37 weeks | Baby #4

Full term! WOAH!

Dressed up for our date night this past weekend, otherwise you know my hair would not be down/makeup on/black dress worn on a weekend. No way.


I'm going to make this pretty short and sweet, and will likely forget a lot of extremely important information in the process. ;)

OB appointment went well, and I'm dilated 1cm and 50% effaced. So literally exactly where I was with Porter's pregnancy at this time and he was overdue and induced (means nothing). My OB still said, 'You can have this baby tomorrow now, you're full term!' She also noted my varicose veins in my groin and legs and assured me they should go away after the 'tumor' comes out. ;) Baby is head down, HR was 150, he's moving like a mad man and my bladder is barely hanging on these days. The pressure down there is insane and I've had several zingers to the cervix/groin that make my legs feel like they might collapse. Still with Braxton Hicks and I even downloaded a contraction timer app this week, when they were coming every 5 minutes for a solid hour. I stopped timing them because they were not painful and I feel like I'm not actually going to go early this time, and sure enough---they must have stopped because I'm still pregnant.



I'm up 30 pounds but food is not my favorite anymore. I get full so freaking fast, but am craving all fruits and popsicles. I've been drinking a lot of water, La Croix, and even root beer this week to beat the heat and stay hydrated. Plus, I've been taking a daily nap whenever possible and I'm not mad about it. Reading back through old 37 week posts with the other kids makes me chuckle--I was all bent out of shape about NEEDING to nap 'three times per week' and still feeling tired. This time? Give me all of the naps, I do not care about losing productive time. It's the only option many days, even if it's just a 30 minute power nap!

Getting off the couch is becoming rather comical and if I drop something on the floor I prefer to pick it up with my monkey toes if at all possible. I'm not sleeping the best because I just can't seem to get comfortable, definitely have to pee at least once in the middle of the night, and because Porter still likes to wake up and screams for me for fun. I don't know anymore, I just cannot with him.

Non-materity tankini is probably going to be forever ruined but I don't have a lot of options for pool wear. I did wear a regular bikini once but the amount of veins on my very-white belly seemed offensive.


Biggest accomplishment of the week is that we finally moved all of the bins and storage items from the attic to the basement, to get ready for the house renovation! This thrills me like nothing else because it's something I've wanted to do for about four months now but I just cannot carry all of the heavy items myself. Don't get me wrong, I've been putting in plenty of hours in the attic, organizing and purging and taking things to Goodwill. I even carried down four giant hanging wardrobes from the attic to the basement before proclaiming, 'THAT'S IT, NO MORE HEAVY LIFTING!' Nate and his dad made approximately 20304 trips up and down alllllllll of the flights of stairs in our house to help with this project, and now I just have a little more organizing to do in our storage area of the basement. YES.

Ugly pictures but must commemorate:
The attic now, basically empty compared to before!


And the unfinished side of the basement now, busting at the seams but still organized. These are all kids' clothing bins. Absurd.


Also, my mom and Memaw bought the baby quite a few new items on Amazon--diapers, sleepers, swaddles, a pacifier. He is SET and it's so much fun to wash and hang all of his stuff in Porter's closet! I even pulled out a bag and started throwing a few things into it as a 'hospital bag', creating a real list for items that need to be in there this week. I faxed the order for a new breast pump to a company and we have the co-sleeper folded up, but ready to go in our bedroom. All of this means one thing: we are having a baby SOON and we are almost ready for him to arrive. GAH!!!!



Supposedly we are breaking ground on the house tomorrow, which is why we did the whole attic to basement purge this weekend. But also, we have a matter of weeks before this child comes no matter what and it's time to really focus on the to-do list, right? I've also decided that when we have a nursery to decorate in about six-ish months, I want to do a black and white and geometric print theme for our cool dude. My mom is requesting a theme so she can make him a quilt, like she's done for the other kids, and it's all going to come together so nicely....when we can actually decorate the new bedroom! I'm nesting in a big way over here and loving every second of it.

Also, we've just been having an awesome summer thus far. Splash pads...


Ice cream dates...




Water balloons...


Sweetness between siblings...


These two dudes went to the US Open and had a freaking ball;)


The pool! .... we love it all!


I kind of cannot believe I have a few weeks left at work. The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I might just be done after my due date even if I haven't had the baby yet. My due date is a Saturday and I don't know that I'll really want to be at work that Monday morning if he's still cooking away. I'm doing great at work right now and am very thankful for the air conditioning, real bathroom, and comfy desk chair compared to treating patients out in the field. I'm feeling like I'm really hitting my groove with my new job, which is unfortunate since I'll be gone for 12 weeks. We will see if I can jump right back into it when I return, or what! My mom just bought plane tickets to arrive on my due date and leave on Porter's birthday, hoping to catch the birth and meet this little man as soon as he comes out...but of course we know that might not happen. I'm so excited for her to come though and hope the timing works out.

My focus this week has been on visualizing the birth, positive affirmations, and listening to my Hypnobabies tracks without falling asleep. It's so hard to stay awake but I managed to do it a few times. I'm really excited about this birth although it feels very abstract, like it's not actually going to happen in a few more weeks. But it is. I know it will. But it seems impossible.



Favorite comment: "What is this, baby number one? Two? Three?" (Me: 'Keep going'). "OH WOW, number four? You look great for having four kids." What a back handed compliment, right? Like, 'I expected you to look very haggard and tired but you don't look too horrible, I guess.' I mean, I haven't birthed the fourth yet, so my haggard-ness is bound to come. I've had a few people say that I'm finally getting 'big' but most still say 'you are SO SMALL'. I'm really glad my uterus measures right on track at each appointment so that I can be assured other people's opinions on my belly don't mean a whole lot.

Nate and I celebrated our tenth anniversary a few weeks late this year. Tony and Lois took the kids for a sleepover while we went out to dinner, walked around downtown, and woke to a quiet house the next morning. We ate breakfast here, did some organizing, and then went out for coffee. An excellent way to spent our tenth anniversary, even if it wasn't fancy or wild. Plus, Fathers Day weekend with Nate and Tony, and texting my dad was also successful.

TEN YEARS, baby!! My how things have changed and truly, how much happier we are right now compared to our wedding day.


So I'm full term, feeling quite pregnant but happy and content to keep him cooking awhile longer, and I'm in disbelief that I will have this baby in my arms really freaking soon. I'm going to miss pregnancy when it's over, guys. It's just so special to have him all to myself, to marvel at how my body knows how to grow this child, to feel (and watch!) him kicking from the inside, imaging who this little character will be on the outside. The anticipation is still quite magical at this point, and watching all three kids get so excited to meet their brother is something I'll never forget. I know I'm incredibly lucky to feel good at 37 weeks pregnant and I certainly hope that continues until the end!

And with that, I'll head into the week with a clear mind and gratefulness for all that we have in this life. Yes, end of pregnancy emotions are all over the place, it's true.