The Burggraaf Blog: Two Weeks- Is that All?!

Yikes- less than two weeks until my due date. That is crazy to me. It really hit me when I looked at the What to Expect app on my iPhone yesterday and it said for the countdown 1 week 6 days. Zach wanted to make a countdown calendar for when the baby will be born. I had to explain that we don't know the exact date, and that the due date is just the doctor's guess as to when the baby might be born. I showed Zach how he was expected on June 3, but he wasn't born until June 8, and then I pointed to the square on the calendar that is the estimated due date of Dec. 5, and I asked him, "So, when do you think the baby will be born?" He picked Dec. 11, which is kind of interesting, because that is the day that my early ultrasound showed as the due date, but since it was less than a week's difference, the doctors didn't change the date. Mike and I would actually kind of like Dec. 11 to be the magical date, because then the baby's birthday would be an easy-to-remember 12/11/10. So we'll see if Zach's right or not!

People keep asking me, "Are you ready?" or "Don't you wish you could just have the baby now?" My answer to both is NO! We are physically ready, as in the nursery is nowhere even close to ready for a new baby, I don't have a bag packed for the hospital, etc., and no, I don't want to have the baby now; I want to wait until my due date! I keep telling Mike I want a December baby, not a November baby. No offense to anyone with a November birthday, including Mike, but my own birthday is Dec. 15, and I just think it would be neat to have a birthday near my kid's birthday. Plus, December's birthstone is prettier than November's, in my opinion. We are gradually getting other things done. I finally washed some newborn clothes and the car seat cover, but we still need to switch around all the car seats in the car to make room for the infant carrier. I made a list of things I want to take to the hospital when it's time, so that's one step toward getting the bag packed. Probably most importantly, though, I did pick up some chocolate Teddy Grahams, some Wint-O-Green Life Savers, and some butterscotch discs- all things that sound like things I will want during labor (the candy) and after (the Teddy Grahams). I remember when Zach was born, I had been in labor for 24 hours and hadn't eaten anything but a popsicle early that morning, so I ate practically that whole darn box of Teddy Grahams at about 11:00 at night. I'm not sure if I took a box with me when Drew was born or not, but I'm prepared this time.

I am definitely feeling big and round, but I am basically right on track with weight gain as I was the last 2 pregnancies. I recently read the book Pushed: The Painful Truth about Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block, and boy, was it eye-opening. I stumbled upon the book a few weeks ago when I went to a bookstore to pick out a baby book (despite what my mom has always told me, this third child IS getting a baby book!). I picked it up and started skimming it there in the bookstore, and it was like I was suddenly being totally re-educated. I debated buying it but decided against it, and then I found it at my local library a few days later. I checked it out and read it more carefully, despite the eye-rolls I was constantly getting from Mike. I think every woman who is considering having a baby needs to read this book. It's about how much labor and delivery are so medically managed these days, rather than being the natural process they are intended to be. After having been induced with both Zach and Drew, I made the decision that I do not want to be induced this time. I went to my doctor with some other requests and questions, and she was very receptive to my ideas and helpful in answering my questions. Mike's big thing is that he doesn't want me to have my heart set on labor going a certain way and then that not working out. I don't think that will happen- I'm not so naive as to believe that just because I want it to be a certain way it will be that way. After knowing the gender the last 2 times and being induced both times, this pregnancy, with the gender unknown and the idea that labor will happen spontaneously, holds many more surprises, it seems. That makes me both excited and a little anxious. I worry a little bit about things like where Mike's mom will sleep if we have to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, and I'm sure Mike worries about canceling a bunch of patients when it happens, but really those are minor things in the grand scheme of things.

Last week it was Mike's birthday, so we went out for a fancy dinner at the club (he got a free entree, so he really wanted to go take advantage of that offer), and we attempted to snap a picture of us after dinner. We were too lazy to get out the tripod, though, so these were the best we could do balancing the camera on a bunch of pillows on the couch and holding the camera out at arm's length.

Then I had Mike get one for my 38 weeks pregnant shot.

The boys spent the night at Grandma Cynthia and Grandpa Kevin's and had a great time. We picked them up fairly early on Saturday morning so we could go back to the club for the gingerbread house decorating event. I thought the boys would enjoy decorating the gingerbread houses, and they did. Now I just have to deal with the houses sitting around my kitchen for the next month. That might drive me crazy.

Zach and I worked together on one house.

And Mike and Drew worked together on another house. It seems I usually work with Drew and Mike and Zach do things, so this was a nice switch.

This picture's kind of funny because it looks a little like Drew is eating part of Zach's house, but he's not. I'm not sure what he's doing, honestly.

We were there long enough to decorate our houses and then head home so Mike could head out for the Hawkeye game in Iowa City. It was a close one, but sadly, another disappointment.

On Sunday I took these photos of the boys playing football in the basement- a favorite activity. At this point in my pregnancy, I'm happy to sit out and take pictures or just watch and cheer.

Then Drew showed off his balancing skills on the back of one of our many downstairs couches.

Drew and I decided to play firefighters next, and since Zach has gotten really good at throwing a nice, tight spiral with his football, he and Mike tossed the ball around for a bit. Maggie, though she's going on 11 years old, still thinks she's a puppy at times, so she figured she better get in the middle of the game of catch and turn it into a game of keep-away.