37 weeks

That's T-3 to due date (yee haw!)

Well, I’ve finally made it to the home stretch – Kendall is now full term. We're starting to get down to the business of getting ready for her arrival. I've washed a few newborn items and bought a pack of diapers. I've started hunting down all my nursing "stuff". Jonathan was cleaning floors this weekend. He'll be making some extra food for the freezer and installing the infant seat.

As you may imagine, I’m quite uncomfortable now and sleep isn’t a "given" anymore. I’m constantly out of breath, even when I’m just standing around talking. Carpel tunnel & restless leg syndrome continue to be my daily companions. Oy.

On the positive side, my edema isn’t as bad this time around – at this point with Riley I was 20 lbs heavier and wearing sandals that were two sizes larger, so I’m not as miserable as I was then. I could still zip up my knee boots last Thursday. That seems to be my litmus test as to how much swelling I have.

At last week’s appointment, my blood pressure was elevated to 140/87 so I’ll be making weekly donations of blood and urine to check for signs of preenclampsia. Fun times, I tell ya. The hypertention is mild and seems to be related to my body position. If I lie down on my side for a couple of minutes, it goes back down to normal. So as long as my bp stays steady and I don’t show any other symptoms, I should be allowed for to work for the next couple of weeks as planned.

My biggest concern right now is that Riley is taken care of when we head to the hospital. Since my previous labor was less than 6 hours, I am working on the assumption that this one may be quicker, as second labors often are. Our dear friend Betsy – Riley’s third Grandma -- is planning to come down from Newburyport, but there may be a few hours delay from the time she gets our call and her arrival at our house. Ahh…the practical benefits of having family nearby to help at a moment’s notice. Mom is arriving the week before my due date, so it would be great if Kendall held out until then. But dang, it would be nice to be done before then too… We have friends willing to help during the next couple of weeks and pray that their kids/jobs/distance challenges will not be a problem on delivery day.

People ask me if Riley’s excited about having a baby sister. Since he doesn’t speak well yet, it’s hard to know how much he understands. He knows there’s a baby in mama’s tummy and that her name is Kendall, but it may be too abstract a concept for him to grasp. To make it a little less so, I showed him some of the birth segments from “The Business of Being Born” which he enjoyed. Regardless, it will be reality for him soon and I’m sure he’ll be a great big brother.

In parting, here’s the latest pic of me and my burgeoning belly:
















Shelby