North Pole, here I am!

Samuel Reid Siemens

January 5, 2013

4:26 pm

8 pounds, 12.5 ounces

22 3/4 inches

 Tiniest baby toes

Minutes old

Bonding with Mommy

The Waiting Game

Tick tock, tick tock . . . and now we wait . . .

On my due date, January 3rd 2013

My due date has come and gone, and the wait has been more difficult this time! Maybe it's because since I was 4 1/2 months pregnant, people have been saying to me "You must be due any day now!!" Yeah. Thanks.  I've had it over and over where people tell me how great I look and how cute pregnancy looks on me and then the dreaded question would hit "When are you due?" When I answered with January, I was often met with dead silence, and wide eyes.  Then, after they managed to scrape their jaws off of the floor, they so kindly say "Wow, I thought you were going to say tomorrow!" Feels great by the way :)

But I have a confession to make: I've been having a bit of a struggle with this pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my baby and thank God for the blessing of this life growing inside of me, but I just can't seem to fully enjoy this pregnancy. A friend of mine said it perfectly the other day: after baby number three you start to feel like an old lady when you're pregnant! I have just been weary, sore and broken down for months. Because of my pneumonia with Oliver's pregnancy my lungs are weak and sometimes menial things (like standing or walking!) are just too much and I am totally out of breath. It was worsened by the fact that baby was transverse throughout much of the pregnancy.  Thankfully that has been a lot better since baby dropped a couple of weeks ago.

But now it seems that baby and I are stuck in a game of battle of the wills.  Who can stick it out longer - me or the little bitty bundle inside of me?  Right now it's a toss up.

But there have been many blessings throughout this process as well.  One, is how amazing my other 3 kids have been.  They are just so in love with the baby already - especially Hayden! Constantly showering my belly with snuggles and kisses.  And they all get SO excited when I let them feel the baby kicking and moving inside of me.  It's been fascinating to watch it all through their eyes.  Plus, I myself LOVE feeling that baby tumbling around and wiggling.  That is truly the best part of pregnancy.  Every kick and movement is so cherished.

Another thing is the amazing support that Scott has been to me throughout pregnancy. I don't think we have ever been closer in our marriage than we are now and he is constantly looking for ways to help me out, often taking care of me, the kids, the house, and the meals on top of his own busy schedule.  He has been so understanding about how hard this pregnancy has been on  my body.  It seems like every time I start to get discouraged about what I can't physically do, he surprises me with a clean kitchen, with taking the kids on an outing so I can rest, or bringing home a favorite meal.  Love that guy, and I am so thankful to have him as my husband and a daddy for our little ones.

Here is a little "treat" that I got for baby from my sweet Mom! She knew that I love diaper cakes and so she made this pretty one for me! Who knew I'd get something like this for baby number 4?  On top of that sweetness she has been helping me with laundry and cleaning and helping out with the kids. SO blessed.

So when is baby going to come and who is he/she going to be??? SOOOO curious!  I cannot wait to bring this little one home and make him or her a part of our lives.