Will there be an Audible at the line of Scimmage?

My best friend Grace called me yesterday to let me know that I was going to give birth to a baby a week from today.  I laughed because it is something that I am still unable to wrap my head around most days.  With the countdown ticking along, I grow more and more anxious to meet the little one. 

I was changing into my pajamas the other night and caught sight of my tummy in the mirror.  I just stood there looking at it for a while baffled that there is a little girl in there and she is the perfect mix of Clark and me.  She is ours forever.  A miracle like child bearing and birth is just so hard to fully comprehend.  The fact that our bodies are perfectly made to bring additional human beings into this world blows my mind on a daily basis.  Even with all the ups and downs of this pregnancy, we are so blessed to have been given this gift by God.

For the most part, I think we are as ready as we are going to be to bring her home.  We are hanging the mirror in her room this morning and that is the last thing to be done.  Mom and Dad will be down on Thursday night.  It will be nice to have them here to help take care of Nixon while we are in the hospital.  Mom is already putting together her list of recipes from the “freezes beautifully” section of the cookbook to stock up the freezer with.  I’ve packed and repacked my hospital bag.  There is really not much left to do except enjoy the last few days of a quite household.

With the date set, Clark told me that he has mentally prepared himself for delivery on Friday and to not go calling an audible and change it up on him.  I have about as much influence over that as he does, so we’ll see.  Personally, I would still like to be surprised.  I always thought I would have that moment where I call out to Clark and tell him it’s time and we throw the last couple of items in the bag and race off to the hospital.  Just like the scene from She’s Having a Baby when Kevin Bacon packs up the car and drives away without his wife in the car to go around the block when he realizes he is missing something.  But I am sure there will be enough surprises in our future that missing this surprise may be a blessing in disguise.

So unless Hannah calls an audible, I’ll try to get one more blog in before the big day.  Wish us luck!

Best,

Team McCarthy

Light at the end of the tunnel

In the words of Harry in Dumb and Dumber, “so you’re saying there’s a chance”.  My chance in this scenario is that this journey, as promised, will come to an end sometime in the near future and at least I know there will be a big prize at the finish line.  So as I have said before, Hannah is not being a team player.  What I thought was my rib aching all this time is actually a good portion of my internal organs being shoved 4 inches to the North.  Over the last weekend the dull aching pain in my upper right abdomen/rib area turned into a sharper pain.  So on Tuesday, I was sent to the hospital to have them check it out.  Seven hours later I left with the knowledge that Hannah is breech, going east to west with her dome shoved up into my right side, which I should refer to now as the scene of the crime.  She has crowded all my organs and especially my gallbladder, which they think is leaking.

So all of this is to say that now I have a scheduled C section on the 23^rd of September.  It is nice and weird all at the same time to pretty much know the date of her arrival.  I almost think it is cheating in a way.  There is always the chance that she will do her part and turn in the downward direction and come out on her own, but from what they tell me there isn’t a whole lot of room for her to turn. 

I have looked up on the “interweb” for ways to encourage the little miss to turn on her own.  Some of the ones that I have tried are lying with my butt elevated by either pillows or on an ironing board propped up against a couch.  Neither of these is comfortable.  I have also tried putting clothes pins on the outside of my pinkie toes.  This is supposed to be a pressure point that will encourage the baby to get moving.  This may work, but I’ll never know because every time I put them on (or actually Clark put them on because I can touch my toes), Nixon jumped up and pulled them off.  Lastly, I have tried putting a covered ice pack on the top of my abdomen.  Allegedly they do not like the cold and will move away from it.  She moved alright but not in any productive manner.  And I was just afraid that I was freezing her brain or something and probably didn’t leave it on long enough to do anything.

Since sitting and scrunching my stomach for any length of time now is painful, and lying on the extra desk in my office at work was getting awkward, I have stopped working this week.  Nixon has enjoyed the extra company at home, but is frustrated to have to share the remote with me.  So for now I will catch up on my Netflix queue and hot baths.  I know two weeks sounds like a long time now, but I know it will go by fast.

Any good movie suggestions would be great.  Hope this finds you all well!

Team McCarthy

Ticking Time Bomb

Hello last month of pregnancy, can we please come to a gentlewoman’s agreement?  I’ll try to take it easy, rest, and try not to bump things with my belly if you will ease up on my upper abdomen and allow me to go 30 minutes without having to urinate.  Deal?

If only it was that easy.  We are officially in the final stretch.  My best friend Grace described it last night as the top of the ninth inning (they are going to Boston/Fenway this weekend for their anniversary).  If this is the top of the ninth, who is winning?  I would say Hannah has a fair lead on me and I am not sure if the rally cap is going to make a difference at this point. 

The good news is that, for the most part, have all the things we need to bring the princess home,  Crib, Clothes, Diapers, Monitor, Car seat (installed even), and binkies (pacifiers).  Of course we have more than that, but we feel we have covered the essentials.  Clark said we don’t even need those.  He insists that he slept on a concrete slab for the first two years of his life and learned to communicate and scavenge for food as needed by the end of his first week of life.  He expects Hannah to do the same or at least become self-sufficient by the end of October at the latest.

Clark is still remaining relatively calm, however, some extra questions are starting to pop up, such as “where is that bag of stuff you want to take to the hospital with you?’, “should I pack a bag too?”  He is also getting some great advice from friends.  A work friend said he has already done his part and should be able to just work throughout the birth anyways.  Other advice I agree with a lot more is to “just say you are sorry and ask if there is anything you can do.”  This is advice that Clark has taken.  For the past couple nights, by the time we get home from work, I have been miserable and sometimes in tears briefly from being uncomfortable and yes, probably at the mercy of hormone fluctuations.  He has been great and has taken on all of the chores that I can no longer do.

It is comforting to know we are in the home stretch.  The fact that I could literally go into labor at any moment is a funny feeling.  I am trying to be more aware of the amount of gas in my car (I often let it get down to nothing, bad I know), we have a plan for Nixon while we are in the hospital, and lastly I am trying to make sure I can walk away whenever needed from work by working a transition plan with my colleague.  Mom and Dad let me know they are on “High Alert” for the entire month of September.  They are committing to nothing (even serving communion next Sunday).  As soon as we head to the hospital, they will make their way down south.  So we continue the T minus countdown and pray for the patience (and some relief) to get through these last couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Team McCarthy