Progress!

Things seem to be in motion! 👏🏼👏👏🏾

Hopefully, I'm not jinxing anything by writing it down. I have lost my mucus plug throughout the day. Yay! When this happened with Will, my water broke the next morning, and he was born that afternoon.👶🏻

Fingers crossed BBL2 decides to follow his lead after being cozy for so long!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Maybe we will get our May baby (barely) after all. Come on, little guy!!!! 🌟🌟🌟💞💞💞

P. S. I have the world's most amazing in-laws. They have basically put their lives on hold up north to be with us through the birth going on two weeks now. They are always generous, helpful, and so easy to cohabitate with. Thank you for ALL you do!! 💗💗💗

Due date reached!

To say I'm going a bit stir crazy would be the understatement of the year. 😜😜😜

We are reluctant to go anywhere too far every day in case I go into labor. The heat has been driving me mad, and today marked a new level of physical exhaustion. 😫😫😫

And yet, I really can't complain. BBL2 is clearly NOT ready to make his grand entrance yet, which means he is continuing to get stronger and fatter in the womb. 👶🏻 I am OK with this. I am still not yet that physically uncomfortable, which I can attribute to a healthy, active lifestyle throughout this pregnancy. I am grateful. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Today is BBL2's due date, by far the longest I have ever been pregnant. 40 weeks. Why is it that a true full-term pregnancy is closer to 10 months than 9? Cruel. Just cruel. 😝😫

The last stages of this pregnancy have been a real lesson in patience and accepting what I cannot control. BBL2 is already teaching me a lot and differentiating himself from his brother big time. He's a stubborn one and clearly is too comfortable to be bothered right now. So, we wait, and I try to remain relaxed and calm. The doctor says I'm very relaxed according to my blood pressure, which I find hilarious. I often feel anything but relaxed.😉

Breathe, Mama, breathe. Your little guy will be here soon enough, and you will wish to get the kind of rest only possible with one child.🌟🌟

I am trying! 👏👏🏼👏🏾

Come on, BBL2!

Still 1.5 cm dilated. Three weeks later. No forward progress there. 😫😫😫

The exciting news is that I am apparently having contractions without knowing it. The doctor witnessed this while measuring BBL2. She thinks it will happen this weekend, when she will also be on call. My other fave doctor in the practice is then on call Monday through Tuesday. Fingers crossed! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

She instructed me to do LOTS of squatting, as his head is still high. And trust me, I have. The squats in the shower were the most relaxing so far. 💫

We had spicy pad Thai for dinner. I continue to walk a good amount, though not as long in this heat. I am doing all that I can to get things moving, though I do recognize much of this is out of my direct control. 😝

The question is: will I get my May baby or have another June bug?💞💞

Only BBL2 knows the answer. 💗💗💗

Sore mama!

The shirt I wore tonight describes my current state perfectly -- my everything is sore. 😫😫😫

It didn't help that it was close to 90 degrees and humid today, but my legs, feet, and back are quite sore. Secretly, I hope this is a sign of impending labor, or it could just be general late pregnancy discomfort in the heat. I guess we shall see for sure!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Many people say Memorial Day weekend is a great time to give birth. I could not agree more. BBL2's due date is Sunday.🙏🏻

I've gotten everything at school accomplished I need to, Greg's in the same position at his job, and my amazingly helpful in-laws are still in town. We are ready.💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

Perhaps it's time for a little pep talk between BBL2 and me.💞💗😍

Come on out, buddy! We are beyond excited to meet you and are ready to welcome you! 😘😘😘

What are you waiting for?!!! 

Bittersweet...

Thankfully, today was a much better day. 👏👏🏼👏🏾

I listened to my gut (and body) this morning  and decided to take the morning off and rest. That was by far the best decision I made all day, as I ended up being at school until 9 pm for our annual Night of Pride showcase and celebration.🌟🌟

While a huge success, the event was also bittersweet for me. There are many challenges to working in a highly impacted school. One we often neglect to draw attention to is the high turnover of quality staff every year, most years. And we are losing some AMAZING people this year. Every day I'm working with them I know could be my last, if BBL2 decides to ever arrive.👶🏻😫😜

As a staff developer and teacher coach, I recognize the importance of teachers seeking new opportunities and challenges, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to be missed. We have some incredibly talented, hard working, and kid-centered educators leaving our building this year, and it's impossible not to be sad. 😥😥😥

I guess change and the unknown are scary, and I have a lot of that happening imminently. 😉 I know I am still needed in my school and that the staff is depending on me. I refuse to let them down or not be excited for the year ahead. 

I just wish I didn't have to say so many goodbyes in the process. 😔😔

Oh boy!!

Yes, this is definitely the longest I have ever been pregnant. 😳😳😳

At a little over 39 weeks, it is evident that I have now hit the point where my colleagues are unhappy to see me at work. Or maybe just disappointed.😜😜

Late pregnancy also brings an array of ridiculous comments from the young and old alike. Today's noteworthy ones included:

"You're still here?!!!!"

"He's obviously a mama's boy and doesn't want to leave you."

"When is he ever going to come out?!"

"Aren't you sick of being pregnant?"

And my fave...

"You've lost your glow. You're obviously ready for him to be born." 😝😝😝

Well, yes. Duh.😉

I am just hoping that BBL2 decides to emerge this month, as it would be nice to have my boys born in different months, even though the dates will be less than a month apart. We will see what he decides.🙏🏻🙏🏻

I also made the decision to wisely stop my Pure Barre classes for now, not change up my role in my school for the coming year, and to continue to mentally prepare myself for what will inevitably be the chaos of two boys under 2 (and then 3 years). 😫😫😫

It's been said that one child is like zero and two are like ten. Lord, help me now. 😂😂😂

Still a cozy boy!

Will was born at 37 weeks, 5 days pregnant. We are now at exactly 39 weeks with BBL2, and someone's still quite cozy. 😝👶🏻

Greg says he can tell the baby's getting noticeably bigger by the day. I still feel great, with the exception of some random leg pain. I really cannot complain. Every day BBL2 is in there is ensuring he will be even stronger and healthier when he finally decides to arrive. 💪🏻 This is fine by me. As Greg said, if the little guy starts placing Amazon orders, then we will know it's time for his eviction. 😂😂😂

With the rain and my awesome MIL here, we managed to have a restful weekend. I ended my Saturday school teaching yesterday, got a few naps in, and just enjoyed time with my boys throughout the past two days. I never know if it's the last weekend day we will have with Will as an only child, so we try to treasure every moment. 🌟🌟💗

The waiting game may continue, but I still feel very blessed. I'm grateful for the additional time with Will and cannot wait to see what he's like as a big brother. BBL2 is already a very lucky boy. 💞💞👶🏻👶🏻