Jaidi and Justin: Summer and Babies

Some time in the next 3 weeks, we will welcome our new little guy into our home. This top picture is a 4D ultrasound image of baby T at 18 weeks. That is the day we found out he was a boy. The second picture is a 4D ultrasound image at 35 weeks on August 1. Clearly he has run out of space in there.

This pregnancy has been a real test for me. Being my fourth I thought it would go much like the others. Baby T has challenged me. I was sick for a full 8 weeks with nausea until 12 weeks. I know that isn't nearly as bad as some people have, but for me, it was twice as bad as before. Before the nausea wore off, at 10 weeks, migraines set in. They were horrendous and took so much out of me. They were fairly constant. I was able to get a good medication that helped, but up until about 20 weeks, I had a headache that lasted nearly the full ten weeks. I was grateful when those finally wore off and I was able to relax a little bit. That was about the same time that school was letting out.

The kids have been remarkable this summer. W are actually taking them out to dinner tonight at their choice of restaurant to tell them thank you. The summer started out not so badly. It was cool at first and we had fun playing with friends at parks and swim in pools. Collin had some great swim lessons that really helped him out with the water. Jaicie and felicity both really improved with swimming. Felicity has a lot more confidence in the water. Jaicie has decided that she wants to be an Olympic freestyle swimmer and is doing quite well teaching herself how to swim. As summer wore on though, the heat has risen. With record setting temperatures the past couple weeks, we have hardly left the house. Between being uncomfortable with pregnancy and it being hott outside, we did a whole lot of NOTHING! The kids, despite the occasional fighting, they still did so great being patient with me, entertaining each other, and watching way too much tv.

Also as the summer wore on, the nausea started up again. It hasn't been nearly as bad this time, but it hasn't been fun at all. Then the contractions started building. The other day, I had 6 minute contractions literally the entire day. I was really close to going to the hospital despite the fact the contractions were not getting more intense or any closer. I am a repeat c-section and didn't want to risk getting too far along before going to the hospital. Thankfully (or not) the contractions stopped when I went to bed and haven't started back up again. I am ready to be done with pregnancy. I am ready to hold my new little boy. I am now 36 weeks and 3 days and ready to deliver this guy. It doesn't help that all three pregnancies have gotten earlier. Jaicie was 1 week early, Felicity was 2 weeks early, and Collin was 2 1/2 weeks early. So I keep thinking that logically and given my history. It only makes sense that he might come anytime in the next week and a half. This is me being extremely inpatient.

For now, I will settle with sharing some achievements in our family for the last couple months:

-Jaicie completed reading the ENTIRE Harry Potter series this summer. She has now also watched all but the last movie. We had an agreement that once she finished the books she could watch all the movies.

-Jaicie has started reading The Chronicles of Narnia and is loving the series.

-Felicity has gained a lot of confidence in swimming and loves being in the water.

-Felicity has developed a love for reading. She is doing really well improving this summer and can't wait for school to start on Friday.

-Collin can now spell and wrie his name completely on his own, he only knows his first name, but he does such a great job,

-Collin has become a master MAGNEXT designer. He has built some amazing creations with his magnet set. He also loves building with Lincoln logs, Jenga blocks and anything else he can find to build with.

-Jaicie starts 4th grade, Felicity starts 2nd grade, and Collin starts Pre-K on Friday August 17.

-Justin finished his second year and started his third year of residency.

-I grew a baby! :)

-I only gained 7 pounds so far in pregnancy. Yes this is a huge accomplishment. I had a lot of extra weight to work with this time around and didn't need to gain weight. Hopefully that will mean that when baby T is born I will come out well below my Pre-pregnancy weight. There is always dreaming right!

-we bought a new but old rocker recliner to enjoy with the baby and I have thoroughly enjoyed it is since we got it, we bought it from a friend who was leaving and got it for a steal! It has been my main parking spot this past couple weeks. Love It!

We have had a great summer this year, despite the difficulties of the heat and pregnancy. There have been many more accomplishments this summer, but I couldn't even begin to remember them all! I am of course looking forward to a great couple of weeks. Hopefully baby T will join us soon and we can share him with all of you. This next week is a busy week with meet the teachers, and doctor appointments, and school starting. I am glad a got all the school shopping done early. The idea of walking around shopping right now is not appealing. Hopefully I will be writing again soon. Til then, have an amazing day.

And for those of you wondering...here is a countdown to the actual scheduled c-section on August 31.... From right now, we have...