34 weeks, 4 days . . .

Well- we are getting close to the end of the pregnancy as I am 34 weeks, 4 days pregnant today. Seeing the end of the tunnel is bringing with it some mixed emotions lately. Even though I am almost full term, I am still nervous that some freak thing is gonna happen and we will lose him. But I know that one cannot simultaneously have true faith in God and fear/anxiety of the future. I am a daily work in progress, what can I say?

Ryan and I are so excited about meeting him but are dreading the sleepless nights. We are trying to prepare ourselves to do things a little differently this time as far as the delivery goes so that I am not passed out 10 minutes after Andrew is born like I was with Aidan.

The nursery is more than ready. The cradle bedding still not in even though it was supposed to be here like 2 weeks ago but I called the company this morning and supposedly they are shipping it today. I went to a refresher course on nursing and I am pretty much ready to go minus a few diapers. . .

We had a growth scan done last week @ 33 weeks and Andrew weighed approximately 5 pounds! That was really reassuring. Looks like we are on track for another 8 pounder. Fine by me! This time I am starting to dilate already so the doc said no more lifting patients . . .so now I am a stay at home mom who just now has more time to fret . . .Working had been a good distraction.

I hope the early dilation equals early birthday. I will be 37 weeks which is considered full term on April 2nd! Andrew is welcome to come anytime on or after that day! But if he's anything like he's brother he will come much closer to his due date, April 23rd! We will see. Ryan's b-day is April 11th and his sister's is April 4th so it would be kinda cool for him to share his b-day with one of them!

One thing that I didn't anticipate is how nostalgic I am about my remaining time with Aidan. I just love him so much and can't imagine splitting my time/attention betweeen him and Andrew. I have been spending extra time with Aidan and preparing him for Andrew's arrival. He is very in tune to what's going on. He says, "Mommy- in 5 weeks, when Andrew comes out, I am going to hug him and kiss him." My cup runneth over . . .

The little things . . .

People always say that it's the little things in life that mean the most.   I agree but yet wonder are they really that little?

It's huge to me that Aidan says, "Mom, I love you and Daddy and baby Andrew and puppy dogs and kitty kats and Gree and Pa and Grammy and Pa and all that."

It's huge to me that I have a baby inside of me that is so close to full term that it kicks me and punches me and sits on my bladder 24/7.  

It's huge to me that I have the most adorable blue-eyed little boy that loves the good things in life so much.

It's huge to me that I have a husband who has stuck by me through some really crappy stuff but yet continues day in and day out to make me happy.

It's huge to me that I get to speak to my parents weekly and they are still such a huge part of my life.

It's huge to me that I am able to breathe and dress and bathe and care for myself as for most of my patients this is an insurmountable task.

It's huge to me that I got to take my nephew/godchild to the BASSMASTER CLASSIC and that he is almost finished 8th grade!  

It's huge to me to hear, "Hey Nanny, . . ."  from either of my nephews.  

And here's a pic of Aidan singing, "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band at the Bassmaster Classic.  This song kinda inspired this post- so if you haven't heard it (if you live under a rock or hate country music) you should google it and listen to the lyrics.  Love it!