Preparing for Baby's Arrival ~ 38 Weeks!

I don't know about you, but I've always heard women complain about how "miserable" that last month or two or pregnancy is. And I've always had two thoughts in my mind in response (though never voiced :)...I mean, you'd be crazy to argue with a pregnant woman!)...1. Miserable?! How could anyone describe the greatest blessing on this earth as "miserable"?! And, 2. Oh, come on...billions of women all around the world do this, how bad can it possibly be?!

Well, let me just be honest...it's miserable. Utterly miserable. I can't stand or walk for very long at all because I have plantar fasciitis from all the extra weight. I can't sleep because my hips get numb from all the weight on them, and my arms and hands go numb from what I assume is the same reason...and, best part is, they stay numb ALL DAY...making it painful to type, write, grab...do anything. I'm utterly exhausted from only sleeping 20-30 minutes at a time (I know...it's good preparation for baby coming!). At 16 weeks, I had my neck sliced open to remove a tumor, and honestly...recovering from that was not as miserable as this. But, believe me, being honest about how it feels doesn't make me any less grateful to God for bestowing this blessing upon me and it sure doesn't take away the knowledge of knowing how truly blessed I am to be able to carry our own child. It's miserable, but it's absolutely worth it.  So, negative as though I may sound, believe me I realize how special of a blessing this is, and I'll take all the pain (and pounds) it takes.

We're officially 1.5 weeks away from May 14th...and all I can think is "please, please, please little Ava, please don't make us wait any longer than May 14th! Mommy and Daddy are so ready to meet and love on you! And, daddy is really looking forward to a break from 24/7 massage therapist duty!

We had our 38 week OB appointment this week...so far, it looks like she's tucked in there tight and not coming out any time soon. Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! Already like her daddy...late to everything. I kid,...no, but seriously, he is late to almost everything....drives me nuts, but I love him. ;)

Here she and I are at 38 weeks. Nothing new to report, other than she has increasing episodes of hiccups. Some days she gets 2-3 episodes of them!

I've been off work for a little over two weeks now...honestly, I don't know how I could work right now with all the pain (especially the numb fingers making it impossible to feel keys while typing...this post has taken me hours of typing a little at a time), so I am so thankful I can be off the month prior to her coming. I had all these lofty plans for nesting, cooking, cleaning...hahaha, oh how naïve I was! I should have listened to all those women who told me how I would feel! I'm lucky if I can have two productive hours a day before I'm writhing in pain.

Over the past two weeks, between trying to nap every chance I get, I have at least made some progress:

• Our hospital bags are packed! I did a plethora of research and compiled what I believe are the prime hospital bags...I'll do another post on them!
• I made a couple of freezer meals...and they are yummy! Best part is these recipes make 2 batches, so I've been able to use one for dinner that day and then freeze one for when Dee and I are zombies that cannot manage to cook, but want a health meal (luckily, we have family staying with us for two weeks so we should have help with meals to accommodate our small stockpile in our freezer)
• I've washed all of Ava's clothes, blankets, burp pads, cloth diapers, etc. Yes, we've decided to try cloth diapering and have chosen BumGenius Freetime...I'm actually really, truly excited to try them and am praying they work for us...not only will it save us a couple thousand dollars, but tremendously make an impact on the environment too! But, we'll see...if they don't work, I ain't sticking to it.
• I've prepared all the postpartum healing items...thank you pinterest for all the inspiration!
• I'm about 75% done with spring cleaning...complete with cleaning our air vents (ewww....they looked perfectly clean from the outside, but gross...take those suckers down and clean them once a year!), cleaning all our blinds and window coverings, cleaning doors (you wouldn't believe the dust that accumulates on the ridges if you have fancy designer doors like we do!). Next is all the normal stuff...vacuuming, mopping, etc. and shampooing using our new Mr. Rug Doctor! I'm soooooo excited. Seriously, TLC needs to create a show called Extreme OCD and the first episode can star me - the crazy OCD person who gets pregnant and her OCD turns her even more crazy. Every single drawer, cabinet, shelf, etc. in this house is 100% clean and perfectly organized. ;)

We are both so excited and anxious to meet our precious girl. Time cannot go by fast enough. I don't understand the comments of "cherish these last few weeks," but perhaps I will later. We'll leave you with my favorite picture perhaps of all time. My amazing husband who is going to be the very best daddy reading to his precious little girl/my bump :)