Possibly a Very Big Boy

Tuesday was the big day for the ultrasound to see how behemoth "little" Gabriel is. The concensus is.....mind you the ultrasound lady did say give or take a pound....8.12 pounds!!! So anywhere from almost 8-10 pounds with two and a half weeks possible left to go! Some people have said that many times they are wrong and they come out a lot smaller. But when the tech has to scan my crotch with the ultrasound thingy to get at his head and my ribs for his feet and butt....I'm leaning towards the larger side! Which would explain more of my crazy pain symptoms. I'm still a good 2 cm and 80% effaced so my doc says I could possibly go early....But I wonder....So still scheduled for induction on the 21st and am counting down the days on my calendar and hoping the Gabe doesn't get too much bigger. My feet have already swollen to ten times their size and I gain about 3 pounds a week in water retention. I have at least 5-8 BMs a day and around 2 at night since he's suffocating my intestinal tract and things only move a little at a time, which causes a lot of cramping, especially when the contractions start and stimulate the bowels!!!! And I just got rid of one UTI and am hoping no more to follow during these last couple of weeks!! Sorry to be so detailed, but goodness, I had no idea I was in for such a long miserable last three months. I also get these tingly, numb sensations all over my belly and up by ribs. Every time I need to get up in the middle of the night to pee I feel like my whole stomach is going to rupture and explode!

We also just had our last prenatal birthing class last night. It was a very enjoyable class. So fun to meet new people who are going through what I'm going through. I should be the first to pop out a baby...but you never know. We met Amanda and her mother, Melissa and Jake, and Nancy and William. Thanks for sharing all your miseries and pain! It made me feel better like I was not alone! After everyone has their babies, we'll have to get together and see everyone's!!

The birthing class was very informative since it let Archie and I know that I definitely will need my mother with me in the delivery room. We watched a birthing video and Archie barely made it through. If for some reason he really does pass out or get sick then it'll be nice to have my mommy there for some extra moral support! He's my hero!!!

So I guess we are officially ready...well, I'm definitely ready to have him out!! I want to meet my "sweet" little, but probably larger than life boy!!! We learned about breastfeeding last night in the class and the nurse had dolls for us to practice positioning with...my belly was so big I couldn't even get the doll into the football hold! One more reason not to have kids too close together...he he. We've got the crib set up with sheets and the mobile, the dresser/changing table just arrived so Archie will put that together as soon as he gets home tonight and then I can put all his cute little clothes into the dresser! We have a playpen/bassinet from my mother. And a stroller/infant carrier as well.

The infant seat has quite it's own special story...since it came with a stroller it's not one of those extra fancy ones. When we put it into my VW it wasn't sitting balanced. So Archie had to attach an extra bracket in order to get it balanced, which meant drilling into the seat to attach said bracket. This was on Saturday. I came out to see how he was doing and he said: "Everything's good, just ran into a little snare." I'm thinking the bracket didn't work and it wasn't balancing right....nope. "What little snare?"

"Um, while I was drilling in the back seat, I accidentally drilled a bit into the gas tank." Wow. It was a bit scary for awhile while driving back from Ty and Cristi's that night, but the next day Archie was able to get all the parts he needed in order to repair it! He's my handy Man! I guess the second thing with the infant seat is the VW Jetta is a bit on the small side and it wouldn't fit in the middle of the back seat, so we had to put it on the back passenger side. So we need to eventually get a bigger, more family friendly car in order to put a bigger car seat in when he grows into one. I mean what was VW thinking? If the car has four doors it should definitely fit a car seat for crying out loud!!!! I'm pretty sure Germans have kids too.....

Let's see, I've got most of my goody bag for the hospital put together...I am still reading a few books about breastfeeding and helping my baby sleep and all that, but we're all but there! I just can't wait till I can move again without being in pain! I can't wait to meet my new little baby and give him all the love he deserves!

I want to be a kind, loving unconditional, understanding, and always there for you kind of mother. This is, has, and will be the most life changing event of my life. It's humbling and am grateful for the opportunity to be a parent. Archie will be the world's greatest Dad since he's the world's greatest husband as well! It's going to be crazy, happy, depressing, loving, disappointing, want to kill myself, but am glad I did it experience ever! He's our little miracle from God!