38 Weeks–Sweet #5!

7 days from right this moment, assuming all goes as planned, this baby will be evicted and I’ll be a Mama of 5. This little (big) baby that has been growing inside of me, stretching me to the point that I think I might just rip open will finally be resting in my arms.

Today puts me at 38 weeks and 2 days…38 weeks…crazy!  Contractions started about 2 weeks ago and have slowly but surely become more frequent. Our plan is still to do a repeat cesarean on the 25th unless something happens sooner on it’s own. My doctor (love him for this), although warning me this is likely gonna be a BIG baby, has continued to keep the option open for a VBAC. Like I mentioned before, not a huge deal to me but still not completely out of the question if God has other plans!

Speaking of plans… we’re almost completely set for next week.

Almost is so NOT me.

Hospital bags are packed, the quads’ belongings are in perfect place for sitters, their bags are packed just in case, the van is packed with extras just in case, their emergency bag (along with all medical details and history, of course) is packed,  there are multiple ridiculously detailed lists on my fridge that include schedules, a list of doctors and such, everyone is on call, everything is planned and there’s back up plans in case those original plans fall through…etc. That’s me. Prepared. Here’s where the “almost” comes in. Our “Sweet #5” STILL has NO name AND his room is not painted. Our lil dude will be here within ONE week and he has NO name and his room is NOT painted. DUDE! The quads were named pretty quickly once we found out their sexes (13 weeks) and the entire  house, rooms painted and all, was ready before I was even admitted. I will say we’ve made major progress in the name department over the past week. We now have a few on the table that we’re considering which was more than we had before. Bret’s job this weekend is to paint his room and then….THEN….we will be set :)

Everyone keeps asking if Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are ready and excited. I’ve told them many times “next week your baby is gonna be here!!!!” but I’m still just not sure they get it. I think they get that there’s a baby in my tummy but the fact that one will be coming home with us, to stay, is another concept I think they fail to completely understand. Sure, they know what brothers and sisters are, but they’ve always been the same age. To have a sibling on a completely different level than them will be different…for them AND me! That being said I am SO excited about the transition of them all becoming “real” big brothers and sisters. I honestly don’t have a fear of any jealousy or negativity whatsoever and am confident they’ll all love the baby to pieces…except that’s a fear…they’ll love him to pieces :/ We’ve been working on being gentle with our baby dolls….we’ll see.

As we approach delivery I think my biggest “fear” although I’m not sure that’s the appropriate word is how I will handle the transition. Assuming all goes well, Bret and I will be bringing home a NEW baby. Not one that has been in the NICU being “trained” for months, not one whose personality I’ll know already, not one who is on a picture perfect feeding schedule…a new baby, a fresh slate, a little person who we will mold from the start on our very own. It may sound silly but NICU was a HUGE platform for us as parents and has been the foundation of everything we’ve ever done with our babies. This time, we’re wingin’ it! I’m sure we’ll do fine but your prayers are appreciated! The quads were excellent babies and I can only pray this one is half as easy!

Tic Toc Tic Toc Tic Toc Tic Toc…..