Details of Pregnancy #4

As I sit here 6 days away from getting induced with my fourth baby, I thought I would write all the things that have been happening this pregnancy. This will probably be boring for all of you, and there will be a lot of complaining, but I want to write it down so I remember and don't lose all the details in the "newborn baby fog". haha  First of all this has seemed like it has been the LONGEST pregnancy ever!!! I don't feel like any of part of it has "flown by" like with the other kids. Even these last few weeks have seemed to just crawl along. Probably because it is almost 100 degrees and I am totally swollen. I have never had a summer baby before so I haven't had to experience the swelling before. It's funny when I look down I don't even recognize my legs. I most of the time have no ankle bones, it's pretty funny. He is a pretty good little mover but has only really kicked me hard 2 or 3 times. He sits up high in my ribs just like my other kids, which makes breathing pretty uncomfortable. That is what I have felt for about the last 3 months...uncomfortable. No matter what way I sit, stand, or sleep, I feel like I am never really comfortable. It is frustrating! I have to sleep with a body pillow to keep the circulation in my legs (I always have pretty terrible circulation when I am pregnant) but this baby has thrown a wrench in the works and when I lay on my ear to sleep and have my arm up, I lose all the blood to my ear which leads to a massive earache. At first I thought that it was an ear infection, but then realized when I would turn over to my other side, it would go away. So I have to make sure both of my arms are by my side and not tucked under my body at all. Try doing that when you are used to sleeping with your arm above your head under your pillow. I wake up usually once or twice a night with an earache. I can't wait for that to go away that is for sure. It has been very hard to sleep. The sad part is I don't even have to wake up to go the bathroom! Annoying. And oh, the contractions. I haven't had them really in the past before I would go to get induced. I mean, I guess I would have maybe 1 or 2, but this baby wanted me to know what they really feel like outside of labor. I went out to lunch and shopping with my sisters for Melanie's birthday and that night I got home and was having super hard contractions for a little over an hour. Ouch. They have been off and on ever since and if I ever do more then just lay around, there they are! I went to my last doctor's appointment on Thursday and was dilated to a 2, which I was glad to hear since sometimes it feels like he is just going to fall out!   I know, I am a complainer, but I  just want to remember all that I went through to get this little guy here! Pregnancy is not my favorite part of this whole process but the reward is worth every minute of it.
Since I didn't go in to my first appointment until I was 14 weeks I am not sure exactly how much weight I have gained. But going from my 14 week weight I have gained 38 pounds. So probably around 40-45 pounds after all is said and done, which is pretty normal for me. My biggest cravings have been chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches or chicken nuggets, Dr. Pepper, chocolate milk, powdered donuts, m&ms, and salt and vinegar chips. So pretty much everything not good for me! Usually I crave red sauce while I am pregnant but not this time. Another fun pregnancy symptom that I haven't experienced until this pregnancy is acid reflux. I didn't have it until the last few weeks, but I think that since the baby is getting bigger there is no room. I was up the other night most of the night with my throat just burning. I guess this baby wanted me to experience it all! I was very nauseous all the time at the beginning of my pregnancy and that finally started to subside about 15-16 weeks. With Claire I had some bouts of nausea but not non-stop like this pregnancy. I would wake up in the morning hoping to not feel sick and would sit up and the feeling would come rushing back. I'm glad that is over! Another big difference in this pregnancy is how hormonal I have been. Especially in the past few weeks. In my mind I know I am being ridiculous but I can't help it! I have had a lot going on lately so I guess it's understandable, but still different.
The craziest part of this whole experience is that James has been training for an ironman the entire time! After his St. George ironman he was bored and was still in training mode even though he didn't have a race to train for. Meanwhile, we had thrown out a bunch of different baby names but none of them I was in love with. Brady was what we finally had settled on but I would casually throw other names out just to see James' reaction. Well about 2 weeks after the ironman, I remembered a name I had heard at a friend's Christmas party in December. There was a little 3 month old little boy there with the name and I thought it was so cute and hadn't heard it before. I brushed it off thinking James would never go for it (which he didn't). Well that name came back to me and I just really loved it and wanted to use it for our baby. James said absolutely not.   I talked to my sister Melanie later that day telling her about the name (she had been at the party with me) and we ended up going to dinner with them that night. Melanie is a master negotiator and can talk  people into  doing things...believe me I am her younger sister and she has talked me into many things I didn't want to do!! haha She mentioned to James, Hey what if Heather lets you do another ironman if you let her name the baby? James of course said no way, but after we went and he had time to mull it over, he agreed. I was shocked! Then it was in my court if I really wanted the name that bad to have to deal with all of this ironman business again. Well the race he wanted to sign up for was half price and would only be half price for the next day or two. I was forced to make a decision and quick! I called my sister and mom and got their advice and both said to go for it. So here we are! I have definitely had a few meltdowns in the last few weeks from him being gone to train but overall it hasn't been horrible so far. So that is the story of the baby's name. Stay tuned to see what it is! :)
Other things that have been happening lately...
We are finishing our basement to have more space after the baby comes. We are about halfway there and I can't wait for the extra space. I feel like the walls are closing in on me! We had to move our guest room furniture out for the baby to be in that room but had nowhere to put it because our basement has to be completely clear for the workers. So it has been moved into James office/toy room. Poor guy! It is jam packed with stuff. It will be so nice to send the boys down there with their friends to play the wii, or watch a show so I don't have to hear it! Plus we can move all of their toys down there so they won't be scattered all over the house (hopefully). I am having a big walk in closet built down there that can fit all of this stuff plus dvds, books, blankets, etc. We will have a work out room for James, and a guest room and bathroom. It will be nice for guests to have their own area downstairs with a bathroom right next door. We will start electrical work after the baby comes and go from there. We already have framing, plumbing, and heating and air done. It is so fun to see it even just framed. It looks totally different. It was good for us to clean it all out and get rid of stuff! It was starting to look like the show Hoarders down there!
We also just finished swim lessons for Carter and Preston. It was 10 days of straight lessons Mon-Fri and it was a good experience. Carter got a lot more out of it than Preston, but both benefited a lot from them. Carter is now a little fish and is much more confident in the water. He is doing the freestyle, backstroke, diving, and can float. He looks so happy in the water and it makes me happy to see him excel so much. He loves it!  Preston can also float, learned diving, and was starting to get his head positioning to learn the freestyle. He loves to be stubborn and not do things unless he decides he wants to, so he took a bit longer. That's Preston for you! He is only 5, so he has a few years to get it.
I also haven't written about the end of school and all the fun things the boys did. I will have to upload the pictures in the next few days if I get a chance. I just figured that could wait but my thoughts on this pregnancy couldn't! :) Well that is a pretty much all, if you made it through this post, I am impressed!