HAFRAK: A NEW LIFE IN THE MAKING....

I have really not been enthusiastic with the weather this pregnancy. I thought that by buying a swimming pool, it would help ease the horrid feelings that are associated with pregnancy and dramatic heat. And when I say dramatic, I mean up to 111 degree’s this summer! Consistantly. Man. A lot of stuff we normally have fun doing over summer break have been more difficult because with you as an instant insulator to begin with….I have been miserably hot and felt faintish. My ankles are kankles and have even sent me to the ER a few times. My blood pressure has been up and down with you…not ever really high, but kind of borderline. I suspect that comes with nerves. I don’t think I’ve dealt with this type of anxiety since I was pregnant with your sister Emma. Still, most of our summer activities have been in the extreme heat. I have been worried of course about how this affects you, but you still move and shake and get hiccups and seem to be just fine even though your mom has been miserable. I plan on “laying in” after your birth, so I’m really trying to love up every last second with activities with your brothers and sisters for I know soon they will be saying “I’m bored”. On one hand…thankfully they will be going back to school. On another hand…ugh, they will be going back to school and routines and blah blah blah will all start again. Currently we sleep in until 10am. Of course you kick my butt several times a night to get up to pee and I am typing this at 2am as it is. I suspect it will be 3am before I am asleep. With that type of schedule, and you being here school will be dramatic at first! I expect many tears to be shed and most will probably come from MY own eyes. Going back to school, having a new sibiling, it will all be such a transition and one that I think we are all expecting but also it’s difficult to imagine. Again, I’m trying not to control the situation too much because if I do I know there is a danger that things will go different from my plan and I would be disappointed. So, we might just “talk” about how things might go and go from there again with Whatever God’s Plan Is!

I wasn’t going to do “birth announcements” because I figured it would be a lot of work and I didn’t know how they would be received, but your father has talked me into the idea. I am a HUGE camera fanatic…you will find this out! I can’t think of a better way to have fun with photo’s and announce you! I have a cute plan of getting some photo’s with you in a baseball glove. I’m pretty excited with those. I also have a cute little monster hat and monster blanket I had special made for you that I want to use in photographs. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed pinteresting all of the cute baby photo’s and poses we could use. I’m hoping to use daddy’s friend that is a photographer for your photo shoot.

As I am in the last trimester and so excited that it really could be “any day” now, I feel like I might leave out a detail and I just want to revel in the last few days of this pregnancy. Sure, there has been a lot of stuff that have happened over the last year in fact that have made me have to sort of push parts of the pregnancy aside, but there have also been fun times and good things that have occurred as well. Growing you in my belly has been the highlight of this year for me. I can’t think of anything more exciting than to have a new life and to have you nurse at my breasts and hold your sweet delicate skin and touch your tiny little feet.

I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for the back and ligament pain I have been having. That sciatic nerve is something else and it hurts on BOTH sides! At one point in my second trimester …I was about 17 weeks pregnant I thought I was having contractions and may be losing you because I had such bad back cramps. I hated the way I was treated at the hospital. They suggested it was just a pain and there was nothing they could do anyway until I was 20 weeks! Ugh! Thankfully a prenatal massage (heaven) and adjustments have been wonderful.

Your brothers and sisters have been such a huge help during this pregnancy. William at 13 years old has never made me mow the lawn. I have trimmed once but not mowed since we moved. I can’t tell you how much this helps me. I don’t mind mowing once I am not pregnant, but with the heat and mobility issues, it has been so nice. All of the kids have helped me to plant he garden. I planted 21 strawberry plants this year (three for each of my children!) That was fun, but a lot of work for the kids, who didn’t complain once! Camille helped me plant part of the garden, wich was surprising because she is less of an “outdoorsy” type. I Although she will cook me up just about anything I want to eat! Seriously, if I mention a craving she says “I can make that!” and usually WILL. I get a lot of muffins and homemade goodies on a pretty regular basis…Don’t ask her to do dishes afterwards though. She will TRY but she is blind I think and oh my goodness….it’s not a good deal. The meals are delicious though. I can count some days that she has literally made breakfast, lunch and dinner! When your brother was going to baseball, she was making dinner almost every night! A girl could get used to that! Emma is always a little distant, but she has been sweet in rubbing my feet with lotion and taking a lot of interest in the baby. I was showing her weekly pictures on the internet of what you should look like. Eventually that trailed off because you simply will look like a baby now! But she has been very interested. She wants to be at the birth. I have mixed feelings on that. I think she can handle it but I don’t know how long labour will last, so it concerns me also. Morgen has been sweet at ever with brushing my hair and endlessly rubbing my belly. Lauren has even been known to rub my belly with lotion! Eddie just likes to talk to you through my belly button. He keeps saying “I’m getting bigger and baby is getting bigger too!” Isn’t THAT the truth! I think he comprehends what is going to happen….I don’t think he can imagine how it will affect him just yet. Such as us having to kick him out of our bed. But I think he understands a real live baby will be coming soon! When we asked him what he wanted to “give” to the baby (and this was at the beginning of the second trimester) he said “My weiner”. Oh my gosh. I would ask him if it was a baby boy or a baby girl and he was very matter of fact and never deviated from saying “baby boy, or baby brother”. It was the weirdest thing. I tend to think you both will have a bond that has already begun, even while you are in my womb. Your older brother has been really patient with me. He knows how fragile I am with my emotions and he really tries to be understanding. We still have arguments that make me blow my fuse occasionally, but for the most part, I have really loved how well he has treated me. He painted my toenails for me the other night and I happen to know he really really didn’t want to! Ha ha. It will be interesting to see who is at the birth. I have opened it up to the three older kids. Camille doesn’t seem as interested, but William and Emma may be depending on the time and duration. William really does have a soft heart when you get down to the bottom of him. I am hoping someone will be there to take video of the event. I hope your daddy will be free to help me with the labor while someone else takes video.