Sleep is overrated.

I'm so tired. Mostly my body is just exhausted from pregnancy and labor and now adjusting to even more changes. But Lucas sleeps pretty well at night (so far...he wakes up twice to eat) so I really can't complain. And honestly, watching his sweet little face in the middle of the night when it's so quiet and calm is something I wouldn't trade for all the sleep in the world.

There is so much I want to update. I want to write his birth story and post pictures and share a million other things. But life is pretty crazy right now. The day we were released from the hospital Jason left for Wyoming and I stayed here with the kids. He packed up our entire place in 48 hours and brought it here. And he's spent all day today moving it all in to our new place. Insane!!!! He is a crazy fast, hard worker. And crazy for deciding to do this the week we had our baby boy. But I'm glad it is getting done and so grateful for a husband who has made sure I didn't have to lift a single finger.

So between expanding our family and a big move, we've been a little busy and a little tired. I'm sure I will find time soon enough to post everything. But in the meantime, I'm going to go enjoy my new family of five. :)

No More Waiting!!

Well, it was only a few more hours of waiting! Ha ha! I started having consistent contractions at 5 pm ish so Jason and I talked and waited an hour and suddenly contractions were already 3 minutes apart. So we headed straight to the hospital.

And at 8:52 pm Lucas Burton Ralls was born, after less than hours of real labor. Crazy!!! He weighs 8 lbs 13 oz (just like mama at birth) and is 21 in long. He came FAST and is such a peaceful boy!

We were super surprised to find out we have another son, but it's been so fun already watching this little guy and learning about his mild personality. We can't wait to know more. We are all completely smitten. He's just the sweetest little guy.

I'm typing here now and he's sleeping on my chest, just peaceful as can be. I am teary eyed thinking about how much I love him. Already. I just can't believe he's here and he's ours.

Soon enough I will post pictures and hopefully some fun pictures. But for now I'm going to snuggle my new son and try to get some rest.

Waiting Sucks

That stupid countdown started going the wrong direction so I just deleted it. We're no longer counting down to anything, anyway. Just sitting here waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Still waiting for this baby to decide to come.

I keep going from excited and hopeful to miserably depressed and hormonal. Right now I'm not in the greatest place emotionally, so I'll spare you my rant. I'm sure any of you who have ever been overdue know what I'm feeling.

So I just sent my husband to the store from cheesecake and movies. And I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon snuggled up to him in bed in my sweats with cheesecake and a couple of cheesy flicks. Maybe that'll keep my mind off of my misery for a few hours.

Countdown...

What is that thing going to say tomorrow? Will it say congratulations? Baby born? Will it start counting the days of this baby's life even though it still isn't here? Because that would be totally annoying. Just another 12 hours until I know what it does...

Letting Go

Yesterday wasn't a great day. I was just super emotional and hormonal. I just wanted Jason to be home with me and for this baby to GET OUT!! I skipped church, dreading the comments and questions and looks I would get from everyone. Not the greatest choice, but I really just couldn't shut off the water works so I figured it was best to stay home and nap.

Today I woke up feeling much better after finally making the choice to let go. I'm letting go of all control, and in doing so I feel so much more IN CONTROL! Weird? Yes. But I feel better. I called and cancelled my induction. I am just letting nature do this one. When this baby is ready, he or she will come. Wen my body is ready, it will get things going. I don't need to force things because of Jason's schedule or location or because of how miserable I am physically, or emotionally some days. So I just let go of it all.

Now I feel relaxed. I can stop worrying about what if this and what if that and am I making the right decision??? Because I'm not making any decisions. I'm just letting things happen and hoping for the best. Now, if anything comes up I will know for sure that it wasn't because I tried to rush things or force anything. It was out of my hands. I feel no more guilt.

In the mean time I am still 39 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am still hormonal and crazy and emotional and want to be done being pregnant. I am uncomfortable and am looking forward to sleeping when baby arrives. Yes, sleep. I truly believe I will get more sleep with a newborn than I am each night now. Now I wake up more often than every single hour in pain or having to roll over or to pee or with heartburn. Babies generally sleep at least a couple hours at a time before waking to eat or be changed! I'm looking forward to having my body back, sort of, eventually. I am looking forward to meeting this kid and watching our family dynamic change. I'm just ready. And mostly ready to be done waiting.

Mostly, I'm really ready for everyone to stop asking me stupid questions. I know everyone means well, but anyone who has ever been this pregnant knows how obnoxious it is! SERIOUSLY! I have already promised everyone about a trillion times that will let you all know. I'm not a liar. I really will let everyone know. So please stop asking me.

And now I'm going to go back to patiently waiting. And looking through baby name books. Because I haven't even narrowed names down to a few for each gender. So if you want to talk baby with me, try suggesting baby names! That'll be good fun. :)

One More Week

One week until my due date. Weird feeling. We have been talking about inducing at this point from the beginning, mainly because of Jason's work schedule. But at my appointment yesterday I just couldn't bring myself to commit to it. My goal is a completely natural delivery and inducing is fairly likely to detract from that. So we decided to wait.

I am dilated 3 cm and 75% effaced so we're hoping something happens this weekend. Induction is now scheduled for Tuesday. If I haven't gone into labor on my own they will strip my membranes (that sounds so gross) on Monday morning to see if that starts things, and then if it doesn't we'll go through with the induction Tuesday morning.

At least that's the plan for now. I can always back out. This induction is elective at this point, not medically necessary, and as things get closer I keep wondering why I cared so much to be induced in the first place. Sure I'm anxious to be done with all of the discomforts of pregnancy and all of this waiting and I am SO ready to hold this baby and meet the little guy or girl who has been mangling my insides for the last few weeks. But at the same time, I really want to let things happen on their own time. I'm sure baby will know when it's ready. I trust that. So for now I'm content to keep waiting. Even though I really am miserable. (Have I mentioned that I don't love being pregnant??? Totally worth the baby in the end, but ACK! I hate it!)

Anyway, so we continue to play the waiting game. Here's to hoping we meet our newest family member SOON!!!

Back to whining...

It's not even ten am and I've already received two texts and a phone call asking me if I'm still pregnant. Next person to ask dies. Not even kidding. I will sit on them.

Because seriously!!!!!!!!!!! If I'd had the baby don't you think I'd be excited and make the announcement already?!?!?!?!?!

Really not needing any more pressure. I have no control over when this baby shows up. But no one has ever been pregnant forever, so if the rest of the world could just back off and have a little patience that'd be great.

Thank you.

What?! No whining?!?!?!

Well, we're full term! Yay!! Thirty-seven weeks today. I had an appointment yesterday and they decided to check me. Progress is being made! I'm already dilated 2 1/2 cm and 75% effaced so hopefully this baby is coming sooner rather than later!

I was super excited to find out that any progress was made at all! I've been having miserable contractions for a while now and really though it was doing no good. I almost didn't have them check me simply because I knew I would be disappointed. So finding out that this baby is actually going to show up soon made me a little excited!

Due to Jason's work schedule and my mom and sisters having girls camp we're hoping for a very narrow time frame. Who ever heard of a baby cooperating though, right? So we'll keep our fingers crossed and see how much more progress we've made at our next appointment this week!

We have the house all cleaned and everything as ready as can be at home. We are now spending the weekend with family at a big reunion. It's been super fun so far to watch the kids run around with all of my cousins' kids and to visit with some of my favorite people who I don't get to see very often. And after the fourth we'll head back to my parents' to stay until baby comes.

It feels so good to be away from all the stress and drama back home and just relax with the people who matter most. I keep telling Jason that I just want to stay! I miss my family, especially right now with getting ready for this new baby. So I'm jut going to soak up every minute I can with them.

And now I'm going to curl up in my fancy hotel bed and get a decent night's sleep before spending another day with the bestest family in the whole world!! Hope you're all enjoying your Independence Day weekend as much as we are!!