Our nursery came together the night before we went into the hospital for the induction. Just in time! Hudson already loves his little room and we’re so happy to finally have a baby in there!
We wanted a really happy nursery that our sweet boy could grow up in. I think he’ll still love it when he’s a smelly little toddler that likes to dig up worms!
Our lives are going to change tomorrow. There’s no way around it. We’re checking into the hospital at 5:30 tomorrow morning and the induction begins at 6:30. I have no idea how quickly things will progress or how long they expect it to take. It could be a long day or a short day. I hope to be able to keep everyone informed via Twitter (if you don’t already follow me, just click on the Twitter button on the right sidebar) and do a couple of blog posts as the day moves along.
More than anything, we’re praying for a safe delivery for Baby Boy and for me. I’m praying that Todd will be calm and comfortable and that any anxiety he is experiencing will melt away. I’m praying for both sets of grandparents that they will be the rocks we need them to be and the perfect examples of unconditional love for our precious son. I’m praying that our son will arrive perfectly and healthy and that he will grow up to love Jesus. We pray that he will have great relationships with our parents and our friends and that he will constantly be surrounded by love.
This is probably the most sentimental pregnancy post I’ve written, right?
I’m sitting here trying to come up with an idea in my mind of what exactly is about to happen, but I honestly have no idea. I know a general rundown of tomorrow, but I don’t know what the pain will feel like. I don’t know how the epidural will feel. I don’t know much. I don’t know if this boy will be too big for me to push out and if I’ll end up with a c-section. But while I don’t know the answers, I don’t care. I can’t tell you what’s about to happen, but I can tell you what it feels like to look back.
When I got married a year ago I got really emotional because I felt like I really had to grow up. There was a huge mix of happiness and sadness that came with that. Today, as I sit and think about my life up to this point, a few things come to mind:
I’m sorry to have gotten so sentimental, but I know that I will have to really grow up tomorrow. I will be completely responsible for another life (with Todd’s amazing help, of course) and I don’t want these nostalgic feelings to disappear because of stress and busy-ness.
I appreciate all of you so much. My real life friends, my family, my fantastic blog friends (that I can’t even imagine not knowing now), and anyone who just stops by to check in. Thank you for cheering us on. I’ll keep you all posted!
Cue the theme song by “Europe.” We’re in the final stretch. And because so many of you have asked, I am posting my last belly shot. I have a strong amount of shame right now, so I reduced the size significantly to protect myself. That is a BIG baby in there.
38.5 weeks pregnant
I visited my doctor’s office on Wednesday. At that time, I was 75% effaced and 1 centimeter dilated. She encouraged me to go ahead and schedule the delivery due to Baby Boy Carroll’s size. He weighed 8 pounds at my 37 week visit, so she guessed he was already 8.5 pounds at 38 weeks.
I called yesterday to schedule the induction for June 4. If I don’t go into labor before then, our baby will be born on June 4!
His brother and sister, Boudreaux and Fiona, are very excited– don’t they look excited?
My parents are leaving Dallas on Monday to drive out here. They’re picking up my brother on the way and everyone should be here for the scheduled delivery. My mom will help me put all of the finishing touches on the nursery when she arrives. She is an In-Home Consultant for Calico Corners on Inwood in Dallas and she coordinated everything for the draperies, table cloth, chair, bed skirt, and bumpers. I can’t even tell you how wonderful and happy everything looks!
We don’t have any nursery photos yet because I am still waiting on the crib and dresser to arrive. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Ahem, delivery company! I’m not too concerned, though. Everything else is completely finished and ready to go. We have the pack ‘n play set up and it has a built in changing table, so he’ll have a place to sleep and be changed if the furniture doesn’t arrive before the big birthday. No worries, right? I’m letting go and going with the flow.
Here’s a sneak peak of an incredible gift we received, though. Our wonderful family friend, Janice Wood (in Birmingham), painted four 2×2 boards for the nursery. They’ll hang in a grid. The others are a surprise because one has his name on it, but here is one of the boards. How adorable is that frog and the little bugs? It’s so little boy! I absolutely love all four paintings and can’t wait to show y’all the finished nursery!
And because I think she’s silly, I scooped up Fiona and all of Baby Boy’s stuffed animals, and put Fiona in the middle of them. It resembles the E.T. in the closet scene when E.T. is hidden in the middle of all of Elliott’s stuffed animals.
I’ve enjoyed every moment of my first week of maternity leave. Being home has been so nice and I’ve gotten a lot done around the house. I’m in the process of making Paula Deen’s banana pudding (my favorite) to take to a birthday party tonight and this will be our last big outing with our friends. South Carolina temperatures have officially reached “hot” and I’m so glad that by this time next week (hopefully) I won’t be pregnant anymore!
