Today, I am 40 weeks pregnant.

Today, I am 40 weeks  40 weeks and 2 days pregnant.

So far through my pregnancy I have felt pretty patient. While I had a few weeks at around the 27 week mark that I felt maybe Baby Girl would come a few days earlier than expected...(and a couple days at around week 37 that I felt similarly...though I'm pretty sure I felt that way because I still had SO MUCH to finish..So Murphy's law would state that she would come when I wasn't ready) ...I mentally prepared myself to see my due date come and go without much of anything happening. "Due Dates" don't really mean anything anyways. They are a tool used to help healthcare professionals keep track of growth and development, etc...so in that way they are useful. But really..if you really think about it...growing a baby over the period of 9 months and then expecting him/her to make their debut within a specific 24 hour window is kind of silly. 

I am a believer that babies, at least 95% of the time, will come when they are ready...Barring of course any such complication or high risk situation. 

..and I believe it with an attitude of loving patience....at least up until the point of 41 weeks. I cannot guarantee patience to anyone after that point. I'm just being honest. 

I looked forward to the 21st of August, my due date...not because I expected her to be born..but because I made that my deadline to be ready. Meals frozen, laundry caught up, apartment cleaned, etc. That was my deadline...so that any time waiting for her after than point would be purely relaxing...soaking in my last few hours/days of non-parenthood. 

I met the deadline. Everything got completed. Even the things on the list of wishes-but-will-do-only-if-I-have-time.

And yet, after only 24 hours past my "due date" I found myself starting to lose my patience..feeling, in all seriousness, that I will never go into labor. I got a little ahead of myself for a second. My head jumped into next week without me. All of a sudden, because I hadn't felt labor coming for one, single day, it meant that I wouldn't have a baby until next week...or ever. Logically. 

I have a sweet husband. He is calm and patient, though also anxiously awaiting his baby girl, and he reminded me that I was only 24 hours past that silly "due date"... that it was only Thursday...and that Monday is still days away. My midwife also assured me of this. The words "the night is young" were used and it also reminded me that when baby is ready to come, she will. Whether my body has given me days of warning or no warning at all. I could take a deep breath and return to my happy land of patiently, and lovingly waiting...and let me tell you..it is a GOOD place to be.

Today I had a date with my mom. We got pedicures and had lunch. It was so great to have a day to be pampered a little and enjoy the company of one of my best friends. I am also glad to have pretty toes to help me feel something human/put together when I am on my 3rd day of no-shower-yes-I-wore-these-sweats-yesterday-I-call-this-hairstyle-"No, I didn't brush my teeth either".  

I realize that Baby Girl could be in there another week and a half...and that it really is normal...(though I shudder a little at the thought)...I am pretty sure I'll be able to hold my patience for at least a few more days...and maybe until I hit 41 weeks...at that point, the jurry is out. Proceed with caution.

For now though, I am patient.

Noor took this on our way to church last Sunday...at 39.5 weeks.
I am of course sporting the basketball belly...
and the flip flops.
About that...I have never been one to wear flip flops to church. I wear heels..or flats more recently.
Pregnancy doesn't exactly make you graceful. Let's be real.
However, the last few weeks my feet have swollen. Not ridiculous amounts...but enough to make any other shoes really uncomfortable. So, I've been sporting those beauties pretty much everywhere. Even church.

Nursery Reveal

Being in an apartment, I wasn't going to do much of a nursery. However, as time went by, I discovered that I really wanted to! Obviously, the baby inside of me, as sweet and brilliant as she will surely be, will surely not notice, nor care if her sheets match or if the dresser is blue. Babies just don't care. I however, wanted to make her a "space". I'm sure it had something to do with nesting..but it was a fun project that kept me busy with a lot of DIY. Sewing, painting, creating, the whole thing. I didn't want to spend a ton of money to create the space..so most everything in there I made myself with materials I already had. I sit in there for a few minutes every day...I am so excited to spend time in that glider in her room with the soft glow of the hanging lights..rocking a sleepy..or not so sleepy baby. It is one of my favorite places to relax.

There are a few things that I will add after she arrives (at least that is the plan). A monogram letter of some kind will hang/stick on the wall above her crib (you know...once we actually PICK a name for her), the frames above her dresser will be filled with pictures of her..instead of our engagement/wedding pictures, and hopefully a wooden sign for the empty wall that is visible from the rocking chair. I also have a basket for the dresser top that will hold diapers, etc...but it is currently holding other things ;) Hooray for repurposing!

Showered

We have been showered with such immense shows of love and support throughout my pregnancy. It has truly filled our hearts with gratitude.  Between showers, unexpected gifts from coworkers,  hand-me-downs, and offers of service, we have been so richly blessed!

I took most of the pictures after the fact...which was a real bummer because it was a really cute shower! I learned my lesson though...when a friend offers to take pictures at your shower for you...just say yes.

We served curry chicken salad on croissants, a summer strawberry salad, various desserts, and watermelon slushy. One of my favorite parts was having everyone drink from mason jars with the cute striped straws! It was such a great morning to enjoy the company of close friends and family.

The favors were cinnamon rolls...I thought they were pretty clever. ;)

I don't currently have pictures in my possession from my other shower that a couple sweet and generous sisters in my ward threw for me...but it was wonderful. Being fairly new to the ward, it was so great to be able to put names with faces a little better and to get to know some sisters in the ward on a more personal level! I could not believe how sweet and so generous these women were to come to my shower to celebrate with me. This act of service filled my heart with joy and gratitude for such a wonderful ward family and such an amazing group of sisters I can call my friends.

The kindness and love that has been shown to us will not soon be forgotten. 

The 4th

So, we didn't party too hard this 4th of July.
I actually can't remember a whole lot of what we did that day...
(Let's blame that on pregnancy brain, shall we?) 

What I do remember however, was dinner..
(Of course it was the food that I remember...I was nearly 8 months pregnant at the time)

We ate at Joe's Crab Shack with my parents. It was a fun date. Noor and I had never eaten there and it seemed to be a festive place to eat. We honestly weren't blown away...but we enjoyed it. It was great to go out and eat somewhere that wasn't one of our usual haunts. We then watched fireworks in Gilbert.

It was a simple 4th, but we loved spending it together...and Noor especially enjoyed that he got a couple days off of work ;)

We are grateful for the liberties that this country allows us. May it always be free.