still preggo..

38 weeks and 3 days = the longest I have ever been pregnant and ten pounds more than I have ever weighed. This baby is competitive-- already breaking all kinds of records set by his older brothers.

I am being 100% honest when I say I am thrilled to still be pregnant. I realize that many people JUST WANT THE BABY OUT by this point, but I feel no rush. In fact, with the scare at 34-35 weeks of constant contractions, I feel so blessed to still be pregnant. Aaron gave me a blessing during my preterm labor and said that the baby would come at the right time. That has stuck with me and I do not feel anxious.

I DID think I was in labor on Halloween, though. I probably set myself up for it-- considering how much I would have loved another holiday baby. The day before Halloween was a busy one. I was running errands, setting up for and throwing a big church party, staying out after midnight watching MJ's movie and such. At 4:00 AM on Halloween, I woke up with pretty strong contractions. I tried to relax but got excited thinking that maybe I would have a little pumpkin. Around 9:00 AM, Ben and I went on a long walk. (Ben rode his bike and I walked.) By this time, the contractions were pretty strong and about 4 minutes apart. I even wondered if my water had broken on the walk because I was leaking something (and in my past labors, my water breaks but it's more like trickling, not some burst or explosion :) Anyway, I got my hopes up for a second there. I ended up laying down in the afternoon-- thinking that I would need as much rest as possible for upcoming labor. But I was so relaxed that I fell asleep and the contractions went away. They really picked up again around 11:00 PM and it was then I was SURE I was in labor. Come to find out, even after 3 babies, I still don't have a clue. My water had not broken. Apparently, I peed a bit during each contraction-- or something. Sunday (Nov. 1) I felt awesome... energetic, rested, motivated and content. Apparently, he didn't want to come on a holiday. And that's fine by me. Now we can celebrate Halloween AND a birthday later. Party on.

It's been 3 days since then and I have nothing exciting to report. I am staying really busy and getting as much done as possible. I remember thinking during the false Halloween labor (that I thought was real) "Dang.. I wish I would have done ______ ." so those things were the first to get tackled. I wake up with a new list each morning and feel very accomplished.

And if this isn't odd-- I am sleeping INCREDIBLY well. For the first time in months, I fall asleep at night and don't get up for anything.. not even to go to the bathroom. It's a miracle, seriously. Sunday night I went to bed at 8 pm and didn't wake up until 8 am. Holy 12 hours! I know THAT's not going to happen for a long time. I am relishing in the simple life while I can.

The kids are getting anxious, but we are knocking through a ton of their homeschooling curriculum so we can have a good vaca when the baby is born. We are currently about two months ahead in homework... scheduled to finish the school year sometime in April. But this bothers me because it's lame, busy-work anyway. I don't like having a schedule to tell me that we are "finished" with learning for the year, but I know there are pros and cons with any situation. At least I will not feel so guilty about taking a break from worksheets and I will have something to fall back on when I have crazy post-pregnancy-brain/sleep-deprived issues.

So.. that's the update. As much as I love your phone calls/texts/emails/expressions of shock that I am STILL pregnant.. let me remind you that I just might make it to my due date.. or go past it. Maybe he wants to be a Thanksgiving baby. ? What I am trying to say (all out of L-O-V-E) is lay off already. I promise I will let you know as soon as he comes. I'm sure Daddy will be posting pictures on the blog before he gets a chance to hold him.