Savoring....And getting ready...

I love being pregnant. Even in the heat. Even being huge. I just love it. Never do I feel so closely connected to Our Creator, as when I am pregnant. At night I climb into my bed and pull up my shirt so I can watch my sweet baby dance around in my belly. If I sit just right, she gets moving. Oh, I love her so already. She squirms and wiggles away whenever anyone tries to feel her move, especially her dad, with his big, heavy hands. He lays one across my belly as he falls asleep. The closer to sleep he gets, the heavier his hand becomes, and the more scooting this sweet baby does. This nightly ritual is one we have repeated with every single baby. It's his time to get to know his child a little, and for us to revel in this miracle...this gift that God has chosen to give us.

Kenzie and Liz went to Adoration late last night to pray for their grandmother. She is in the ICU at the hospital after recently undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery. Please keep her in your prayers, as she is not recovering as quickly as the doctors seem to think she should and her husband, one of my favorite people on earth, is getting very tired.

Anyway, my Kenzie brought this lovely prayer card home for me. It sums up exactly how I feel about pregnancy. I feel blessed and loved by my Creator. So, I am savoring what will most likely, and should be my last pregnancy. The doctor has made it abundantly clear that this is no longer a great idea, for me or for my babies. My own body has made that clear, as we have lost 6 sweet babies, who now wait for us and watch over us from heaven. This pregnancy has gone very, very well. I hate to worry about the other shoe dropping, and I try not to be anxious. The anxiety of earlier in the summer seems to be dropping away, of course just now getting into my groove and will have to change it all up again as school draws ever closer (NO!).

So being a planner and a list maker in the extreme (I don't really like surprises, especially the ones that come from being unplanned or ill prepared!), I have begun getting ready for this little girl. I of course have shopped, but not to an extreme extent. I have some things, and still need to get some things, but the most important thing is the list, yes? I have several lists, a To-Do, a To-Buy and a To-Aquire-One-Way-Or-Another. ha!
To-Do
1.Get out the car seat, clean it
2.Get out the downstairs bassinet, clean and paint it
3.Get bassinet bedding out, clean it
4.Get 1st round of baby clothes out, wash
5.Get baby swing out, clean it
6.Get crib and bedding out, clean both
7.Create/find a place to keep her stuff

To-Buy - Most fun list ever! And really almost as much fun as folding tiny clothes...
1.Barfies!
2.Socks - just a few
3.Newborn diapers
4.Blankets - just a very few
5.Bins or baskets for on my dresser to keep her tiny things in
6.Baby leg warmers, just because the whole onesie, leg warmer combo baby trend is KILLING ME with the cute!
7.Onesies - though, I need to recheck this because I keep buying more, thinking, "I need onesies!'
8.Yummy smelling baby bath and lotion
9.Dreft!


When Doug and I did our fun, "It's a Girl!" Gymboree happy dance, I earned $50 in Gymbucks, which I happily used today. One of my favorite purchases was a set of three matching 'Big Brother' t-shirts for my littlest guys to wear to the hospital to come meet their sister. They will love that, but I don't have anything for my other kids. We don't usually bother, as they are fairly used to having new siblings come along, but this time, I just want to celebrate. I want to welcome this baby girl, and be excited and have the kids be excited. I feel so blessed to be having her after we lost our little boys, that I just feel like celebrating a bit more than we usually do. Any suggestions for a 12 year old girl, an almost 10 year old boy and a couple of teenagers? The teenagers are going to be the godparents, so I kind of feel like my Kenzie would like some small charm with hers and the baby's birthstones? My 12 year old will share the same birthstone, so I may do something along those lines for her, too. Even the big girls have charm bracelets - it might be a nice way to commemorate the birth of what will probably be their youngest sibling, 22 and 21 years younger than they are! My boys are harder...maybe some goofy t-shirt will be best for them, too. Maybe something along the lines of "I don't do diapers" or "I am the brother, not the babysitter!" - Hey, I am open to suggestions and obviously need them!

To-Aquire-One Way-OrAnother  - Really just means borrowing back things I have leant out, or straight up borrowing from a sibling...
1.Probably some socks, blankets, onesies
2.Very cool Vera Bradley diaper bag that no one but me seems to like
3. JJ Cole Cuddle Me Car Seat cover
4.Whatever else I decide I MUST have  - one of the girls will have, I am sure - like a bassinet for upstairs -

So we are heading into the full swing of getting ready for a baby. I love being in the full swing of getting ready for a baby. I love folding the clothes and sniffing the Dreft and Baby Magic. I love packing the tiny things she will wear home from the hospital. What I don't love is knowing that it's almost over. This magical time is coming to and end. Yes, I know having her here will be amazing...there is NOTHING in the world I love more than a newborn. Flat out, no holds barred, nothing better in the world. Followed closely by toddlerhood. OOh, the sweet magic of toddlerhood! I love that, too. But, this cherished state of being pregnant, holding hands with God, is not something I take lightly, and am so thrilled to have this last time. I intend to savor every single second...