Having a Ball

Sunday night Sean and I got to experience the joys of "False Labor". I think this term must have been named by a man because I can't imagine a woman calling contractions every 5 minutes for 24+ hours "false". I'm thinking words like "trial run", "fooled you", or "just getting started" may be better expressions for this experience. We returned home from the hospital Monday afternoon feeling defeated. I decided that rather than feeling defeated I would call my girlfriends and ask their advice. The overwhelming response I received was "get a birthing ball to get that baby moving". Sean and I headed to the store to find the holy birthing grail. When we got home Sean inflated the ball and I took my place a top the giant blue egg in the hopes of getting things moving. After two days of squatting I was not feeling any changes (but was feeling much more comfortable) and decided that if this was going to work we needed the birthing ball manned at all times! Sean, determined to help get this baby here faster, agreed to sit on the ball whenever it was not being occupied by me. Now nearly 3 days after the "false start" we have enlisted the help of our dogs. Baylee, Bentley, and Benji have all agreed to "take one for the team" and sit on the birthing ball when it is not being occupied by myself or Sean. Now that's what I call teamwork!

This photo is of Sean showing off his mad (no hands/no feet) squatting skills! I'm sure that even those of you that have known Sean for years never knew he had this talent! He will be signing autographs and taking this show on the road post-delivery. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming tour dates!

The Sacrificial Stool

Many of you had already heard the story but a picture is worth a thousand words. A week and a half ago the nesting instinct kicked in full force. I could not resist the urge to clean everything, including the obscure areas of our home. For example, the shelf above the washer and dryer, the closets, and the pantry (all places a baby would certainly go when they first come home). I decided to use a stool to aid in my endeavor to clean the pantry since bending over has been impossible for a few months now. Not even 5 minutes into my cleaning, Sean came rushing in to the sound of a screaming wife and splintering wood. The wooden stool buckled and broke beneath me...the first casualty of nesting. It's a sad day when you realize you're no longer safe sitting on small wooden furniture. Visions of Goldilocks in Baby Bear's chair flashed before my eyes. I'm now avoiding all wooden seating: stools, dining room chairs, rocking chairs, etc.

The stool made the ultimate sacrifice for a clean pantry. We have given it a proper burial in the trash can. Please take a moment of silence for the little stool.

Birth or Bust!

With only one week until our due date the anticipation is building and my drive to get everything ready has kicked into high gear. I've been cleaning for days- washing baby clothes, organizing cabinets, and I even started cleaning random places in our home...the shelf above the washer and dryer, the pantry, and even the soap drawer in the washing machine! I think I've done enough nesting to deliver triplets by now and I can honestly say that I'd feel comfortable serving appetizers out of my dryer, a main course in our pantry, and dessert on the kitchen floor! Any takers? Sean's been a real trooper! I can't wait to meet our little guy and I'm hoping he'll make an early appearance! Finding clothes that fit is really my daily chore!

Believe it or not I thought I couldn't get any bigger when I took the photo of me in the purple shirt but I somehow did. This photo on the left (in the black shirt) is of me only hours before Noah was born. It was the last pregnant photo taken and Sean snapped it only 3 hours before my contractions started! I was 3 days past our due date...40 weeks and three days. We had just gotten home from church and lunch at McAllisters. I swear it was the French Dip sandwich that sent me into labor because it was the exact thing I had the Sunday before when we had false labor. Kiersten, you may want to keep this in mind come January. :)

Memories

So we are getting close to the date for Baby H to appear. This weekend was nice. We went down to McDonough to see my folks and her mom. We had to pick up some last minute things at the BabiesRUs so we all went. It was neat to see my mom, my mother-in-law and my wife (mom-to-be) all shopping for stuff for Baby H. Quite a mother's day experience. My folks had found some of my old toys that had been boxed up. So we (at least I) had a blast going through my old stuff. I realized that they just don't make things the way they used to. Metal Matchbox cars and old wooden cars and trucks. As much abuse as they got when I was a kid you'd think they should be broken.

We brought some of them back for Baby H. (I'll get the matchbox cars and legos when he's older.) This was one of my favorite toys that reminds me of my Granddad's tractor. Gotta love those International Harversters!