Waiting with Love

Well, I made it to 36 weeks!!! There were many moments that I never thought I'd make it this far, so I am so very grateful to be here. I am completely off of bed rest, and the doctor says the baby is free to come any time now...although it would be ideal if he waited another couple of weeks for extra growth and development. Today at my doctor's appointment I had dilated 1 cm, so my body is starting to progress towards labor, which is very exciting (1 cm is certainly no indicator that labor is eminent though...I remember being at 1 cm for a few weeks with my other pregnancies, but at least it's a positive sign that my body is warming up for childbirth). I kind of suspected I had progressed a little bit this past week because I have been having more frequent contractions and the distinct feeling that the baby had dropped because of all the pressure down low. The baby is definitely lower...I can feel every tiny movement of his head, which is NOT a pleasant experience. I told Paul that I think our baby has his big nose because every time the baby turns his head I feel like jumping out of my skin!! :) I think the fact that I was up and about this week (and probably overworking my body a bit too much) probably caused the dilation and the droppage, so I am again thankful that my doctor kept me on bedrest up until 35 weeks so that I wouldn't have the baby too soon.

Even though I've been waiting 9 months for this baby to arrive, it's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I will soon be wrapping my arms around our sweet little bundle of joy. It's a bit overwhelming when I think about it...

Our family will never be the same.

Our hearts will have to expand.

Our selfishness will be diminished as we focus on filling this new little person with the love and attention he will need.

I guess those are great reasons why babies are such blessings...they take the focus off ourselves and lift our thoughts to more important things---like serving, sacrificing, and choosing to be thankful despite the dirty diapers, the fussing, and the sleep deprivation (but let's not think about those things quite yet) :) Let's just focus on eagerly waiting for this little one and welcoming him with love.

"I love you my sweet baby and I am eager to meet you in person SOON!"

P.S. The photographer for these sweet photos was our sweet 7 year old, Michael. Didn't he do a super job? And it sure beat paying the steep price that a professional photographer would have charged. Poor Michael didn't get paid a thing, but he was just beaming to be our little helper :) Thanks, Michael! :)