Ready or Not

I started writing this post the day before Ellie was born and wanted to finish it off to share a little about this pregnancy even if it is after the fact. 

Here are our initial responses to finding out we were having another baby.

Mason: "But Miles is ZERO!"

Brynn: "We just already have a baby."

Miles: Nothing. He couldn't even say the word baby let along understand.

Scott: Just hoped it was another girl.

Rachel: Total and complete denial.

As soon as we found out we were having a girl it became a little more real and the kids got really excited. Mason and Brynn have had many great ideas to name her.  Just seconds after we found out it was a girl Brynn said, "I think we should name our baby sister Cheetah".  She stuck with that for several months but now is convinced we should name her Lydia.  Mason wants to name her Claire.  I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact he seems to have a little crush on his friend Claire ;)

Scott and I have made a list of some names we like including Jane, Ellie, Claire, Bailey, and Morgan, but knowing us we'll probably end up going with something different altogether. 

We are curious to find out what baby girl looks like. Will she be dark like Mason or lighter like Brynn and Miles. Will she be a chubby baby like the boys or petite like her sister. So many things we don't know and can't wait to see. What I do know about her is she is a mover and a shaker. I feel as if she has moved around continuously for the last 9 months. In each ultrasound I had she was constantly moving around and every single doctors appointment they struggled to count her heartbeat because she would be moving around so much.

Even with all of that movement I have been much more comfortable physically this pregnancy than I remember being with my others. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my body didn't have very much time to get back in shape after Miles and so it hasn't put up much of a fight in resisting the changes pregnancy brings, but I also think she is smaller than my other babies.

 While physically this pregnancy hasn't been bad, it has definitely taken a toll on me emotionally. If I could describe the timing of this baby in one word it would be complicated. It feels like every plan we had in place to make it through these two years of graduate school has been altered by this pregnancy and baby.  I am due on May 28th but Scott has to be in Omaha to start his internship on May 20, which means he will be leaving on the 17th. We were hoping I would just go into labor and have the baby before it was time for him to leave, but it doesn't look like that is going to be the case. So we have no idea if Scott will even be able to be here when the baby is born.  In the last week we have packed up our entire house in preparation for our renters and yesterday we moved in with my parents where I will be staying for a few weeks after the baby is born before meeting up with Scott in Omaha with the kiddos.  It is all crazy and stressful and we just have to believe that it will all work out in the end, although most of the time I have no idea how that is possible.

This last week I decided to take each of the kids on a little Mommy and me date to spend some good 1-on-1 time with them before this little one comes and occupies most of my time. 

Brynn is my little painter and asks daily to paint.  So I took her to Color Me Mine and we spent some time painting together.  She chose this Hello Kitty figurine and slathered it with as much pink and purple pain as possible. I loved having an afternoon to shower Brynn with all my attention.

The completed project before they fire it.  We picked it up a few days later and boy does it look great.

Mason wanted to go bowling and play in the arcade at Provo Beach Resort.  He loves to play the mini bowling there. He spent all of his money trying to get a Star Wars Angry Bird from the claw machine. He never got it and unfortunately it kind of ruined our date for him, but that is kind of the way life goes with this kid. I hope he enjoyed spending some time with me.

I took Miles to Kangaroo Zoo and he was in heaven. I especially enjoyed my time with him knowing that if I end up having a c-section I will not be able to hold him and therefore won't really be able to take care of him for a couple of weeks. The thing I worry about the most with this baby coming along so soon is how it is going to affect Miles.  I am sad that he is being forced out of the baby position too soon. I loved every second of my date with him.

 

The one picture I got on my phone that wasn't blurry, but it will not let me rotate it. So just turn your head :)

 Ready or not, here she comes.