Baby update: 39 weeks

Here's a picture of our little man from yesterday. Yet again, it was hard to get a good picture since he's always hiding behind his hands. I'm trying to figure out if he was winking at us or managed to give himself a black eye. (The real answer is that it's just a shadowy picture.)

Baby had the same tests yesterday that we did the past two weeks and passed them again with no problem. The doctor says he looks like a beautiful baby. She thinks it's unlikely that I will make my appointment next Monday. Every indication is that he's getting ready to meet us sometime soon. Of course, we thought that for a few weeks before Anna put in her appearance, so it's certainly no guarantee. So, he could show up today. He could be a tease and hang out for another week yet.

Whenever Baby decides to arrive, we are ready. Over the weekend, Jamieson hung up some pictures on the nursery walls and a nightlight suitable for late-night diaper changes. Our main goal is to get Jamieson healthy. He's fighting a rather nasty sinus infection now. Sunday morning, we let him sleep while the rest of us went to church. Nothing like being as pregnant as I am with two bouncy preschoolers to get me plenty of sympathetic looks and doors held open.

The older kids are going absolutely stir crazy with being stuck inside during this summer heat. I just can't endure spending much time outside these days, so they're stuck in with me. On the occasions when we do get outside for a bit, my fair-skinned children turn red within minutes, so they don't fair much better with the humidity than I do. Fall and school days can't come soon enough for them.

It will be interesting to see how the kids react when Baby finally arrives. Erik's current concern is about the crying. He asked how much time Baby and I would be in the hospital. I said it would be two or three days, assuming everyone was healthy. He said we should stay three days because he doesn't want Baby's crying to wake him up. Anna just wants to hold the cute baby. I'm sure she will be frustrated with being dethroned from her role as the youngest. Some days it seems the closer she gets to three, the more she acts like a two-year old. Again, it will be good for them to have school soon. As I update our August and September calendar with all the back-to-school activities, I find it challenging to think that I have to haul a newborn along, too. When Erik was born, Jamieson and I pretty much sequestered ourselves for a few weeks as we tried to figure out what to do with the tiny little person we now had. That didn't happen with Anna and it certainly won't happen this time!

Right this moment, I have a traumatized little dog hiding under my chair. When the kids are getting ready for bed or napping, Callie searches for them and has even been known to nap on Anna's bed with her. (Erik isn't as much of a dog person, it seems.) The rest of the day, Callie spends trying to get out of the way of the stampede. It's tough to be a 10-pound elderly dog around this crew. It's probably not her first choice for a relaxing home, but she's certainly good for us when we slow down enough to snuggle with her.