Reality check

We’ve officially hit the 36 week mark – and here’s a picture to prove it!  Holy basketball belly!  

Hard to believe we’re only 4 weeks from meeting this little monkey (or 2 weeks if this one is as early as Micah or 5 weeks if we’re operating on Makenzie time…I’m hoping for something closer to 2!!)

For the most part, I think we’re ready – the crib is up, baby clothes are washed and put away, hospital bag is semi-packed and I’m pretty well done with being preggo….but there is part of me that keeps remembering that it will not get easier!  Life is about to get a whole lot busier, sleep will be less frequent and instead of 2 kids yelling for mom, we’ll soon have 3.   And when I think about the possibility of a repeat of Micah’s first three weeks, I think maybe I should hope for 6 more months of pregnancy just to prepare myself emotionally.  Micah’s first few weeks were ROUGH - lots of crying, no sleeping, and then figuring out the poor little guy was MISERABLE because he was dairy and soy intolerant.  Things definitely improved once we figured this out – but it still wasn’t easy.  I had to cut all dairy and soy from my diet – and when I inadvertently ate something with dairy or soy in it, we were right back to crying, hurting baby and a guilt laden mama.  Not exactly the recipe for a fun household. 

I’ve spent lots of time praying that this time will be better – that  we won’t have to deal with MSPI issues or if we do, that I’ll be better prepared and it won’t be such a crisis.  And I’ve  spent lots of time putting together a “game plan” for making round 3 better, even if we do have MSPI issues….probably the biggest thing - admitting when I’ve had TOO much and need a break (and not feeling guilty about taking a break from crying baby).  I’ve also decided to start with a dairy/soy free diet as soon as this baby is born – and then we’ll try slowly adding in dairy and soy…I’m hopeful that by doing this we’ll avoid 3 weeks of crying baby and if we notice changes with just a little dairy/soy, it will be easy to correct the problem!  AND, as soon as we know we’re done with MSPI issues….whether that’s right away or in 6-12 months – there will be a PARTY….with lots and lots of ice cream!