Gosh Darn NAME and last day of work (39 weeks)

Today is  my last day of work before new baby arrives.  Boy did that sneak up on me but not all at once.  I feel like work is in a good spot for me to make my departure, a temp has been brought in, my supervisor is up to speed, projects have been approved, should be good to go until January.  My team here has been super supportive and are excited to hear when baby arrives (and gender)!

My mom arrived last night and Killian could NOT be happier, he loves and adores her so much.  My dad comes this weekend and then we are in an extra good place to have this baby.  My mind is one level calmer now that my mom is here, no more stressing about taking care of Killian in the middle of the night should something get started early.

Names....oh baby we will name you BUT boy oh boy are we struggling with a boy's name.  The girl name has been really obvious for a long time now but I'm just not getting warm and fuzzies with Kyle's top contender and he said he could be convinced with my top name but it wasn't his fav.  What are we to do :-/  I do not want to have to "rush" to decide and try to find that perfect name after baby is here, I want to focus on baby and not worry about having a name.  This is why i wanted to start early and get it done but I'm half a pair and my other half didn't feel it was a rush but here we are and no solid name to speak of.  I try not to be a nag but come on we need a name!!!!

Ugh, I'm so frustrated.  Ready to meet baby and the damn name is not important enough to distract from work.  No one can tell I'm frustrated, right??!?!  Ok enough of that.  Pictures to help change my mood.

Me and my preggo buddies at work

One of Killian's absolute favorite things, popping the packing material from Amazon, his face CRACKS me up!

guessing the car colors on the porch with Aundee and Cambria, so fun!!!!

Well That Makes Me Feel Better - 38 weeks

I could not be happier with this blog right now...I woke up this morning in a very odd mood and feeling quite down on myself.  Then I reread my blog from this stage of my pregnancy with Killian...

http://irgenssandiego.blogspot.com/2015/04/last-push.html

I am so beyond excited for the arrival of this new baby, I can't wait to find out blue or pink, name our newest addition and snuggle into bonding with baby BUT when I think of our lives now and how much fun we have with Killian it causes me a twinge of pain/guilt.  He is the coolest kid I know and we just have so freakin' much fun together.  He is everything I could have hoped for in a child and then some that it scares me to start over with this unknown.  Thank GOD I wrote the blog about how I was feeling last time and that my head is not too clouded with emotions to realize that our fun is going to grow and our new normal will just be that much better once this new baby arrives.  When I think of my own life I can't imagine my existence without my younger sister and how boring all of our family outings would have been without my sidekick and buddy along with me.  Some of my best memories include the shenanigans we got into as a team.

SO...I'm allowing myself, once again, to mourn the change in our normal, to feel sad for leaving one chapter to start another, to realize that things will be hard and challenging and probably just down right shitty at times.  And then I remind myself of all the amazing things I'm about to witness and feel and gain and fall in love with.  The tears I cry today, both outright and inward, are a mixture of bitter and sweet.  Goodbye to one era and HELLO to the next chapter.

Couple pictures to help uplift this post :-)

38 Weeks Strong

Well I'm just going to come out and say it, this baby has definitely dropped!  Not that it matters too much with a planned c-section at all but boy oh boy is it a HUGE relief on my rib cage.  This baby has NOT.LET.UP. on my right ribs cage since it was able to move around and stretch and kick.  I've had the weird sensation of constant irritation that leads to pain.  For those ladies out there, it has been like when your hair hurts from being up too long and there isn't anything you can do about it unless you shower only I haven't had that option with the baby.  Needless to say, it has been wearing on me and I could not be happier that it has gone away, Killian started this maneuver later in the pregnancy but never let up.

Now that I've put that out there, the dropped baby/rib relief has lead to the most awful emergency pee sensations I've experience AND my performance when I do pee leaves me really really disappointed :-/  Not only is baby using my bladder as a punching bag but when I stand up it feels like I'm not going to make it to the bathroom fast enough.  Such a weird trade off.

My sister and her little family are in Oregon this weekend for a wedding down in the Salem area, so if baby decides (s)he is ready to make an appearance at least one of my tow ladies of choice will be close by.  They take off and head home on Monday evening which we will see if she gets to go home as Monday is the full moon!!!  I'm not hedging my bets but L&D (and my mother in law) swear that is has an affect.  Otherwise my mom will head this direction next Thursday evening, baby is schedule to make the entrance that following Monday and then the rest is history!  I can not believe it is hear already and how excited I am about it.  CRAZY.

Here is my 37 week picture, we will take 38 this weekend and then hopefully be able to squeeze out a 39 before baby arrives :-)  Also won't forget to do a leaving for the hospital picture bright and early on the 14th

Can't sign off of the blog post without some Killian pictures too

To Pee or Not to Pee

This little baby won't leave my bladder alone!  It is the strangest sensation to get this strong painful urge to pee and then it is gone.  Killian never did this to me and I'm pretty glad he didn't.  Hopefully I won't lose control and give in to the urge, HA!

Killian Bump Timelapse

I tried to do this when Killian was born but didn't find a good way back then and just re-investigated for these bump pictures...hopefully this will work :-)

Home Stretch for Sure! 36 weeks and Maternity Pictures

So it crazy for me to think that even though my figure has grown in the last few months handling this part of my pregnancy has been much easier than say around the 26 to 34 week period.  Seems that we have stopped the major stretching and are settling into the "bigness" of the situation.  It feels normal for the most part.  I am much more comfortable just being and don't think when is this going to end every night.  Although, baby seems to think it somewhat hilarious to kick my ribs and punch my bladder.  I'm to the point that even when I stand up from using the toilet I feel like I should sit down and go again, makes sleeping interesting to say the least.  Overall the sleeping isn't horrible, I find the best way to rest is with my little wedge under my belly supporting the weight and a king size pillow between my legs.  I know it will still be a while now but I sure do look forward to being able to go back to sleeping without the getup!

Hospital bag is pretty much packed up and ready minus the everyday items I use (phone, kindle, pillow). Last of the big nursery items are scheduled to be delivered this week.  We hung up the camera in there last night.  Purchased some little items to round out the "feel" ready vibe.  And I feel like we are in count down mode.  We have a baby gift from Killian to new baby and just ordered a big brother gift from new baby.  I've perused etsy for some announcement templates depending on gender of baby, so just need baby here for the photo shoot.

Speaking of photo shoot...we did our maternity session a couple weekends ago and got the gallery end of last week.  I'm so happy with how they turned out, just gorgeous!  Our photographer was great and she let Killian help her and just rolled with the 2 year old attitude.  I was concerned we wouldn't find very many that we like, but boy was I wrong and gosh we love so many of them.  I'll include a couple/few in this blog as well.

Killian and I continue with swim lessons, he sure loves them and I love spending that time with him just mommy and son time.  I need to check with my Dr. as to when I'll be able to get back in the pool with him after the c-section.  I do not want to miss out on the opportunity.  Kyle and Killian are about half way through their soccer season, it just warms my heart to watch them together.  Thinking we will make this a summer sport for the time being and sign him back up for tumbling this fall.  He is such and active little bugger and want to keep him engaged and enjoying life.  He has taken to the bike so much and literally asks for it as soon as we pull into the driveway every night. Typically he wants mommy/daddy to ride our bike with him, thankfully daddy has stepped up to the plate allowing me to walk the dogs along with them.  I hear it is pretty amusing watching me ride my bike right now, HA!  So much fun happening in our lives right now and we are sure loving it!

We can't wait to share news of baby's arrival when the time comes but until then I'm settling into the idea that this belly isn't going anywhere for approximately 3 weeks (feels like 3 more months) and I'm doing my best to embrace the kicks and internal snuggles as best I can.

Just going to put this random list out there for me to look back on, things I hope for this new baby, other than the health and happy BIG items:

I hope you:

• sleep like your big brother (9:30am on the weekends is a luxury I hope never goes away)
• love your furry siblings 
• enjoy snuggling and sleeping with mommy more than big brother
• roll with the punches 
• up for adventures
• aren't a picky eater
• love your binky and "bunny"
• laugh at your big brother and your crazy parents
• aren't afraid of the rain, sorry kiddo
• don't hate car rides
• love being outdoors
• are a fishy like your brother
• take risks and try new things
• learn to be polite just like Killian
• kind to strangers 
• always kisses mama goodnight
• loves airplanes 

So many wishes and hopes but man oh man do I hope you are a snuggler kiddo, mama wants a baby who will crawl in bed with me and snuggle in.

Anyways...here are the pictures as promised...maternity photos (www.charlenevogel.com) first then random fun from our lives.

Life Pictures :-)

Concert in the park with the Vancouver Cousins

Popsicle after soccer practice, mommy and killian tradition

Date Night topped off with Fifty Licks, YUM!

Twilight Tuesday at the Zoo

Fell down running too fast...the band-aid didn't last too long

He absolutely LOVES his little pool in the backyard, I see many many days spent in there on maternity leave

Soccer practice READY!

packing bubbles are the BEST!!!

being silly in the car

Play hard = crash hard

helping celebrate mom and dad's anniversary with free slurpees

I think he liked his first slurpree!!  He picked red

daily occurance

This is the "I don't want Ooma to leave" face...sooooo sad

racing dad in his "fast shoes"