March Madness

(This blog entry contains a fair amount of pregnancy stuff and is probably TMI for some of you.  Part of the reason I do this blog is to keep a personal "diary", so it is important to me that I record what is going on right now.  If you're wanting a light post with cute pictures of the kid... check this out.)

As I write this blog, we are 9 days away from our scheduled c-section date and I have hit the really difficult part of the third trimester.  In the last few days, I have really started to balloon up with water retention.  The swelling isn't limited to my ankles though -- it's in my hands, my arms, my face, and my throat too.  I have to admit, I was hoping that maybe I'd avoid this particular pregnancy side effect this time around.  But, no.  Actually, I think it's worse than it was with Ledger.  I am also in quite a bit of pain, which is a new symptom for me.  I can't sit, stand, walk -- basically move -- without some level of discomfort.  I have definitely become a pregnant waddle-walker and find myself panting after walking short distances.

I'm posting this picture so that you can witness the magic of disappearing ankles.

And with all of that,  you can imagine that I can finally say that I'm ready to have this baby!!  We have  managed to get our act together a bit around here and are actually close to being as prepared as possible to have a newborn in the house again.  The nursery is clean-ish.  And, although the crib is still in toddler-bed form, I have dug out the crib sheets and they are in line to be washed.  Our baby swing has re-appeared in our living room.  I found the baby clothes and they are ready to be washed and put away as well.  We went to Walmart today and (gasp!) bought TWO sizes of diapers -- Size 6 for Ledger and Swaddler Newborns for the baby.

Mommy is also trying to prepare herself.  My toenails are painted so that they will look pretty in the hospital.  (This is a big deal for me -- they usually only get painted once a year for River Fest.)  I have an appointment to have my eyebrows waxed and hair trimmed up so that I will hate how I look in all of those pictures a little less.  I also went out clothes shopping and didn't feel guilty for spending money on yoga pants and t-shirts to feel comfortable after the planned surgery.  I also got to buy some fun "travel-sized" items to take with me to the hospital -- another fun luxury I don't usually allow for myself. :)  Less fun, but also important, I started stocking up on lanolin and nursing pads and dug my Boppy out of storage too.  I am hopeful that breastfeeding will go as well this time as it did for me last time.

We still are undecided on the name.  Locke and Rhodes are still the forerunners.  (Brandy and Pam -- I like "Dax" but it was ranked #766 in 2010 and is still on the rise in popularity.)  Strangely, I am no longer panicky about the name -- I figure we'll just name him when he arrives.  However, Chris is starting to freak out that we don't have a name set it stone at this point! :)

I have my LAST pre-natal appointment this week on Wednesday.  Yay!  But, basically, we are just taking things one day at a time here and looking forward to the exhausting/busy/happy days we have just ahead of us.