pregnancy: the final act

the third trimester seemed to come very quickly, then once it hit, moved at a snail's pace. by this time i was anxious to meet our little man to the point of hysteria (exaggeration! kinda.). really though, i was so excited to meet and hold my baby that i was counting down the days, instead of the weeks. i was also super uncomfortable, not sleeping, and beyond stressed with trying to get everything ready. nesting is a beast. i don't care what anyone tells you.

3rd trimester, about 33 weeks

emily left on her mission during this time, which was difficult but also such a sacred experience and one i would never give up. thankfully, she was able to feel the baby move before she left. shay kept trying to feel him, though every time he would put his hand on my tummy, the baby would stop moving. it was like he knew his daddy's touch every single time! cute but...frustrating. i have a feeling it won't be the last time we feel that way about this little man!

then one night, shay was resting his hand on my belly as he fell asleep next to me on the couch during a movie. the baby all of the sudden kicked his hand super hard and fast, making me laugh and waking shay up. shay poked my belly to see if he could get another nudge, and it worked! so, father and son played their first game together: poke and kick. daddy poked, baby kicked. momma got away without any bruises, thankfully. :)

and so we waited the days away. i worked, tried to sleep, cleaned/organized when i could, and prayed for the health of our little one. and some days we just had to stop at sonic for a rootbeer slushy.

by 37 weeks, i was progressing pretty well but the baby hadn't turned into the correct position yet. we tried a few things, but in the end decided that if he was going to turn, it would have to be something he did during labor. speaking of labor...i took a labor and delivery class and it was TERRIBLE! no woman who is close to giving birth should have to watch a video of a live birth/labor pains/etc etc etc! this is one case where the phrase "ignorance is bliss" is 100% true. because...gross.

i was also having regular - and sometimes constant - braxton hicks pains, which were increasing in strength by the day. because of the extreme swelling i was experiencing i had been checking my blood pressure (yay ridley's pharmacy!) every few days, and it was rising. because of this and other factors, the midwife opted to try and encourage the baby to come by 38 1/2 weeks, and gave us the go-ahead to  help things along as well. i will never forget waddling around the park path at 10:30 at night with shay, my belly as big as a planet, and getting alllllll sorts of looks from the other park patrons: smirks from teenagers on their bikes, curiosity from the two girls walking their dog, and understanding/pity from the older couple walking the opposite way. i can only imagine that i was a hilarious sight. all i knew was, i wanted that baby out!!! in the best way possible, of course. :)

pregnancy: act 2

by the second trimester of pregnancy, i was feeling much more accustomed to one thing: i had no idea what to expect anymore, and it looked like that was going to be the norm until the end. so i hung on tight and tried to enjoy the ride as much as i could. however, my body didn't seem to like the idea of this whole baking a baby thing, and i was in either the doctor's office or the hospital for one thing or another every few weeks until the end. we experienced blood clots, inability to breathe well, kidney problems, major swelling, hands going numb/burning, eyesight deteriorating, borderline gestational diabetes (that orange drink is GROSS!), anemia, extreme fatigue, and of course, wanting to eat everything.

but honestly, every time we heard our little baby's heartbeat and knew he was doing well, i considered it all to be a very, very small price to pay for such a gigantic miracle and blessing.

the morning of our 3rd anniversary we were able to go and find out whether our little bean was going to be blue or pink. we had done an early scan a month before, but we definitely wanted to be sure! we had both had a feeling it would be a boy (though i was hoping for a girl, the thought of having a boy scared me!) and sure enough...we were team blue!!! i started praying really hard that i would know what to do with him when he came...and most of all, that he would love me. :)

taken outside the hospital gift shop after we saw baby!

finally, i felt like we could move forward in our plans for our little one. we decided on a name pretty quickly, and tested it out for a few months. we purchased everything from bottles to blankets to burp cloths, and every time i folded a new teeny, tiny onesie and put it away into his drawers, i prayed again that this little boy would love his momma. 

2nd trimester, about 24 weeks

in february we were given the opportunity to move into an upstairs apartment, which i had been hoping for since we got married 3 years previously. i was especially worried about bringing a little baby home to a place that had such temperamental temperatures and such a huge lack of natural light. shay moved us pretty much by himself since i couldn't carry anything or clean, and my family came and helped out a lot as well. emily also informed us that she was going on a mission...and i was heartbroken. i never imagined that my littlest sis wouldn't be there for the birth of our baby. but in my heart, i also knew she had been inspired to go, so i did my very best to be happy for her.

about this time, as i pondered over and over on my little son, i discovered a song by brad paisley called "anything like me". it was one rainy and cold saturday afternoon, and i was trying to get the baby to move so i could do kick counts. as i listened to this song my heart swelled with love for the little boy inside me and, as it happened a lot in those days, i teared up over it. the baby suddenly started moving all over and i just lost it. i was so overcome by love, excitement, and joy over this little one that i couldn't believe my heart wasn't bursting open.

jolly holidays!

hello again.

so there is quite a bit of business to be catching up on...or so i've been told! let's start with christmas! what a wonderful place to start no matter what the destination, if you ask me.

christmas 2012 was a special one for us petrones. we were able to visit shay's family in texas at his aunt laura and uncle jim's house. it was especially special for me, since i had never met any of shay's family. shay's aunt and uncle took such good care of all of us. we had an amazing time! even in spite of me coming down with an infection and having to go to the emergency room on christmas eve to get treated, and only being able to eat certain things, and having a random bout of morning sickness on top of the already extreme tiredness and crazy emotions that existed, shay's family was so understanding and made sure we had everything we needed. shay and i were both so grateful that we were able to go and spend that holiday with them!

i have to say though, one of my favorite parts of christmas happened before we ever left to go to texas. shay had wrapped up all my gifts and put them under the tree, then decided that i could open one if i wanted to. (silly hubby, IF i wanted to? does that question even exist?) you can probably guess what happened.

as good as that christmas was, i am far, far too excited for this christmas when we get to spoil our little bug and watch him discover all the magic for himself. only 2 more months!!! someone please, hold me back...or i might just start listening to christmas music BEFORE thanksgiving....