The Bump: 36 weeks

The end is getting near and I can't believe it.  I'm looking forward to the birth of Baby Brother with both total excitement and sheer terror.  As in: I'm already crazy enough with two girls...what the heck are we going to do with a newborn?!?!  I think that's normal, right?  

I've been doing some extra cooking and stocking the freezer with meals.  We're ready to go with several batches of taco meat, lettuce wrap fillings, sausage for use in spaghetti sauce and grill meats.  If all else fails, we can also survive on string cheese and applesauce for quite awhile.

I'm pretty sure there is no more room to grow.  Famous last words.

The one last thing we should probably do is wash the carseat cover and bassinet sheets.  Otherwise we're as ready as we're going to be for the big arrival.  I've learned that one can never really be ready for a newborn.  It just happens and the rest of the world fades away for a few weeks.

My mom has said "I was busy raising children" in defense of her lack of knowledge of current events of the 80s during a game of Trivial Pursuit.  I totally understand now.  I can't remember the last time I sat down to watch the nightly news or even the Today Show.  I frequently ask Darrin things like -- What did this Snowden guy do? or What should I know about {fill in a current event here...}?

The girls love playing in Baby Brother's room.  I think they might be a little sad when he takes over his own room and it's not just their baby doll play room any more.

He will be arriving in three weeks or less.  Nothing official scheduled yet, but at my last appointment we switched meds and started talking about plans for the end.  Probably an induction just after I hit the magic number of Week 39.

As with the birth of Audrey, I'm planning on having both a doula and an epidural.  I like the keep my bases covered, ya know?  ;)  But seriously, having a doula was so awesome at Audrey's birth.  Our doula Barb rocks and it was so helpful to have someone with experience there to support you and offer birthing advice.  Plus it gave Darrin a break to do crazy things....like eat.  And if all goes well with timing I should still be able to get an epidural, too.  I believe in both the miracles of nature AND the miracles of modern medicine.