Full term and ready?

So I have to buy a carseat today. I've never bought one before. I need to get a 3-in-1 so that I can use it for quite a while (until it expires! HA HA!), which is why Craigslist and kids swap are off my lists.

Yes, it is the "sign of the times"....we will be 37 weeks pregnant in just a few days and while my midwife "okayed" a homebirth, Tim and I decided that we would like the government to wash our linens, supply us with adult diapers (not for life, just immediately postpartum), feed us and let us sleep in peace instead of spending oodles of "magically appearing" money on supplies for a birth in our home....not including having to do our own "dirty" (VERY) laundry in the in-laws' machines, cook and clean up after the birth not just for the new baby, but for the other two toddlers hanging out nearby....Yes, I have a peace that a hospital birth is exactly the "vacation" this G3 mama needs.

The other reason, though, is that I tested Group B strep positive, which does not inhibit me from having a homebirth, but my midwife requires me to head to the hospital immediately when labor begins and perhaps another time throughout labor depending on how quickly labor continues....the thought of going in and out of the hospital just seems a little retarded this being my 3rd time around....I am hoping this little lady doesn't take the 16 hours Toby did....it wouldn't be "good luck" (as it is in the Philippines) to have the baby in the car....especially OUR car....there's already mold growing in the carpet...the family vehicle doesn't NEED any more 'family' christening it. They don't test for this bacteria in the Philippines, but desperately need to as up to 30% of women are carriers and it explains why Toby had such a hard time when he arrived!

So we're still praying lady comes the weekend of the 12th, as Steve and Christina (my inlaws) will be here until the 16th willing to care for Promise and Toby and then they are gone until the 26th....then childcare will cost a bundle and the anxieties of Promise could make life a more challenging event.

But with a Costco shop yesterday for the month completed (2 hours unloading down the stairs to our basement suite) for "ready-made" dinners (as gluten/dairy free as possible), labor grub, and supplies and another shop today to get all the things Costco lacks and then dragging that junk down the stairs, I'd say that my body is heading closer towards labor! I just need a few more days hauling Costco-sized items down uneven stairs and we'll be there!

The irrational hormones have also announced baby's coming....last night, exhausted and sore, I cried....and cried.....as Tim heard all about how much I hate cooking for toddlers and how desperately I needed them to sleep later than 6 am. He was gracious, agreed with me whole heartedly and rubbed my back. Good man. Then we clunked out to be awakened at 6:15 am by toddlers even though he was supposed to get up quite a bit earlier than that for work. Oops. Just blame it on a very pregnant wife.

As we enjoy another sunny Fall day (no rain in weeks and the driest October to date!), Tim is cold and my internal thermometer reads "summer has JUST begun!"....I am buying him a blanket for our bed today along with that carseat.

Everyone I meet says, "Almost there!" and I keep thinking, "Almost there??? We'll be almost there when Promise enters college." Life is speeding by these days and yet, the fatigue  and frequent (but not too frequent) contractions remind me that life is a long song. Everyday is walked by God's grace alone and with the request of His ever-present Presence. I need Jesus so much....every moment of every day....

Anybody open to getting a 2 am phone call with a request to stay with two toddlers for 48 hours for free while I usher another one into the world?

Be blessed.