OH BABY: DIARIES FROM THE 3RD TRIMESTER NO. 01

This week marks my 31st week of pregnancy. Holy. Sweet. Moses. Jon and I were discussing the other day that technically next month (January) we could have little Soren! His due date is February 3rd and, while I certainly want him to come when he's ready, I've been wondering if the little bear will make an early appearance. The idea of him coming within the next 8-9 weeks is CRAZY. We've been busy working on house projects, trying to get the nursery prepared, taking classes at the hospital, and getting all of our ducks in a row to take time off from work.

I was talking to my family the other day about how during the 1st trimester I spent a lot of time grasping the idea of being pregnant. It was hard for me to comprehend and since I wasn't really showing, it didn't feel real. I just felt tired and icky. ;) During the second trimester I really got used to the idea of being pregnant. I felt the baby, had a baby shower, found out it was a "he", and got to see him on the sonogram. Pregnancy felt real. And now, during the 3rd trimester, I'm totally used to being pregnant, but now I'm actually starting to grasp the idea that we will have a real live, human baby in our arms. I have these little moments and visions of seeing him, smelling him, and holding him, and I just get completely overwhelmed and excited. I seriously cannot wait to be a mommy. I am so looking forward to being a parent with Jon and learning how to do this as a team and by his side. 

We will be celebrating 9 years of being together in January. We met when we were young, grew up together, and have loved sharing life with each other. We are each others' biggest fans and supporters. Even though we are so different from each other, we adore each other. Moving from the time of it being just us for 9 years to us with little Soren is a little scary. I know I'll miss it being just us and I've been so thankful for this time. Loving Jon has been the best years of my life. But I do know that adding Soren to our family will change so much, but make everything so much richer. Our prayer for him is that he will have a spirit of true joy. We want to celebrate life together. Surely, these years ahead of me, loving Jon and loving Soren, will be the best years of my life to date. :)

Overall, this trimester has been a little uncomfortable and I'm anticipating more and more discomfort as little one grows and grows! He is SO active. He loves to stretch, kick, roll, punch...he re-acts to sounds, music, and Jon's voice. He has hiccups and loves moving around right before I go to sleep. It's amazing feeling him so big! -- Jon's been incredible at helping me stay comfortable. He massages my back, makes the bed cozy for me, helps me up and is always looking for ways to serve. As far as emotions go, I've felt the widest range of unstable emotions in this trimester so far. I've had my weepy moments, crazy/funny moments, carefree moments and psycho-crazy-angry moments. I'm just thankful the psycho-crazy-angry moments have only occurred 1-2 times (depends on who you ask). It's been a little like PMS on drugs, steroids, a venti americano, and three red bulls. Hormones!!

I've mentioned a couple times that Jon and I have been taking classes at the hospital to prepare for baby. This has been one of my favorite parts of the 3rd trimester. We have learned SO much together and it's really made us feel more at peace and prepared. It's so wonderful to feel equipped with sound knowledge and experience! I feel about as prepared mentally as I can for labor and delivery. I know I'll need to be adaptable and I know my experience will be different from others. I'm feeling excited, anxious, and nervous. It's like Christmas day is approaching but I'll also have to give a speech in front of 5,000 people. The epitome of my excitement and anxiety. But I know I can do this! I'm practicing positive affirmations. ;) 

Here's to the next 9 weeks!