The Final Lap

Here we are, in the month of August, the final lap of this marathon called pregnancy. I am growing more anxious every day. Not the scared or worried kind of anxious; the excited kind. I cannot wait until the day I finally give birth to Ethan. I can't wait to hold him, to nuzzle his neck and inhale the "new baby" smell. To count his fingers and toes and caress the extreme softness of his skin. To finally be able to hold him in my arms and look on him with my eyes.

I had an appointment yesterday and everything was looking great. I must say that I was disappointed in my weight gain; I had gained 4 pounds in 3 weeks. But since that brings my total weight gain to only two pounds, I guess I can't complain too much. I was measuring at 37 cm, which is perfect.....they like to see you within 2 centimeters of how far along you are, and since I was 36 5/7 weeks....we can say that the baby is growing right on schedule. Dr. Gibbs felt to make sure the head was down, which he is. But she likes to verify with ultrasound just to be sure. So I got to see Ethan again (not a 3-D picture, but still) and got a fairly good look at his face. He is so cute! Of course, we haven't made an ugly baby yet, so I wasn't expecting anything less! Not only is he head down, but he is pretty low, too!

I am starting this weekend to get all the baby things out and ready. Finding all the old clothes to get washed, the car seat cleaned and ready, packing a bag for the hospital (just to be prepared). Now that I won't have to watch Dakota anymore, I will have more energy to focus on my family and preparations for Ethan's arrival.

Nick has to go to Fairbanks on Monday. He will be back Tuesday evening, but he wants to make the trip as soon as possible because he doesn't want to have to be gone the closer I am to giving birth. He is most worried that if I go into labor before my mom and grandma come, who is going to watch the boys. That is one disadvantage to having no friends or family. But I have asked a couple ladies at church to be "on call" and I will talk to them again on Sunday to verify they will be willing to come if needed. As much as I want my mom to be here, its not going to break my heart to have the baby earlier. In fact, I would prefer to have the baby before she gets here just to make sure that she has all the time she is here to be with the baby. I would feel horrible if she came and then I didn't have the baby until she was ready to leave. I don't want her to miss out on seeing Ethan, since that is the purpose of her visit. Not that it won't be great to see her anyway. I just want her to spend as much of her time as possible with Ethan.

August is a very big month for us this year. We have Nick turning two in ten days! We are having a baby. And my husband hits the big 3-0 at the end of the month!! I actually have a very limited number of days that I can give birth. I can't give birth on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 17th, 19th, 20th, or 21st. The 10th is my parents anniversary, the 11th is my nephew Ty's birthday, the 12th is Nick's birthday, the 13th, 17th, and 19th are dumb ugly numbers (probably because they are prime numbers, and I don't like prime numbers), the 20th is my nephew Trae's birthday, the 21st is my Grandpa Dooley's birthday. My official due date is the 25th, so anything past that is totally unacceptable as well, not to mention my husband and niece Ravyn's birthday is on the 29th. So I vote for the the 15th. Mom and Nick vote for the 22nd. I guess we will see. If I have my way, I will have Ethan in under two weeks!!! That is a most exciting prospect. Either way, it will be less than a month until I am holding my baby in my arms.

Nick just got back from fishing. He caught 2 more silver salmon (Coho Salmon), which brings his total to 4. He is excited to be able to serve fresh fish to mom and Grandma when they come. I am currently staying clear of the kitchen while he is cleaning and filleting the fish. I am trying to ignore the smell and sounds coming from the kitchen so I don't get sick. The sooner he finishes the better!! But at least he is feeling better that he has caught some fish. He had a very frustrating King season, not catching any. Not from lack of trying, let me tell you.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. I will check in later and keep everyone updated on any progress the baby is making. Pretty soon I will be able to put pictures of Ethan on for everyone to see!