37 Weeks!

How far along: 37 weeks 1 day. HOWEVER.... your eviction notice has been officially served, little lady! 11 days! I'm being induced May 4th since the doctors FINALLY agree that you're actually 38 weeks and 1 day. I knew you were not conceived on my girl's beach trip! haha

Maternity clothes: Pretty much all of the time except for yoga pants or my tennis skirts and running shorts. Those are low enough to still fit with a maternity tank.

Sleep: Getting tougher. I get up 2-3 times a night to use the bathroom and I wake up still tired and in pain. My body aches!

Best moment this week: Getting an official induction date! May 4th!!!!!

Movement : Less movement but when you do it's painful. My sciatic nerve has been bothering me terribly this week as you've settled nice and low!

Cravings: I've lost my appetite but I'm still enjoying popsicles and frozen strawberry lemonade.

Gender: GIRL! Avery Madison Wise!

Labor Signs :You've dropped nice and low according to the doctor! I'm not dilating yet but I've had a lot of random contractions since then so hopefully we've made progress!

Belly Button in our out? Grossly out. Parker keeps trying to push it in.

What I miss : Not being in pain... I'd like my body back!

 

What am I looking forward to? This week I'm oddly interested in your hair. I'm excited to see if you have any. If you do, is it blond? brown? OR..... red?!!!! I don't know why but the last few days I've started to think you may be a red head like your poppi. There's a good chance!

 

We are ready for you, little lady!

Your bag is packed!

The bag contains 6 outfits/sleepers and 14 bows.... should be sufficient.

 Your car seat is now in the car. Fully equipped with your brand new car seat canopy I made yesterday! We don't need germy hands all over you! It will also be handy for when it's raining, when you're sleeping, keeping the sun off of you or the old ladies in Harris Teeter on senior citizen day from touching you in the meat isle after touching chicken. The thought makes me sick.

Yes, the bows were necessary

 We have diapers stacked to the ceiling of your closet thanks to all of mommy's awesome friends who blessed us with these!

Have I mentioned that I should be the spokeswoman for Target brand diapers? LOVE THEM!

 Your closet is full of precious clothes. Don't fret. They go further to the right and left. These are only your newborn-6 month clothes. The rest are packed away for later! Girl's gotta have an outfit a day, right!?

I am so proud that your closet contains more than various shades of pink! I did; however, just email daddy an email with the subject line of "hint hint." I think we need a hot pink moby wrap. What do you think? Girl's gotta ride in style!

SOOOO........ as you can see.... we're ready. Your stuff is ready, my bag is ready and my body is BEYOND READY!!!!! Let's get this show on the road, baby girl. How about tomorrow? I'd love an Easter bunny!

There is a YOU in There!

I love you. Yes, there is a you. A precious, tiny, sesame side size you. We've been praying for you for a while. You and your big brother, Parker, have been the desire of my heart ever since I can remember. Your daddy and I are so thrilled to be parents again! Did you know that you're already a huge miracle? I was once told I probably wouldn't have children and guess what?! Now we have you and your big brother! God is pretty cool like that. I'll make sure you know all about Him :) You're already a bit of a troublemaker! You gave me a big scare on Friday, September 3rd, the same day we found out about you!

Here's your story:
You were fearfully and wonderfully made in August of 2010. Your due date should be right around the time your big brother was also supposed to be born! I bet within days (let's just hope you don't make such an early appearance!). I took a pregnancy test and it came up negative. I was sad but knew God would give us a baby in His time. A week later, I took another one and saw a tiny, faint blue line. I bought a cheap test so I figured it was negative. Little did I know, you were trying to tell me that you were in there! So once again, about a week later (September 3rd), I took another test and once again saw a faint blue line (you would think I would learn to just buy the nice test by now!) and you know what, I knew..... I knew I was pregnant. You were doing a good job trying to tell me! I'm sleepy, a little crampy, slightly quick to irritate and MAN do I NEED cold fruit! You name it: fruit smoothies, frozen fruit bars, watermelon, I even froze go-gurt. I was desperate. Parker and I dropped by the grocery store on the way to the mall and picked up a nice digital test. When I finally needed to "go" we went to the mall potty and found out for sure, there was a YOU!

I shed a few tears, pulled myself together and went shopping! We needed to find out a way to tell daddy! I tried to find Parker a "big brother" shirt but your daddy isn't that observant so I don't think he would have noticed. Instead, I bought a baby outfit.... a baby girl outfit.... sorry if you're a boy... I've just been dying to buy a baby girl outfit!!! Parker and I wrapped it up with the test and brought it home to daddy. I have it on video. He was sweaty from working out but I promise he's excited about you too!

Next, we called the OBGYN. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of them in the coming months. We got an appointment right away! Here's where you scared me! I took a test for the nurse and it came up NEGATIVE! I almost cried but I persuaded her to do another one! I just knew you were in there! Sure enough, the 2nd time, there was a faint line. The doctor also checked and they took blood to confirm. We pray that you're developing properly. I would be devastated to loose you! We have a special bond, though, and I think you're in there for the long haul (all 40 weeks PLEASE!).

We will continue to pray for your development and strength. That your heart forms and begins to beat in rhythm. The doctor should call me on Tuesday to confirm my blood counts. Hopefully then we'll be able to determine when we can do an ultrasound to see you! (or you all... hey at this point, we can't rule that out!).

Your dad and I are so excited about you that we've already done some research on double strollers, discussed which room will be yours and even thrown around names (don't worry, baby, I won't let him name you Alice). If you're a girl (which I really have a feeling you may be) we have your beautiful, strong name picked out. If you're a boy (which we would be equally thrilled to have a household of rough and tumble boys!), then you're still nameless but we've got time! :) The Chinese calendar says you're a girl and my gut is confirming that. First, I found out about you in the mall (come on... that's a sign right!?!); 2nd, I feel different than I felt with Parker; 3rd, when I got in the car after the mall, a song was on the radio about the relationship between a mother and daughter; 4th, a girl name came to us in minutes that we agreed on (we were still debating girl names in the car on the way to your brother's ultrasound... your dad and I have VERY different preferences in names!); 5th, when we looked up said name, the meaning confirmed that was just meant to be: 6th, the Chinese calendar is 50% right so I'll take those odds! ha ha If you're a boy, let me tell you... you've got a handsome little wardrobe! AND you and your brother will be almost exactly 2 years apart! How fun will that be?! We already own about 200 balls so you should be pretty set in that department. Either way, just know you are wanted, prayed for and loved.

I pray you grow to know and love the Lord. I pray we are a close knit family. I pray you and your brother are best friends, that you love and respect one another. I pray for your health, your spouse, your heart and your spirit. I pray you grow to be wise and discerning, kind and thoughtful, peaceful and joyful. I know for you to be those qualities, your dad and I have to exude them. We don't a lot of the time. We'll make mistakes and we'll ask for forgiveness but know that we will try to be examples and I promise we'll do our best even though we won't always succeed. You are loved and will continue to be forever.

Love,
Mom