Let's see...my last couple of posts I've discussed all the things that I needed to do before Grace was born, and now they're all done! Well, mostly anyway. We still have to clean out the van (the layer of crushed Goldfish crackers is pretty intense right now) and install the car seat base, but really we're pretty close to done as it gets. I've even packed most of my hospital bag, minus the few last minute items that I'll put in on Friday morning. We have the pack and play bassinet all set up in our room, complete with diapers, wipes, burp cloths, extra clothing, etc. I finished my freezer cooking on the last day of 2013 and I've stocked up on easy (and some unhealthy) foods for the kids to eat (macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, peanut butter, cheese, raisins, canned fruit, etc.). We even have the crib set up in the guest bedroom now. I feel ready!
This is really the first time I've felt ready to have a baby. I was so unprepared in every way for Ellie's birth because she came early (and in a really dramatic way). With Piper, I was so focused on her birth and what I wanted it to be that I really didn't prepare myself for what life would look like when we came home from the hospital (let's just say it was a HUGE adjustment haha). Finally, for the first time in three pregnancies, I'm just so looking forward to holding my baby and seeing her sweet face for the first time. I really can't stand it. I feel like this week is dragging by so slowly (Billy says it's flying by for him!) and I can't wait for Friday. I think it helps a lot to know what to expect this time. Even though it's my third C-section, I have no memories of the first one (due to general anesthesia) so Piper's birth was really my first normal C-section experience. I know how it will go this time and I know what things to ask for in advance. I also know how I'll feel afterward and what breastfeeding will be like. I feel ready for this little girl to join our family and figure out what our new "normal" will look like having three children. I know a lot of people say it's really hard (and I'm not doubting that), but isn't having one child kind of hard, too? I really think you just grow and adjust with each child you have. Each one is a joy and a challenge and you learn how to cope (and eventually thrive) within your family. I'm sure three is harder than two, but I KNOW that two is harder than one, and one is harder than zero. I've made it this far with two children who are 20 months apart, so I feel confident that I will do okay with three kids, too.
We've had some pretty big changes around here in the last few weeks (big for us, anyway). We finally moved Ellie from the crib to a twin bed. It seems crazy that we left her in the crib until almost three and a half years old, but she never once climbed out of it and seemed happy so we let it go as long as possible. She got to pick her new bed set and is really thrilled with getting to sleep in a big girl bed. We've had some adjusting to do with that, but all in all she has done great. It's been a week and a half now and for the most part we don't have any issues with her getting out of bed inappropriately. Nap time has been interesting and not nearly as calm as it used to be, but we've put the fear of God in her and I think she finally gets that we're serious about staying in bed. :) She is also staying dry at night, so I see an end to the nighttime Pull-Ups in our future (at least until it's Piper's turn!). Unfortunately, staying dry at night means she has to go before I think it's an appropriate hour to be awake, so we're trying to teach her that she can just get up and go by herself and doesn't need permission at 2:30 in the morning. Easier said than done. She is SO smart, but for some reason she doesn't understand why I don't want her to yell, "Moooooommmmmyyyy, I have to go POTTY!" in the middle of the night. I guess it's confusing because I tell her to stay in bed, but then say it's okay to get out of bed if she has to use the bathroom. I guess we'll get there eventually haha.
Ellie has also been weaned from sucking/chewing on her baby blankets! We visited the dentist for the first time last week and she was AMAZING. I really couldn't believe how great she did for her first time. She answered all of their questions by herself without me having to intervene and she listened politely while they explained all of the tools and what they were going to do. She LOVED getting her teeth counted and cleaned and her favorite tool was "Mr. Thirsty" (the suction thing). I sat on a bench in the corner and just watched the whole time. It was almost a little sad that she didn't need me for anything, but goodness that made me so proud that my girl was being so independent and confident! We did start talking about the dentist back in November and I've been trying to prepare her for what it would be like, but I never imagined she would do that well. She's already excited about going back in the summer. The only sad thing was that the dentist said she had to stop sucking on the blanket. Thankfully, after a few rough days, she has given it up and that battle seems to be over!
Piper is just her sweet, mischievous self as usual. She is definitely more interested in babies than Ellie was at this age and is very aware that "baby Grace" is her sister and she's in Mommy's belly. She loves to check out/climb into the carseat and gets into all of the baby stuff constantly. Who knows what things will look like once Grace is actually here, but for now it's really adorable how she rubs my belly and says "baby Grace" and then blows kisses. Piper is definitely our little charmer and knows just how to tug at the heartstrings while getting away with murder. She is very verbal and repeats pretty much everything that Ellie says and does, which is both good and bad. I'm interested (and a little afraid) of what she will do when she realizes she's not the baby anymore!
Our house in Lynchburg has not been rented out yet, but we've hired a property management company to take it over for us. It costs us more money to do it this way, but we're saving ourselves a lot of stress and anxiety in the process, especially considering that we're having a baby right at the time that we would need to be showing it. They just listed it, so we're praying that they find tenants quickly. It is a huge relief knowing that we've done everything on our end and now it's up to the property manager to get it taken care of. We're also praying that this will be beneficial to us in the long run and not a huge mistake...haha.
We've had some sickness in the last couple of weeks. Piper came down with a cold at the end of December, then Ellie got it, and by the first weekend of January I had it. Nothing major, just lots of coughing and feeling bad. We all finally got better last week just in time for Piper to get some type of viral pink eye (which I think is leftover from the original cold we had). I put off taking her to the doctor because I wasn't completely convinced it was bacterial (which would require an antibiotic), and thankfully by Monday of this week it was gone....just in time for Ellie to get it. So now Ellie is dealing with the red and crusty eyes, but hers doesn't seem as severe as Piper's was. And now I have another cold, which seems to be different from the original one we had because I have the worst sore throat of my life and some major chest congestion. However, I think it's on it's way out because I'm feeling a little more energetic today with a lot more of the productive coughing. So I kinda feel better and worse at the same time. I have ingested an entire gallon of orange juice in the past 24 hours and been trying to rest as much as possible and I think it's helping a lot. Today is definitely a pajama day in our house and I don't even feel bad about that haha.
Billy's mom is coming up tomorrow evening so she can stay with the girls while we're in the hospital this weekend. Billy and I have plans to go out to dinner by ourselves tomorrow night (last date night before we're a family of 5...ahhhh!). I have to be at the hospital at 9:30 on Friday morning and we should be meeting our little Grace around lunch time. I am SO looking forward to this...I know reality will hit me once we're home and getting back to regular life, but for now I'm enjoying romanticizing it a little and picturing our sweet baby girl. Please pray for us! :)
