All the Feels at 40 Weeks

It's been a crazy past four weeks.  There have been ups and downs, happy and sad.  It's been really difficult to figure out how to feel, honestly.

My dad died on October 24th in Italy, after my brother was able to be there to spend the previous two weeks with him in the hospital.  Unfortunately, being 36+ weeks pregnant meant I could not be there in person with them, as much as I wanted to.  There's not much I can say about losing a parent.  I guess it's one of those things that you know is coming eventually, but you don't expect it to come so soon and you're really not prepared.  It's really been difficult, especially with balancing grieving and being happy about the new baby coming.  I wish Dad could be here to meet his grandchild, but at least I know he is watching from heaven.  I found this beautiful picture of him the day after Gabriel was born in 2014.  I think his smile says it all.

Nonno & Gabriel - November 2, 2014

On to happier topics...

Halloween was fun this year.  Gabe was all about trick or treating!  He wanted to be a skeleton, so I got a matching costume!  Even with us walking the ENTIRE Craig Street hill, baby still did not make his/her debut, ha!

And yes, the costumes glowed in the dark!

We also celebrated Gabriel's actual 4th birthday as a family of three, for not much longer!

Last birthday as a family of 3!

This week, we made it to full-term at 40 weeks.  I guess my babies like their womb with a view!  Our weekly appointment went well.  We officially have an eviction date (AKA a repeat c-section date), if baby doesn't decide to arrive on his/her own.  Gabriel has been talking to the baby and says s/he does not want to come out yet.  I've still been working, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc, and I have to say that I feel pretty good considering there is a heavy beach ball attached to my belly!  I am so ready to see my ankles again for more than 5 minutes when I wake up in the morning, though!  We're all so excited to find out if baby is a boy or a girl!  Hurry up, baby, we want to meet you!

Taken one day late, but baby was still inside!

Full Speed Ahead!

On the nesting, I mean!  Baby can cook a bit longer in my opinion, ha!

This past week, we've readied the crib and the animal mobile, figured out the bassinet & chair set-up for our room, made some freezer meals, and completed hospital bags for me & baby.  I also picked out baby announcements, baptism invitations, baptism thank you cards, and our annual New Years card - minus baby's name and pictures.  I'd consider that hard-core nesting, right?!  (If only I could do the same with my work life!)  Baby has definitely been telling me when I'm doing too much with all the practice (Braxton-Hicks) contractions I get when I need to take a break.

Speaking of the baptism, we officially have Godparents!  Craig's cousin Rachel and his nephew Michael will be accepting the honor for our new little one.  Yes, it's weird to not know the sex of the baby but already have Godparents and a baptism date, haha!  That would be my type-A personality coming out - plus the problem of the Christmas season being right around when we wanted to schedule it.  Now we just need a reception location...

There's not much left to do for baby's actual arrival - clothes have already been prepped and washed, car seat bases will get installed in the next few weeks, and Gabe is ready for 'his' baby!  When we were converting the crib from toddler back to baby mode, he said, "Mama, is baby coming today?"  You can bet I squashed that thought immediately!  Around 4 more weeks to go...

We had our 36-week appointment this week.  Everything looks good.  My group B strep test came back negative, which is good (and different from last pregnancy).

36 weeks on October 11, 2018

We also had Gabe's 4th birthday party at home this past weekend.  It turned out to be a great day with good weather, and all the kids had a blast!

Birthday boy is almost 4!

Mama broke out the facepaints for the kids

Delicious cupcakes!

Couldn't resist sharing this one of Babcia & Gabriel!