There are so many updates to bring you and I have just been
in a crazy whirlwind of preparing for the perfect chaos that is about to be our
lives.
In our last scan with Duke the Placenta Previa had not
corrected itself and was actually slightly worse (only by a few
millimeters). What’s a few millimeters
in the grand scheme of things?! I guess
when it comes to PP it’s a big deal and because my placenta is getting closer
to my cervix versus going away it would be too risky to do natural
labor. Duke shared the results with our
OB and together, as a team, we all made the call to schedule a C-section. Because this pregnancy has been anything but
a cake walk and we fought so hard to even get pregnant, we are doing everything to minimize or eliminate any risks. Our goal is to get this
baby out as safely as possible. Which
brings me to our baby's due date (god willing):
MARCH 4th
Only 2 weeks until we are holding our sweet little man or
baby girl. Shit just got real…well it
got real when we actually scheduled the date. I had a momentary freak-out sesh and Chris naturally went and celebrated
with beers with his colleagues.
Freak-out aside, it’s very
surreal that our lives will change drastically and in the best possible ways
in 2, very short weeks.
These next couple of weeks are going to fly by and I am
still a little anxious that everything won’t get done. In reality, is
anyone ever fully ready for this ride? I’m
willing to guess that’s a resounding NO!
I have 10 more work days until I’m out for 12 weeks and I think I have
more anxiety around work preparations than home preparations. I hate leaving things undone and unfinished
so the last few weeks I've been busy trying to acclimate myself to my new job
(yep - that also happened in the midst of the baby chaos) and get prepped for being out for 3
months. That is a near impossible task,
but I have 10 days to make the impossible…well, possible.
On the home front, the “nesting” that’s supposed to kick in
has not. I’d be happy if it did any day
now because our entire house looks like a hurricane came through, and I just can’t
even fathom trying to tackle any of it.
I guess that’s why people make professions out of organizing other
people’s lives. Normally, I am one of
the most organized people I know but when it comes to all this baby stuff I am
really overwhelmed. I know it will come together eventually and I have the hubby to help (and my Momma when she gets here).
I am doing my best to get the nursery set up and usable, and
Chris has been running with all the nursery projects. It really is the best thing ever to have a handy husband because he is making the baby's room exactly how I imagined! He is also the baby gear engineer and has
been getting all the stuff taken out of boxes and set up.
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| BEFORE - this was the nursery closet before Chris got to work on it... |
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| AFTER - So thankful for a handy hubby! Now I need to organize it! |
We spent our Valentine’s Day spoiling the baby which made me
incredibly giddy. We finally went back
to Buy Buy Baby-after that horrifying registering experience-and tried to “complete”
the registry. We still had a couple of
necessities and big ticket items that we needed and with the due date being
moved up we are running out of time! That store still overwhelms me and we still ended up forgetting a couple of things despite having a list. Thank god for girlfriends, specifically Kelly, who is making one last trip with me to make sure I have everything we will need right off the bat. Our
goal is to have as much as possible in place and ready for the babe by this
weekend. I want to spend our last weekend (only two more weekends just the 2 of
us and the pups) really focusing on us and our marriage and spending some quality time together.
We did get some quality time together last week when I had to
spend a day in the hospital. Chris was
by my side the entire time. It wasn't
anything crazy. I caught a GI bug and was
severely dehydrated. When we called my OB they sent us straight to the ER who
then sent us to Labor and Delivery since I am over 34 weeks. I didn't realize
dehydration causes pre-term labor so they hooked us up to the machines to
monitor my contractions and the baby’s heart rate. I got fluids which helped minimize the
contractions and some IV anti-nausea drugs so I could keep from projectile…I’ll
stop there – you get the picture. We were in one of the postpartum rooms so we
got to take it for a test run before we are there for our baby’s birthday in a
couple of weeks.
Speaking of the hospital, we also did a tour a couple
weeks ago. I am really glad we did one and highly recommend it to any other first time preggers debating signing up. It helped ease some of the anxiety on where
to go and what to do when the baby decides to come (ours could still decide to
come on his or her own). You also get to tour the labor and delivery rooms, OR,
nursery, postpartum rooms, and Chris’ favorite – the “DAD” room. That last one is literally a room where dads
get to sneak off for a break to get snacks and drinks. I was surprised by how nice the facilities
and rooms are and feel better knowing we are in good hands.
We also picked our pediatrician and enrolled in
daycare. Checking things off our list!
Two of my favorite weekends so far this year have been our 2
shower weekends. Kelly and Kristin
hosted a shower for me in Raleigh. It
was the perfect day and celebration of Baby O.
I was so overwhelmed by all the love that surrounds this sweet little
life. It was even more special because all 3 of the babe’s grandmas were able
to make it. My Momma flew in from
Florida, my MIL flew in from Arizona and the babe’s GiGi (Chris’ Step Mom) came
up from Mooresville. My MIL’s
girlfriends also drove up to Raleigh to help us celebrate. Talk about being floored by all the love and
support! I am still amazed by all the generosity and feel so incredibly blessed
to have these people not only in my life but in my baby’s life.
My momma stayed with us that week to help out with nursery
projects – she is the most creative person I know and can take the ordinary and
make it unique and perfect. She added
her touch to some of the projects I had started and just couldn't figure out
how to finish. Thank god for
Mommas!
The next weekend we had our Couples Charlotte shower. So many people helped to make that shower
perfect – The Eakers, the Pucketts, my sisters (Kenna and Kels) and my Momma
and Daddy. I've known the Eakers most of
my life and Cassie happens to be not only Kelsey’s best friend of 20 years but
also our 4th Bradshaw sister!
The Eakers are probably some of the most giving and supportive people I've
ever and will ever know. Their hearts
are overflowing with love and they have always accepted my family and I into
their lives. They opened their home to
our friends and family and helped us shower our sweet addition with more love
and generosity than we could have imagined.
We were so overwhelmed by all the people that came out to help us
celebrate. My family from SC came up,
including my grandparents! The baby’s Auntie J flew in from Philly and Uncle Ev
came up from SC. The list goes on. It is an incredibly special feeling when you
look around and are standing in a room full of so many people you love and that
have been in your life for upwards of 20+ years. It still feels very surreal and we feel so
blessed to have the support system we do!
We have definitely been busy since the first of the
year!
Wednesday we will be 36 weeks. Baby is fully cooked and I couldn't feel more
blessed. The kicks and punches and rolls
remind me daily of the miracle I’m growing in my belly. They also remind me not to take one second
for granted – even the less than thrilling parts of pregnancy. I was brought to tears the other night just
thinking about how incredibly blessed we are that we are approaching the end of
this leg of the journey, in tact, stronger than when we started down this windy
road. There was a time I thought this would never happen for us and I know it
doesn't happen for everyone so I try to appreciate those ugly parts as much as
the miraculous ones. The heartburn, back pain, contractions and feet in the rib
cage are easy to complain about, but I think about the life I’m carrying and
can’t help but thank god for all of it – every single moment of this
experience. I can’t believe in 2 weeks we will be meeting the little person we
created. There are so many thoughts and
emotions – far too many to write about – but, I pray we provide a solid foundation
for this child to learn to love and believe in his or her dreams.
2 OB appointments and 1 scan with Duke is all that stands
between us and meeting our little miracle of life!
Bring on March 4th and the perfectly imperfect
chaos that comes with it!
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| Extra puppy snuggles before the babe is here |
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