In Less Than A Week...

Two excited boys ready to get "our baby"

Baby boy # 3 will be joining our family in just three weeks.  Two weeks.  One week.  Ok, less than a week.  I don't really know why I haven't made this pregnancy a part of the blog until now.  There is no particular reason I guess, other than it's been a very fast 9 months.
So many things are different this time. We are so blessed to be given the chance to have another baby-  when I was pregnant the first time I feel like I lived in an ignorance is bliss bubble. It never occurred to me that something could go wrong or be anything other than I expected.  Since that time, I have seen and heard about so much loss, tragedy, and struggles of family, friends, and acquaintances that I don't take any of it for granted anymore.
I am so excited to see what this little bundle will look like, what he will be like, what types of things he will enjoy.  I think sometimes when we already have children, we get into a way of thinking where we assume the next baby will be just like the others- and that is never the case.  It blows me away knowing there is a fully unique person ready to be born anytime- someone with their own preferences, likes, dislikes, and talents that show themselves from day one. My two boys are no exception to this- like night and day from day one.
Naturally, I have moments of doubt and uncertainty. The age gap I am looking at between my children is what is throwing me most.  I will be honest and say I have days where I look at my boys- 6 & 8, and wonder what kind of crazy person I am to leave this stage we're in- you know- the one where they sleep all night, attend school daily (for free!),  shower themselves, put their own shoes on, buckle up their own seat belts, swim on their own while my feet are up reading a book.... ahhhh, the freedoms.  And, the two of them are like two peas in a pod.  No matter where we are or what we're doing, they always find their way to back each other- it's truly unique and something I wouldn't change for the world.  They stick together like no other two kids I know. Will the relationship between this baby and them ever have that? Will they be close? Will they ever get to a phase where they will have a lot in common? Then I remind myself- this isn't what my family looked like growing up.  It's not what I know.  My sisters and I were in school each a year apart.  I am three days off from being an "Irish twin" with my older sister.  So naturally it's not what I am used to.  Then having the boys 21 months apart set that precedent here, too.  Then several years just kind of passed.  Furthering education, two in daycare, new jobs, selling a home and buying another, and before you know it you realize it's now or never! So, it's now. And every family looks different, and once established no one could imagine it any other way.
I am so looking forward to seeing this baby's face.  We have yet to pick a name,  and we're not trying to be secretive- like we have something picked and just aren't saying- we've got nothin'.  This has been hard.  I am big into choosing a name that suits a little boy and also lends itself to an adult male.  I like traditional names, but not old man names.  Names that don't cause an eyebrow raise, but also ones where I hope they're the only one in the class (which so far has been the case for mine!)  Sometimes I think you just need to see them first before a name is chosen- Zachary was Jacob pretty much until I saw him. And let me tell you, he's a Zachary. I am looking forward to the newborn snuggles, the first smiles, seeing my boys as big brothers, and all the fun baby stuff that comes.  I am thankful for the opportunity to do this again.
I am hoping the old "it's like riding a bike" factor proves true here.  I feel like I forgot a lot baby wise.  I am determined to be disciplined with routine (within reason)- very much unlike my lax ways when the boys were babies.  I was never one to have set naps, bedtimes, routines- and in some ways it worked and in some ways I know I need to do things differently.   I am grateful to be taking an extended maternity leave, and will be home until January.  Having gone back at 10 weeks the other times, this will be so nice.
It's been a good, fairly complication free pregnancy. Besides, of course, just feeling old and large.  The difference between 28 and 34 feels like dog years- but that being said I have changed little about my day to day activities.  Maybe I am nuts to be running here and there, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking- but I am one to stay busy and hope to feel at the end of the day like I got something done.  I have had some really nice naps too, don't get me wrong.
This baby has been quite the active little bugger, and according to the last sonogram has HAIR.  My other two were bald babies so I will be surprised to see hair in real life.  I will share the token belly photos- it's just something that even though you don't really feel like it, one day you'll look back and want to see those photos. Sadly, the 34 week 3D sonogram where I hoped to see the chubby baby face (not the one from the photo above, that one is from the 20 week) the little man did not cooperate.  In fact, the angle left the boys saying it was spooky/alien/monster, and my sister likening him to Dan Aykroyd.
Fingers crossed!

And, for any curious readers: no, I was not hoping for a girl.  :) 

 17 weeks, 24 weeks, 28 weeks, and 34 weeks. 

38 weeks and one from the last sono showing hair