Chapter 9: The End is Near...

Well we are on the tail end of this pregnancy so now's the time to wrap it all up nicely in a neat little box. Not that this pregnancy can be put in a neat little box. There has been one thing after another, but now looking back I can shove it in that box and count my lucky stars that Addison and I are both healthy and have made it through.

THOUGHTS ON PREGNANCY
I'm not going to say that pregnancy isn't a beautiful thing. It's truly a miracle actually. To think how this little person has come from basically nothing. It's an amazing thought. The amazing circle of life.

That all being said, I hate being pregnant. I don't regret actually getting pregnant. I'm so excited about meeting Addison and having her in our lives. But pregnancy is not that great. You may be one of those women who love being pregnant, and even though I personally think you're crazy, all the more power to you. I just have trouble jumping on that lovin'-pregnancy train. That train roared right past my station and didn't even slow down.

Then again I have had one thing after another with this pregnancy. If you remember way back when I was set to a high-risk OB for sonograms because I had a mild heart-shaped uterus and we needed to make sure that wasn't going to complicate the pregnancy. Luckily that all worked out and after several sonograms with them, I was sent on my way with a clean bill of health. Next we developed that I had an umbilical hernia because I noticed my belly button was very bruised. Again luckily, no harm to either one of us. This actually is somewhat common in pregnant women and should fix itself after she's born. Dodged another bullet.

Throughout this entire pregnancy, we have been watching my weight gain or lack thereof. It's not that I haven't tried to gain the weight but it doesn't seem to stick. (I should also mention that it wasn't until my second trimester was almost over that the morning sickness finally stopped.) So we have had to keep an eye on Addison to make sure she was measuring normal and during okay because I haven't been gaining the weight like I was supposed to. As a result of my lack of weight gain, Addison ran out of room pretty early on. She has then started pushing against my ribs and other essential insides that causes intense, makes-me-want-to-cry-some-days kind of pain under my right shoulder blade and around the front side. Luckily it's been a positional thing so usually when I stand or lay down I can usually stop the pain. Unfortunately recently, I have started having pain on the left side when I'm standing or laying. She's just out of room. I guess that means it's time for her to find a new place to sleep.

We also had a fear of preclympsia when my blood pressure spiked at one of my appointments. It took awhile to get my blood pressure down but eventually it dropped to a more acceptable level. I did have to have extra blood drawn and had to monitor my blood pressure for awhile to make sure it didn't spike again. Luckily, it was just a scare and nothing more.

All of this has ended with the grand finale of gestational diabetes. I have talked about this many times and won't go into it again, but it has not been an easy road (glad there's only two weeks left of this crazy diet). I have not only had to follow a careful diet to keep my blood sugar number lower, but I have had to had weekly sonograms (which is the one good thing that has come from this, getting to see her every week). I also have to be induced at 39 weeks instead of waiting for her to come out when she's good and ready.

Like I said, this pregnancy has not been an easy road for me. But all that being said, I would do this entire pregnancy all over again. Just for Addison. Every week when I get to see that little girl in those sonograms, I remember why I have gone through all of this and I don't regret a moment of it.

THOUGHTS LEADING UP TO HER BIRTH
To say, I'm ready would be an understatement. I am so ready to actually meet my stubborn girl, but I would be lying if I said that I was a bit more ready for her birth so I won't be pregnant anymore.

As excited as I am about her arrival, I'm nervous and a little terrified as any first time mom would be. Even with the childbirth class and baby basics, you never really know what to expect. But I know I have an amazing doctor and a great hospital where we are delivering. And from what I'm told babies are pretty forgiving, so we'll learn together. Rob and I can conquer this together, and we are excited about everything that is coming.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FUTURE PREGNANCIES
It might seem a little strange considering all that I complained about before and all the problems I have had. And especially knowing that there is a 90% chance I will have gestational diabetes again. But I want more kids. And I would go through all this all over again for another kid because I want a big family. I want Addison to have siblings. I want our house to be full of love and laughter. Not that it couldn't with just one kid, but I would and will put my body back through all of that again just so we can have more kids. I must be crazy after all. But the way I look at it, it's worth it.


We have only one more chapter to go in this saga and only a week left before Addison joins us in this world. Like I have said a million times (here's a million and one) I'm so ready. I'm ready to meet her. I'm ready to not be pregnant. I'm ready to take the next step forward in our lives and our story. I hope, world, you're ready to meet this amazing little girl who has been a pain (literally) in my side for nine months because she's stubborn, I swear she has her father's nose, oh-so cute and will no doubt being an amazing little girl!