***UPDATE: Kate arrived on Tuesday, September 26th! Click here to —> Meet Kate Annelise!***
It’s Saturday morning, September 16th, and the house is quiet. I can’t sleep past about 8:00am these days, partly because I can’t stay awake past 11:00pm and partly because I’m just so excited. Every day is like Christmas Eve when you wonder if the next day is your baby’s birthday!
I’m still pregnant
So our due date according to my pregnancy journal and all the online calculators was September 14th, 266 days past conception (yes, I know when that was + or – a day or two). That day came and went. However, the midwives have been going by their own due date of September 17, tomorrow. Of course it’s more of a “due guess.” Most women give birth within two weeks of their due guess, I just happen to be one that goes longer.
My dad’s birthday is the 18th and we’d love for her to choose the same day!
With both boys, they were born at what would be considered the full 40 weeks plus six days.
Just for fun (seriously, I have nothing better to do), here are their newborn pictures.
Andrew, November 26th, 2005. 8 lbs. 4 oz. born at 10:20pm. He had darker skin, hair and eyes.
Ethan, May 12, 2009. 8 lbs 6 oz. born at 8:12am. He had lighter skin, hair and eyes!
What will Kate look like???
For this time, the 40 weeks + 6 days is September 20. I’ve had the 20th in my head as her true due date this whole time, assuming she follows the same pattern. However, I’m eight and eleven years older this time and carrying a girl, so she could shake things up!
I’m proud to be 39 and carrying a full term baby!
I know a lot of mamas who would have given anything to have gone longer with their pregnancies so I don’t take it for granted that my babies stay inside this long.
Here’s me at the traditional 40 weeks, September 14. The truth is, I feel fantastic and most days, just as good as I felt pre-pregnancy, minus the slight waddle and the frequent trips to the bathroom.
Even more recent….40 weeks and 3 days after my dad’s birthday lunch in downtown Gilbert.
Every day, she’s pretty quiet while I run errands or work around the house but at night, it’s two hours of uncomfortable squirming and rolling that feels like she could just burst out of my belly. I’m betting she’ll be eight pounds and every day that goes by, all I can think is that she’s gaining ounces and girth that I have to push out! My only consolation is that she’ll be plumped up and healthy when she finally makes her debut! She’s happy in there–that’s a compliment, right??
I’m thrilled to not be having much in the way of practice contractions or pressure like I did with the boys. I’d like to think it’s because I’m healthier, smaller and taking it easy. With as good as I feel and no hints that things are happening, I just wonder if she’ll stay in even longer than her brothers…!
There’s the rub…I tied up most of my appointments and projects in August and committed to very little in September, which has left me to do things like rearranging the display of Kate’s shoes, deep cleaning the kitchen (I cleaned the microwave and fridge last night) and ordering cute baby headbands from Etsy.
Now it’s the weekend so I don’t even have the boys’ school or karate to distract me! And of course everyone is watching my social media accounts like hawks, waiting for news. If I make it to Sunday, I’ll spend some time prepping for the school week since I’ll be in the hospital for two days but that’s the only item on my to-do list at the moment. UPDATE: That’s now done AND I filled Kate’s photo album–I’m seriously “done!”
The trouble with me is we tell our pregnancy news early and then I go past due, so it makes for a looooong pregnancy!
I’ve been pregnant the entire year, for goodness sake!
It’s a very strange limbo to live in and I’m just trying to embrace it, knowing Kate’s time on the inside is incredibly short, even if it feels like an eternity right now. We’re just so eager to meet her!
The next post should be announcing her arrival so stay tuned and thanks for hanging in there with me!
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