles! Also, If I want to do any cute before and after baby shots, like I have done with the other two, I better get the before shots done now before she's not in my belly anymore! ;)
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| Jane, Atlas and Alexandria. All 34 weeks. |
From 34 weeks on my belly feels extra big and gets in my way of doing certain things. I have to wash dishes standing sideways because I'm not tall enough for my belly to be over the counter. I can't fit through some spots in my house like I normally can(like behind Sam's recliner). I have to sleep on my side. My belly is too big to sleep on my stomach obviously and it's not healthy to sleep on your back because of bad circulation. The couch seems to swallow me nowadays and not let go. Every night I have to motivate myself to try to get up from the couch and go to bed. So much so that I have been falling asleep blogging on the couch almost nightly now. Of course part of that is also third trimester tiredness. I can have some super nesting energy during the day, but once I sit down at the end of the day my body is done!
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| Baby sister makes a good pillow right now. |
While Jane will only have momentary lapses and accidentally elbow me in the stomach every so often then say sorry. Atlas doesn't seem to understand at all that it's not ok to crawl around on my belly or sit on or kick my belly. Silly boy! He knows where baby sister is when we ask him, but he must think my belly is a super force field and he could never hurt the baby from the outside or it's just he just doesn't think of her at all. My bet is on the latter. When I ask him about the baby he'll pat my belly and say, "Hi baby sister!" then the next moment it seems he's totally forgotten about her. He won't just spontaneously come up to my belly give baby sister a hug or a kiss like Jane did with Atlas and does with Xan too. It might actually be nice if he's not obsessed with her like Jane was with Atlas. Haha! Less protecting that I will have to do potentially. ;)
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| My yummy protein shake fits perfectly on my baby bump. |
This time around I have gained more weight than I did with Atlas and even a little more than Jane. When I look at pictures of myself I feel like I look pretty similar though. I've had a harder time controlling my diet this time because I normally have good amount of snacks and treats around for the kids and it's so much harder to resist when they're in the house! Also I cook meals that Jane and Atlas like to eat that aren't the healthiest ever and I don't have the energy to fix myself a different meal. When I was pregnant with Jane I just didn't buy any sugar and with Atlas, Jane wasn't really old enough that I had started buying her treats yet and she would barely eat a meal anyway. But now Atlas and Jane both eat pretty normal sized meals. So I'm going to blame it on that and our terrible Winter of cold weather and sickness. It's like the world was against me going for a walk this Winter!! I know walking everyday makes a big difference. Hopefully it won't have any negative impact on labor or delivery!
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| Sweet puppy resting her head on my belly. |
Everybody say it with me... Awwww!! There's just something about a puppy and a baby belly that's just so adorable! Cambria was bringing me her ball to play, but then she just decided my belly was the perfect spot to rest her head. Sweet puppy! She doesn't seem to have any instinct about a baby being in there though. She'll still jump up on me and she'll put her paws up on my belly when I'm on the couch. So she doesn't treat me any differently from what I can tell. She's definitely more gentle with Atlas than she is with Jane though. So it will be interesting to see how she'll react to a newborn! My guess is she'll just smell her a lot and might try to lick her. Especially if Xan spits up or something. ;) I have no idea how she'll act when I'm in labor. I'm just hoping she doesn't get in the way or whine a bunch if we have to put her away.
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| 36 weeks! |
36 weeks is the "we've got less than a month to the due date" marker! It's an interesting time because from that point she could come in approximately two to six weeks. Two weeks feels super soon but then again 6 weeks feels like a really long time to keep being this pregnant. I haven't had a baby come late yet. My midwives had really prepared me for Jane to come at least a week late. So even though she was born on her due date she felt early to me! Atlas totally caught me off guard with being 12 days early(it's a good thing I had everything prepared for him early!). For Alexandria, I'm not expecting her to go past her due date because of the first two and because everyone tells you babies come earlier each time, but of course, she would be the one to go ahead and be late since I'm not expecting it. ;)
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| Picnic with the kiddos! |
In these last few weeks I'm trying to spend as much quality time with my two kids as possible. We're doing a lot of things that I know will be harder once we add a little baby to the mix. We had a backyard picnic together the other day in the beautiful Spring weather. I know that's something we will be able to do with Xan, but it's definitely easier right now! Parks will be a challenge for a while, so we are taking a few extra trips lately. We're taking advantage of free breakfast at Chick-fil-a every Wednesday in March. Also we're trying to get in some playdates with our friends before I don't want to go anywhere or let anyone breathe on Xan for like a month. ;) Sam keeps telling me I'm supposed to be slowing down these days, but I keep saying I won't have a chance to do these things once Xan is here. At least for a while. I'll slow down when she arrives. I won't have a choice!!
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| 37 weeks! |
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| Twisting my ankle later that same day. |
My mom and dad took Jane and Atlas to spend the night one last time before baby sister is here. So Sam and I took advantage of the opportunity and had our last date day without kids for a while. (Most likely Xan won't be away from me for any extended amount of time for months.) We went to see Black Panther and had lunch at Cracker Barrel. I also got some things done around the house. It was great! Thanks Marmee and Pappaw! Remember when I said I felt like the world was against me taking walks.... Well.... about an hour after my mom dropped the kids back off at the house I twisted my ankle pretty badly just walking in my backyard. :( Somehow I found some uneven ground between the grass and the concrete porch and it took me out! I've twisted my ankle many times, but never with kids and of course never at 37 weeks pregnant. Sometimes I'm able to react quickly to the feeling of my ankle starting to roll and I'll take all the weight off of it and fall to the ground. I don't care if I get a couple of small scrapes as long as I don't sprain my ankle. I couldn't do that this time because I didn't want to fall on the baby or jeopardize my pregnancy in any way. So my ankle took the full force of my weight, not to mention the extra baby weight I'm carrying and I heard three pops. I went to the ground as safely as possible, told the kids and the dog to get inside and crawled inside myself. Unfortunately, Sam was running a quick errand at the time. So I hopped on one foot over to the freezer and grabbed the ice pack I always keep in there for situations like this and made my way to the couch. I got my foot elevated and iced within minutes. I told you I've done this before! Jane was so sweet. She was like, "Mom, lay down, you need a bandaid! Here's a blanket. I gotta call Dad!" About a minute after I got my ice pack Sam got home and Jane ran over to him trying to explain. I quickly called from the couch that it was just my ankle, so he didn't freak out and think I was in labor. I was laid up on the couch for about 2 days not being able to put any pressure on it. Thankfully by the third day I was able to walk on it. I'm still moving slow, but I'm doing good! I have officially been forced to slow down! I guess I needed it. ;) Now I'm just praying it's fully recovered before I go into labor. Xan can put off her arrival for another week or two. I'm ok with that!
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| Can't wait to add the after photo to this!! |
I did a bump picture like this one with Atlas and I loved the way it turned out so I had to do it again with Xan. I can't wait to be able to do the after picture!! :) So far I'm still sleeping really well. I have to get up and go to the bathroom once a night, but normally one of the kids needs me once a night too so I just go then and I'm good. ;) I'm starting to have dreams about birth. One interesting thing about those dreams is that I never really get to see my baby's face and I can never remember what my labor was like. It's interesting to me that my mind is fixated on it, but it doesn't know how to formulate those details in a dream.
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| 37 1/2 weeks |
I've talked about the differences in the movements I feel between all 3 pregnancies before, but Alexandria has changed how she moves some since then. There are movements that are similar to all three, but each one is also unique. So Jane was lots of sharp, fast jabs and I noticed her stretching a lot. Atlas would do huge, smooth movements and move my entire belly around. He also liked to kick me back when I pushed on him. Xan will kick a bunch like Jane, but it's not super sharp. She always seems to have her foot pressed up against the inside of my belly. I can almost always find one foot if not both of them! When I press on her foot most of the time she just moves it to another spot and presses softly again. I love to play chase with her feet! Both girls seem to have a lot more hiccups than Atlas. It's always so interesting to me to see how their movements in the womb translate to their personalities and tendencies once they're born.
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| Jane, Atlas and Xan, Same outfit, All 38 weeks! |
Yippee! I made it to 38 weeks! I'm always super excited to make it to this point. It eases my mind a lot. Around 34 weeks my braxton hicks contractions become pretty strong so I have to pay attention to them and make sure they're not consistent and go away when I change positions. I start to worry if I've been feeling them for a while even if they're super inconsistent. Once I reach 38 weeks, of course, I still have to pay attention, but I don't have to worry anymore. If they are real contractions we're ready to go! She should be healthy and ready to meet the world after this point!
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| Feeling baby sister |
A few days before 38 weeks I had a bunch of strong braxton-hicks contractions. They almost seemed consistent for about an hour. I started praying that I wasn't in labor yet! Even though I was sure Alexandria would have been fine if she ended up being born then, I realized how much I wanted another week or more before she came! For one I wanted some more time for my ankle to heal completely. The other thing was that I had a feeling of not being done with being pregnant yet. That way I would have her as close to me as possible a little longer and I wanted at least a few more days with just Jane and Atlas.
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| Top row 14, 18, 22, 26 weeks, Bottom row, 30, 34, 36, 38 weeks |
We have finally decided on a middle name!! :o Alexandria Ridley Daniels. I've asked Jane a few times what Xan's middle name should be and she normally says her own name or baby or sister or something else like that. Just the other day I asked her again and she said Daisy! It was the first time I got a real name out of her! It's a cute name, but not for us. I told Sam her suggestion and it made him think of the actress Daisy Ridley and Ridley just felt right to him!(part of the reason I liked Rei is because of Rey from Star Wars played by Daisy Ridley) Sam is usually a very logical person, but with names it's more of a gut feeling with him. As I've explained before, I'm really into name meanings. I've already talked about how Alexandria means Defender of Mankind which is awesome. Ridley means Woodland Clearing. Which isn't bad or anything, but wasn't special to me at first. I told him if he was pretty set on it then I would try to come around to it. I started imagining a woodland clearing and what came to me is a peaceful place of rest. It also kinda reminded me of taking a walk through a Jane Austen novel. I had prayed that night that if it was the right name for her that God would do something to make it my favorite middle name choice for Xan. Then the next day I happened to see a park mom that I knew at Chick-fil-a and some how I didn't know her son's name until that day and wouldn't you know, it's Ridley. I took that as a sign and decided to go with it! As I write it and say it more the more I like it and it just sounds right. I also love that Jane had a part in the name. :)
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| 38 1/2 weeks |
At 38 weeks 5 days, I finally felt ready for Xan's arrival. I felt like I got my week back after my ankle injury. We got to go to park day, free breakfast at Chick-fil-A and Gymnastics. We also had a great play date with some friends that we hadn't gotten to see in a while. My ankle had even recovered enough to start going on walks again. I got most of my house cleaned that week too! Everything seemed to be falling into place to have a baby! So I accepted Sallie's offer of a massage that day. Atlas came before I had a chance to get a massage from Sallie. A couple of hours after my massage I started feeling some mild contractions. I noticed they weren't stopping so I started timing them. They were coming almost every 15 minutes for about an hour or two and then I had a strong one that almost felt real! So I texted my mom and Sallie just to let them know and I would update them if they got stronger. Then as soon as I sat down for dinner they dissipated. They still came every 30 minutes but if I wasn't paying attention they were mild enough for me to miss. I was overly aware of the contractions because I had just had a massage that could induce labor and I didn't want to be in denial like I was when I was in labor with Atlas. I realized this was just the way it was going to be from now on until she makes her arrival.
OH my goodness! I made it to 40 weeks. I'm very surprised! Now I've had a baby be exactly on time, early and late! People keep saying to me, "You must be so ready!" or "I hope she comes soon for your sake!", but I'm really fine! In fact I keep thinking, I really don't mind if she doesn't come today. ;) I feel like everyone is more impatient about her coming than I am. I understand they're just excited to meet her like I am, but only being a day late at this point I already feel like there is a little negativity that surrounds babies being late. Honestly, I have woken up a couple times disappointed that I wasn't in labor yet. Especially on Easter, April 1st, since I had a great massage by my midwife and a bunch of contractions the day before. I thought for sure I would wake up and be having a baby. But each time by the end of the day I realize that I'm glad she didn't come that day! There's always something special about that day that I know wouldn't have happened if she had come already. For example, we had a wonderful Easter and it definitely wouldn't have been the same if I was recovering from just giving birth. April 2nd was an interesting day. My first day officially past my due date. Both kids and myself were just off! They were disobedient, tired and kinda crazy all day. I didn't respond well at first. I lashed out in anger a couple of times reacting to their misbehavior. Then in the middle of the day I prayed, asked for strength and selflessness and got refocused on not letting my kids bad behavior effect my mood and reactions. I realized I really needed that lesson before I had a newborn around again. I'm thanking God helping me see that and I'm praying he will continue to give me the right perspective as I wait for Xan's arrival! We're ready for you baby girl. So excited to meet you and kiss your sweet face!
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| 40 1/2 weeks. Last bump picture! |
James 1:2-6
My Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
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