Peanut Update #4

30 weeks:

32 weeks:

33 weeks:

36 weeks:

Well, we are down to it folks. I reached the last sub-goal before D-day: 36 weeks. I am now 9 months pregnant, 25 lbs. heavier and very much ready to meet my next sweet baby. Praise the Lord that all those righteous women out there praying for me brought about a miracle for my sciatic nerve issue. I would be upright one minute and rolling on the ground in stultifying pain the next- for no apparent reason. Exercise, no exercise, standing, sitting, holding Madeleine, not holding Madeleine- it didn't seem to matter, but my right leg would seize in pain, and I would be frozen. Thankfully, it is gone! On Sept 27th, my doctor did a little ultrasound to check Peanut's position. I was afraid she was transverse because I kept feeling kicks around my right rib and my left hip bone. She said that the baby is already head-down and left-anterior (LOA!) which is a VERY good thing! Yeah, my fears of a breech delivery are subsided. I feel very , very tired. For some reason, I don't remember having so much energy leave my body with Madeleine, but maybe my golden hindsight is clouding my memory. I would sleep all day if I could! I try every chance I get to squeeze in a rest session with my little toddler. However, every time I lay down, little miss Peanut goes at it trying to make a portal hole or two out into the world. This baby is still super active and now I can feel her hiccuping through the night as she practices her breathing. Ballerina, gymnast, boxer or tornado...not quite sure, but she is active!

Last pregnancy, I just so happened to guess Madeleine's delivery date. It wasn't magic, I just used two influences: Dr. Bradley writes that a woman's gestation is actually 41 weeks and 1 day. I also read that Tuesday holds the highest delivery rate of any day. So, I took my due date of May 25th and added a week and a day. It just so happened that June 2 was a Tuesday. So, even though I am 99% positive when we conceived, and the LMP creates a due date of November 7...I'm going to go slightly hopeful and use the ultrasound dating to guess at Peanut. Ultrasound dating gave me a EDD of November 4. I am adding a week and a day and circling November 12 in red. That means I'll probably be in labor on our 3 year anniversary. What a wonderful time to show all the fruition of our love to my amazing husband =)

Now for a rant:

I was willing to let a few comments slide, but it's starting to bug me, so I will state my peace here and be done. In the last week, I have had 3 random acquaintances say something to the affect of, "So, you guys gonna go for the boy?" or "Once you get that boy, you'll be done, right?" or "Are you sure it's a girl? Hello, little BOY! (as they rub my belly)."

WHAT IN THE WORLD? It's starting to tick me off because I love my little girl, and when people ask about our desire for a boy, it feels like they've slighted my girl just because that is how God made her. Plus, when did having a boy become the end-all? It makes me upset to hear how people think that our family isn't complete unless we have it constructed with certain genders. What a blessing to have both boys and girls, but what are people thinking? Okay, I understand that it's just an ignorant comment that some people say to make small-talk, but seriously, can you think about what you are saying? Like our desire for all things in our lives- finances, health, decisions, family rituals, our marriage- we have put our children into the hands of God. He will build this house with whomever He desires, and He desired for us to have two girls first. If we should be blessed enough to have more children, then He will determine how many and when and of what gender. So stop telling me that the boy will come, as though the child I have is only a consolation prize. ugh. But, I guess with all this said, we better have a girl- :D

In other news, we finished our birth plan and Tim took it up to the nurses for them to edit. UPDATE: I actually wrote this post a while ago, so please continue to pray for sciatic nerve relief, it was great for a week, but some godly woman or women stopped praying, and I am back in pain. So pray!! You can pray that God blesses our labor and birth, that we get supportive nurses and a doctor who are willing to follow our plan. Pray that we use wisdom in getting down to the hospital, too soon and we could end up being pushed to deliver in the hospital's time, too late and we might just be pulling over on Mission Rd. =). Pray that Peanut delivers well, with no hang-ups (cervical lip, pubic bone, etc.). Pray that I can retain my mental focus during labor and witness to the staff with my behavior/attitude especially towards Tim.

Love, Lauren