skirt: old Nordstrom Rack {similar}
necklace: eBay
necklace: eBay
shirt: Target
bag: c/o Lily Jade
clogs: c/o Moheda
maternity support tank holding everything in
(not pictured, you're welcome!!): c/o Blanqi
tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh-TERM, baby.
Not to be confused with FULL term (just like 20 weeks is not 5 months pregnant, 24 weeks is not six months pregnant, and 32 weeks does not 8 months pregnant make .... hey! we all have our vices and welcome to a few of mine).
Hmmm ... what to wax rambly about today ....
Well, I'm feeling fine! Mostly. I would place a lot of cash on the fact that this will be our biggest baby yet. My mom's fourth child was 10 pounds even (and I'm sure a lot of you can top that but AH ... that scares me a little/a lot - it scares me a lot) and she had had all 7 pounders up until then so ... I'm just preparing for doomsday. Logically, it makes perfect sense.
Every single stranger that I encounter out in the public sphere that can stop staring at the circus that is the kids + the belly long enough to make a coherent sentence (but seriously! the stares lately .... I guess I don't blame people but I do check to make sure I'm wearing pants with the looks the peoples give) have all voted with great GREAT confidence that this baby is definitely a girl. So ... we'll see! I'm feeling very similar to how I felt with Theo right about now and I was oh SO sure he was a she ... but we all know time will tell.
All day, every day and every other sentence that comes out of her mouth Julia asks, "sooo what do you sink we should name the baby?" and so I pose the question to her and she makes up some 89 syllable word (keekeekookoohahalaladumbo) and cracks herself RIGHT up. And then she turns to Theo and asks him and he says, "da!" like he says for everything and Julia solemnly says, "fine, we'll name her 'da'".
Lord help this little baby if it's a boy. Julia might never forgive him.
I'm stuck in that weird place that is being ready for the baby to come and knowing that life is skating riiiiiight along easy street compared to life with a newborn. Simon still has four more interviews to tango with so ... I'm just mostly praying the timing works out. If I have to take the kids up to labor + delivery on my own ... well, I had better have some pretty sweet swag bags for the poor nurses that have to hang with the camplets until Simon magically appears. Because he will. I know't.
Anyway ... if you want to scare me with your, "biggest baby" stories ... I'm all eyes and ears over here. Otherwise ... there's always the birth story link-up (267 stories! holy placenta!) that I've been scouring in the middle of the night because something has to keep the insomnia and jar of peanut butter company. And that something is them.
Oh! and for kicks!
37 weeks with Bash
35.5 weeks with J
37 weeks with Theo
Oh! and for kicks!
37 weeks with Bash
35.5 weeks with J
37 weeks with Theo
Look, my #2 baby was 9 lb 9 oz and I didn't have any problems birthing that boy. You'll do great. You look fantastic (I basically look like you do now, but I am 22 weeks, so yeah), and I will bet you are about 10x more fit than I am - even if this is a big baby, you'll be fine!!! I, however, am trying not to get nervous with baby #3 here, but at my last appointment, my doctor (unsolicited) was like "well, measurements don't matter at this point" after measuring fundal height. Thanks, dude. Plus, he sent me to the nutritionist juuuuust for kicks, but the funny thing is that I'm eating way better this time around 'cause there's no bowls of leftover Halloween candy just staring at me during naptime. And at ultrasound, baby was measuring about a week big, and I am certain of my dates. Did I mention husband and his brother were both 12+ lb babies? And his mom didn't have GD or anything? But look, she did it without a C-section either time.
ReplyDeleteMy 4 year old wants to name the baby "Hatta" or "Shanti" or something that sounds eerily like "Goethe."
So you can get a visual on how huge I was ,I'm 5 ft 2in and weigh 105lbs and my 4th baby was 9lbs 7oz . He was born in less then 90 minutes start to finish. My other there kids were smaller by 1 to 2 lbs. my biggest baby and my easisest and quickest delivery :)
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed you'll be blessed with the same good fourtune of birthing out your baby, no matter the size :)
3 babies all boys(I'm sure I deserved that somehow!)--1st 9 pounds 2nd 9 1/4 pounds 3rd??? 8 pounds EVEN so maybe you'll get lucky??
ReplyDeleteMy baby #3 was 10lb 6oz! and he came early! I have to admit that I am pretty nervous about number 4's weight...and I also have to admit that I wish I was 37 weeks! :)
ReplyDeleteAH!!! Well my mom's babies were much smaller after that so ........... hopefully you'll be the same :)
Deleteahhhh can't wait to meet the newest camper! you look great!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to scare you, but my #4 was 10 lbs. 12 and 1/2 oz.--and they didn't even fully straighten him out, and he was at least the length of the tape measure, which was 24"!! (But even though our first two were 7 and change, #3 was 9 lbs. 13 oz., so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised.)
ReplyDeleteBut my first was my smallest, and he was the hardest labor and delivery. Even though #4 was a giant, having him was a cake walk in comparison. So I'm sure you'll do great, even if this is a big one. God bless you as you head into the home stretch!
haha I asked for it!! That's impressive!!! I'm hoping Theo was my hardest delivery but I know God likes to chuckle occasionally :)
DeleteThank you Laura!!!
I don't have a big baby story, we only have two and both were 8 and some. But Hudson, our 2nd baby, was almost born in the car. Our midwife says babies 1&3 are similar labors and babies 2&4 are similar (something I've always wondered if it was true! I hope I get to test that theory someday). Hudson's whole labor was 4 hours unlike Easton's 4.5 hours of just pushing. She joked that when we get to baby 4 we better just got right to the hospital the second I feel anything! I hope Camper 4 is quick and easy, and regular sized!! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, our biggest so far has been 6 lbs 5 oz.... so not much help, but t I'd be terrified of a 10 pounder too ;) and I'll say my labor with her was much more similar to Claire than Gabriel so the total opposite of what Lily's midwife says. Every baby, every body... you know the drill.
ReplyDeleteYou look fantastic! Seriously impressed. Getting excited for you and the whole family!
My first baby was 10lb 2 oz and perfectly healthy baby boy! I am 5'7 145ish pounds. I'm afraid for baby #2....
ReplyDeleteSvea was 8lb8.5oz, Mila was 9lbs2oz so I can only imagine how big my consecutive babies will be. Hope you have better luck than me.
ReplyDeleteNo big, scary birth stories to sharebut you do look amazing and I know you'll do great!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI am prego (32 weeks) with my 6th (all under 9 years of age) and I totally feel you on the crazy stares. I am ashamed to say I am ashamed to grocery shop with all my children and take my coat off. I also am plenty peanut butter obsessed with a side of ice cream, so good to know I am not a freak...at least not the only freak ;)
ReplyDeleteWell my biggest baby was 6 lbs 12 oz, so I know nothing about big babies, but I would've bet a lot of lettuce that my 4th was going to be my biggest. I swear I thought I was gonna birth a toddler. But she was - and remains a fifth baby later- my smallest- at 5 lbs 10 oz. She was also my worst labor, being born face up like your Theo. ugh! That was tough. But good news, baby number 5 came out just fine! The sunny side up labor didn't repeat itself, so be encouraged by that.
ReplyDeleteMy number 4 was the smallest baby yet. The 3 before him were 7ish pounders and he was 6 lbs 8 oz.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog through bloglovin last night, randomly. It appears we live close to each other! I recognize just where this is! Small world!!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, I had a 10 pounder. I'm a complete wimp and I did it, so I know you can do it if you have to, but your belly doesn't LOOK like you have a ten pound baby in there. Like 4 days before ours was born, our neighbor came out and said, "Man, looks like you have twins in there." I looked like a refrigerator. :)
ReplyDeleteWe just had our 9 lb 4 oz baby girl. I tried to tell them they needed to get her out sooner than later or she wasn't going to fit, but apparently they won't induce before 41 weeks. So I wait 41 weeks, go through 27 hours of labor and 2 hours of uneventful pushing (big head, little pelvis) and an impromptu c-section... And I was like "told you so".
ReplyDeleteMy son was 11lb 10oz. Besides my being huge (everyone asked if I was having twins), we had no idea he was going to be so big. My labor and delivery were normal and I only pushed for 15 min. We were completely surprised by his size. I did not have diabetes and I'm only 5'3. I didn't have any more tearing with him than I did with my 8lb 12oz daughter. Having such a big baby was actually kind of nice because we skipped newborn and went straight to having a 3 month old! I wouldn't worry about the baby's size at all.
ReplyDeleteYes! My ten-pounder was estimated to be 6.11 at his last ultrasound a week before he was born. I am pretty sure he did not gain almost four pounds that last week of gestation ;)
DeleteI definitely don't have a big baby story, but I do have a "holy crap my baby was born in the bathroom" story that can keep you entertained during the wee hours of pregnancy insomnia.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.growingbrowns.com/2013/12/a-surprise-attack.html
Ship those sweetlings over here when babe 4 is en route. We will teach them all sorts of bad habits.
ReplyDeleteAnd, late, but my suggestions for late night show watching that isn't scary in the least:
Gilmore Girls
Toddlers in Tiaras (what?)
Parks n Rec
BBT
Our girl was 9.2 and we are actually having our boy tommorrow! I was really scared with Audrey but it was not bad at all! I'm not very big so I didn't know how I was gonna have her but everything went great! So I don't have a horror story haha but hoping he isn't over 10 so can wear some of his newborn things :)
ReplyDeleteJust for kicks...I see what you did there. ;)
ReplyDeleteLet me add myself to the masses saying that you look fantastic! I'm on my 3rd (only 14 weeks though) and already I feel just...jigglier and much less cute than I did with the last 2 pregnancies.
Don't want to scare you too much, but my kidlets weighed/measured: 10 pounds, 24 inches; 10 pounds, 24 inches; 12.3 pounds and 24 inches, 11 pounds and 24 inches. I like to say they were all two feet tall at birth. And our third, the biggest, did have shoulder dystocia and broke a collarbone, but it healed nicely in three days-they just had us pin his wee sleeve to his shirtfront. It was horrible seeing the x rays I made them take after realizing he cried every time we tried to dress him, poor nugget. However! With the exception of #1, they were all born without painkillers even though three were induced. It must be cozy in my womb, because they never wanted to come out on their own.
ReplyDeleteI might as well leave my birth story here, even though if I were you I'd be too preoccupied to read it at this point in the game, but hey! a girl can hope :) -- http://whollymammaoasis.blogspot.com/2013/02/ignatius-birth-story.html
ReplyDeleteMy first was 9lbs 8oz but she was breech and then she turned and then she turned back (which in itself was very painful) so I ended up having a scheduled c section and on the way out the door to the hospital my water broke. My second was just over 8lbs. The best thing about bug babies is that they never feel delicate or fragile. Oh and both were girls and my pregnancies couldn't have been more different!
ReplyDeleteI had an eight pounder (not tiny, not big), but guess what? It doesn't matter what size she was since she came face up, head tilted to the side (aka not the smallest part coming out first), and with the cord wrapped around her neck. Little lady tore me a new one (birth story just got added to the link up if you dare). So I could care less about weight- I just don't want to have level 4 tearing ever ever again.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my sainted mama birthed 9 lb, 13 oz me (and my sisters) without any meds- and I was the runt. My sisters were 10-10 and 10-4. The nurses swore up and down that after me (the oldest) she would never have a baby that big again. Ha. Ha ha. Hahaha.
Our second son was 9lbs 2oz and 22" long and I had no trouble birthing that boy! I am 5'0" and 115lbs (not preggers). My water broke with him at 11:45pm and he was born at 1:17am. No drugs. No episiotomy. No tearing. The only thing I remember being different about his delivery vs. our 8lbs 4oz son was pushing out his shoulders. My poor husband drove so fast to the hospital because he was afraid I was going to have to deliver in the car. I was having contractions prior to my water breaking, so I knew I was in labor, but they started coming very strong and VERY close together after my water broke.
ReplyDeleteYou'll do great. Doesn't the 4th one walk out on their own anyway? ;)
I have no big baby stories (although I am 5 ft 1 in and my last pregnancy was twins, so I was huuuge), but ... My friend had an almost 10 pounder and broke her tailbone giving birth to him!! Yikes!!
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for a fun/easy post idea, I nominated you for a Liebster Award! Couldn't find if you had done one already! http://thesweetwonder.blogspot.com/2014/04/liebster-award-nomination-question-time.html
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with 3 year olds and 87 syllable names? My daughter is doing the same thing. This usually happens at night when we are taking prayer requests. "Saanalaanalookaaranaapanashaanabaanamikatikatootoo [nom du jour for one of her stuffed animals] is sick." Oy.
ReplyDeleteGoodness gracious--baby #4 is definitely taking the cake compared to the rest of the clan at 37 weeks. You're almost there! Can't wait to meet the little one.
ReplyDeleteI need input, from you and any other mom out there. I'm 2 months into breastfeeding number two (breastfed #1 for 14 months) and I have YET to find a nursing bra I love. I'm into sports bra type bras mostly. I need something that will keep the girls UP without being suuuuuuper structured (i.e., underwire). Maybe this is too much to ask? If it helps for recs, I'm a 34DDD (while nursing), and I haven't had any luck finding something perfect for my size. Help?
ReplyDeleteThis is my personal favourite, but I am on the opposite of chest blessings/curses. A 32B while nursing. Either way, I call this bra my "sweatpants for boobs" or "giving the girls a hug."
Deletehttp://www.snugglebugz.ca/body-silk-bra-pink-ice.html
Go to www.nurturedfamily.com. I was a 36G while nursing and needed lots of support. These bras are expensive but worth the investment. :)
DeleteOh, big baby stories. My FIRST baby was 10.1 pounds. Got a "bad" third degree, whatever that means, but honestly it was NOT a big deal. I healed right up in a few days (not exaggerating), although it was a couple of weeks of discomfort and being scared to poop, and life moved on like nothing extremely traumatic had happened in my nether regions. My second baby was only 8.6 lbs, and I got a "good" second degree with that one (according to my OB, it was a very "normal" laceration). She must have done a fiiiiiine stitch job on that ole thing because bam, four or five days later I didn't so much as have to squirm myself into a comfortable sitting position. It was great.
ReplyDeletePS, number one came at 40+2, and number two came at 39. But I was having my membranes stripped regularly from 36 weeks with him.
DeleteWe have three. None of them have been under 8lbs (I keep praying for THAT to happen). Our 2nd was the biggest so far at 9lbs. 10oz and I nearly birthed her in the car on the way to the hospital. Every last one of ours have pretty much flown out, so I'm preparing myself for the likely possibility that my body loves to birth big babies and awaiting a 10 or 11 lb-er. God, help me!
ReplyDeleteRidiculous. I mean you. You are so funny and pretty all at the same time. It's ridiculous. Seriously, I usually just hide at this point in the pregnancy, but you still look amazing.
ReplyDeleteOh if I am blessed with a fourth baby please let me look this good preggo! And all my babes have been in the 7 lb range. But with my daughter the nurses, doctor, and my husband were taking bets that it would be over 9 lbs. They were wrong wonderfully wrong considering we were drug free. And I hope Simon and the baby coordinate schedules, because I had my second minus my baby daddy and....not cool!
ReplyDeleteI am Team Girl. Not that I know you at all, but I am pretty sure you are having a girl.
ReplyDeleteI am super afraid of having a HUGE baby. My first was 6lbs 15 oz (I was convinced she was going to be the 15lb baby from the news) and then my second was 8 lbs 11 oz, which seems enormous to me. What I will say is that the second didn't hurt any more than the first, I think in the end it just hurts no matter what.
My first was my biggest. 9 lbs 13 oz. She was born on my bedroom floor...it was fine. I looked wa-haaaaay huger than you....are getting twin comments? That's how you know you're giant...if people assume there must be 2 ppl incubating to explain the size of the belly lol. You and Simon look tall....I'm betting IF your babe is big it will be in length. Both my 9+ Babies were loooong, not chubby. In fact, my little 8.4 son had a bigger head than either of the giant girls lol.
ReplyDeleteMy FIRST was 10 lbs 2 oz and my fourth was 6 lbs 13 oz........... The other two were in in the 8 lb range. I tell my oldest she paved the way for her siblings.... literally - I was so stretched after her that the others practically fell out.... yeah right. (but they were a lot easier!)
ReplyDeleteGood Luck to you!
i really think you have magic hair. it looks so damn good all the time.
ReplyDeleteALSO, pet peeve of mine as well. like, when you find out youre pregnant you're already 4 weeks? what the hell logic is that? i've only been for two weeks!
You look so cute! My biggest baby was my first - 9lbs, 3oz. But the rest of them were all 9 lbs also, so apparently I just grow them in one size fits all.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a big baby story - my first was 7lb, 6oz and my second 8lb, 7oz, but my Mom who is maybe 5'2" and a small woman delivered three (maybe four? I can't remember) babies in the 10-10.5lb range, all at home, with no tearing. We know that all women are different, but there is hope.
ReplyDeleteMy babies were 7.11, 6.13 and 6.13 so I don't have any big baby horror stories to share. I'm just praying hard that Dr. Patton is not a plane ride away when Little Miss Number Four makes her appearance. Maybe he should give Julia some basic tips on delivering a baby?
ReplyDeleteMy first was 9lbs 6 oz, second was 10lbs 3 oz......if we're lucky enough to have a third I seriously hope it's not any bigger. Then again I've had to be induced (with everything known to man on both kids, and ended up with only small tears); my doctor says clearly my body likes to make big babies that don't want to leave the womb. Good times!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest baby story woud make you reach out and slap me. 3 kids ... 6 lbs 4 oz, 6 lbs 3 oz, then my little girl 6 lbs even. I am average height 5' 4" and weight ... My story is fast births. 1st 3 hours from the plug falling out them turning him and him being born. 2nd about an hour. 3rd one 15 minutes ... doctor said the next one would just be there when I woke up. Enough said. I quit.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a terrifying big baby story to share (I had 2 8-pounders and then the third was 9lb, 11oz), but I can't believe no one else has given you a "RIGHT ON" about the "24 weeks does not equal 6 months" comment. I know it isn't an all-important issue, but I just don;t understand the logic of people that keep on using this method!
ReplyDeleteEEEk! You look simply gorgeous, which really isn't fair. Good luck with your last few weeks/days/ hours???
ReplyDeleteMy theory is since your babies have all been about 7 pounds, this one will be, too. Plus you're tiny. Unless the baby has taken residence in your butt cheeks and you're REALLY good at hiding it, I doubt you are housing a 10-lber in there.
ReplyDeleteAt 38 weeks, I feel you on the limbo that is wanting your baby to be born and enjoying the simple(r) life. But if anyone can handle a brood of four, it's you!
I am exactly in that place where I'm ready for baby but know it's going to be a rude awakening of sleeplessness and no personal time. 39 weeks 2 days!
ReplyDeleteI know you feel huge but sista you look great!!
ReplyDeleteNo big baby stories, we are a family of hobbits. But, I just wanted to say YES YES YES to the 24 weeks = 6 months, etc...so silly but sometimes I'm afraid my eyes are going to get stuck rolling in the back of my head when I hear this. And you look wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteI do have a 10 lb baby horror story, but I won't share it. There is no way you are hiding ten pounds of baby in there, so stop worrying! You are teensy.
ReplyDelete