Random Thoughts From An "Overdue" Pregnant Woman

*My estimated due date was 3 days ago. I think this bothers others more than it bothers me.

*I was reading some very insightful information on due dates that actually caused me to recalculate what my actual due date really is. Based on the length of my "monthly cycle" (which is far from the typical 28 days), my actual estimated due date should really be still another week or so away.

*I'm completely okay with this. Except that I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what I should do with my life for the next week. Everything is cleaned. Everything is installed. I'm not working anymore. Chi Alpha is over for the year. Now what???

*Please take note that I typed in bold italics (twice) that the due date is estimated. This is why, from the very beginning, when people would ask what my due date was, I would tell them sometime in late April....maybe.

(alright, already. enough with the due date.)

*Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. Men are so hard to buy for and I couldn't decide what to give him this year. So, I thought I'd just give him a son. I thought he might like one and he doesn't already have anything like that. The only thing, is that it seems as if I might have accidentally ordered it a little too late. I think I'll just pull the trick where you put the picture of the gift in a card and tell him the gift is on it's way. Do you think he'll like it?

*I'm BEYOND ready to wear clothes that fit. Even my trusty maternity items are "shrinking."

*America's Funniest Videos has seriously become one of our default shows. We both actually enjoy watching it and will find ourselves laughing the most at the babies and little kids. Maybe one day I'll have some valid material to send in to them. I just wish they didn't insist on always interrupting the funny with the lame. You all know who I'm talking about.

*The Royal Wedding: I mean, sure...it's a pretty big deal. She became a princess. But what is this wedding compared to the Royal Wedding I'll get to be in when the King of Kings comes to make me His bride? "Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready." ~Revelation 19:7

*The last couple mornings here have actually been really cool and nice. It helps my motivation in staying active and taking nice, long walks.

*I've been learning a lot lately about being flexible and not getting cranky when things don't happen exactly as I think they should happen. Not just with this whole "due date" issue (i thought i was done with this topic), but also in several other situations. I truly am so much of a control freak that it's sometimes so hard for me to be okay when something goes differently than how I expect. ~ "...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." - Ephesians 4:11.

The Suspense is Killing Me

It's so funny. I'm pretty sure I get a text message or phone call or Facebook post, etc. on a daily basis (often multiples in one day) asking if I've had the baby yet or telling me they can't wait or something along those lines.

And I'm pretty sure I've lost count of how many times in a day I say something to the effect of, "When is he gonna get here?!" Or "I just wish I knew when it was gonna happen!" (It kills me that I can't write his birthday down in my calendar...I'm a planner, folks.)

And of course, we got the Grandmas calling on a regular basis. Which is definitely a good thing. (I know you're reading this, Mom.) ;)

I guess I just wasn't expecting so much anxiousness to come from Baby-Daddy. There have been several times when he's said something to me like, "I just want him to be here already." Or like yesterday at our doctor's appointment (hopefully the last!), I asked him if he wanted to look at the ultrasound pictures and he said, "Sure, I guess. But I'm just ready to see his real face and not some fuzzy image."

I'm telling you...the suspense is killing me. Us.

And not just when he'll come, but so many other questions run through my mind throughout the day.

What will it be like? Will he come quickly or will it take 87 hours?
Will he get the hang of feeding quickly or will we have to fight through it?
Will he have a full head of hair? Will it be curly like Mommy's or dark and straight like Daddy's?
Will he be left-handed like Daddy or right-handed like Mommy?
Will he be one of those super friendly kids that just come to random people and smile? Or will he be shy and we'll have to urge him to say Hi to people?
What will his personality be like?
Will he be laid-back and chill like Daddy or high-strung and awkward like Mommy?
Will he be a Mommy's boy or Daddy's little buddy? (Hopefully both!)

Will he have a heart for the things of God early on?
Will he thrive in the life of ministry?
Will he be like Josiah in the Bible and always walk in the ways of the Lord and never turn to the right or to the left?

All of these are questions we have constantly. And only time will tell. I can't wait to get to know him. I can't wait to figure out all his little quirks like I would with any new friend I meet. I know it'll take some time for us to get to know each other, I'm just ready to get this thing started!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one of the main questions we (and others) have:
Who do you think he'll look most like?

Like Daddy?Or like Mommy?

P.S. I asked Jack (my favorite 4 year old) today if he thought Josiah will look like me or Matt. After thinking for a second, he simply said, "Nobody." I asked him what he meant. He said, "He'll just look like Josiah."
From the mouths of babes.

Never Say This To A Pregnant Woman

I'm pretty pregnant right now.

I mean, really. HUGE.

There's no hiding this protuberance coming out of my body. I'm pretty sure nobody even looks at my face anymore. Their eyes just go straight to the middle. Not to mention that even my maternity clothes seem to be shrinking a little more every day. Of course, making the huge-ness even more obvious.

And it's okay. I mean, of course, I have moments where I feel huge...and no woman ever wants to feel huge. But I am completely aware that this growth is because of my son. My precious, tiny, perfect son...who'll be here in a matter of days. DAYS, I tell you!

But can I, just for a moment, enlighten the general public on what NOT to say to a pregnant woman? Just a few things, really.

1. "You look like you're about to POP!" - Not only is that just a "nice" way of saying, "You're HUGE!" But it also conjures up rather disturbing images involving childbirth that no human (especially one about to give birth) ever wants to imagine.

2. "Are you sure it's not twins? I bet there's a secret twin hiding in there." - Yes, I'm sure. I may look like I'm carrying twins, but we've had several ultrasounds and we've heard the ONE heartbeat all pregnancy long. No twins. And thank you for creating a new nightmare for me. *Not that having twins would be a nightmare. We're just in no way prepared for twins.

3. "Just don't have him on this certain date." Or..."You should have him on this certain date. It's my birthday!"- Umm...I cannot control when he decides to come. If I could control it, I would've had a part on the T.V. show Heroes for having super-human superpowers.

4. "Will you just have that baby already!?!" - Trust me. Nobody wants me to have this baby more than I do...well, besides maybe the baby-daddy. He's put up with a whole heck of a lot of hormones over the last few months...and even more concentrated in the last few weeks.

5. "Girl, you should just go ahead and have a C-Section!" or "Don't even think of trying to do this without an epidural. "- Actually, my husband and I (you know, the Mommy and Daddy of this kid and the ones paying the hospital bills) have had many discussions and have prayed long and hard about it and have decided that what's best for our family includes neither of these. Of course, we understand that one or both of these may end up happening, but that will be our business and still our decision to make. But thank you for your input.

6. "Oh, no! You can't carry that stack of plates!"- Really? Why not? I'm perfectly capable. It's a stack of plates.

7. "You should have another piece of cake after eating those 5 pieces of pizza. You are eating for two, afterall."- No. No, I'm not. My tiny baby does not eat the same amount as an over-indulgent adult. And I'm pretty sure that's considered gluttony. And yes, I really do want to eat another piece of cake, but please do not encourage me.

8. "So, how much weight have you gained?"- I mean, you can go ahead and ask a pregnant woman this, but she's gonna lie to you. Don't say I didn't warn you. And no matter what her answer is, please lie back to her and say, "Oh, that's nothing! You don't even look it!"

9. "Can I please tell you my absolutely horrifying childbirth experience?"- Trust me, nothing you can say is worse than what I already imagine will potentially happen. Except that sometimes you may actually have had something even more horrifying that happened that I haven't yet imagined. And so, therefore, no thank you. I'm already spending all the hours in my day rebuking those horrible thoughts and fears.

Just a sample for those of you who may wonder if it's appropriate to say something like one of these to a pregnant woman. I've had every one of these said to me, in some way or another, and have honestly not at all gotten offended or insulted. I have pretty thick skin when it comes to this kinda stuff and it doesn't usually phase me. Although, I will say...after hearing some of these over and over and over again...it can kinda start to get to a woman. Not to mention that raging hormones make emotions even more raw and the skin a little more sensitive than usual.

But truthfully, no hard feelings here. Just a little help for my friends. And I'll probably not even give a second thought to any of this once that little guy is in my arms.

In just a few days. DAYS!!!

And just because you humored me and read through all that, I leave you with evidence of the huge-ness. Just remember, folks, that the camera adds. Here I am at 38weeks.


Also, you should know that I am not wearing any maternity clothes in this picture. A bit of a boost to the ol' self-esteem, just when I needed it. :)