The Week Before

Apr 29, 2012 by Lindsay

There were so many things that we did the week before Elizabeth arrived that I want to remember so before I share all the details of her birth I want to remember what happened before that special day! Unfortunately I didn’t take ANY pictures throughout the week but I do have pictures that I have been meaning to share from earlier in the month, so I am going to share random pictures along with all the details of our last few days with just our three boys

On Saturday before Elizabeth came we were able to go see Andrew’s best friend, Abby, play soccer. I was so worried that he would be jealous that he wasn’t playing but he was such a good sport! He love watching his friend play and cheered for her anytime she was playing. It got Spencer and I talking about getting our kids involved in organized sports….it’s hard to believe that we have kids that are old enough to go to Pre-K and play on little sports teams!

(Happy Easter! This was the best picture we could get of our family on Easter Sunday, the more kids there are the more interesting the picture!)

 

Sunday we went to church, had lunch, family naps and got some small projects done around the house. Late that night my sister arrived and we picked her up from the airport. She came into town the day that Zachary was born and literally met us at the hospital with just over an hour to spare before he arrived, so everyone was just convinced that I would go into labor with Elizabeth as soon as she arrived I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to happen that way so we went ahead and made some plans for the week!

(Our little Zachary Dock all ready for church with his big boy backpack, he thought he was pretty big stuff!)

 

Monday morning we loaded up all the boys and headed to the beach. It was a perfect day and we were there for almost 3 hours! The boys love the beach and I love that we can go and they just play and entertain themselves for hours After the beach we came home and let the boys take naps and as soon as they got up we took them to my in-laws to play until Spencer got home from work. That evening Emily and I went to the outlet mall with no kids and then out to dinner….we were quite a pair! Both of us were tired from a day at the beach and neither of us had our usual shopping gusto

(Just all my handsome men before church one Sunday, they are one crazy crew!)

 

Tuesday the boys had school in the morning so Emily and I took Zachary to Target and TJ Maxx, followed by a stop at Publix to pick up some subs for lunch before we got the boys. That afternoon during naps I did what a 38.5 week pregnant momma does best….I cleaned I got our bathroom and floors all washed and ready, you know…..just in case! That evening we went swimming at my in-laws and then had dinner together.

(My boys are growing so fast! I love this picture of Zachary because it reminds me of my brother, Matthew, as a baby!)

 

Wednesday morning we made very last minute plans to go to the aquarium with the kids before my doctor’s appointment that afternoon. We packed lunches and hurried to get around and we made it to the aquarium right as they opened for the day. It worked out perfectly because for the first hour we were the only ones at the exhibits! The animals were all very active and we got to see some fun stuff like a diver in one of the tanks cleaning! (The boys probably watched the diver for as long as we watched some of the animals! haha!) After seeing all the major exhibits we ate our lunch quickly and then headed home for naps. I had an afternoon doctors appointment, and I was very anxious to see what they had to say!

There are three doctors in the practice that I go to and when the doctor came in and looked at my info she said I could schedule an appointment for induction for the following Monday! I explained that I had gone into labor on my own with all my other kids and that I really wanted the same for this baby, and asked if there was any other more “natural” was to try and get labor going. She suggested a few things and then I asked if she would strip my membranes. (A friend had suggested asking about this and I was glad she did because I had never thought of it!)

My doctor explained that she doesn’t like to do that unless she is the doctor on call that night because if I were to go into labor at 3:00 in the morning then it ruins someone else’s night I asked what her thoughts on taking castor oil were and she said it would definitely start labor if I wanted to take it! After talking for a few minutes about it she agreed to strip my membranes even though she wasn’t on call that night. I did not think it was painful like some people had warned me, I was just excited at the thought that it might start labor! I was downright giddy as I left the office!

My mother-in-law had gone to my appointment with me and so I told her about what the doctor had done and we started planning and making phone calls as if we knew labor would be coming soon She had a hair appointment scheduled for the next day but she went ahead and rescheduled it for later that afternoon…just in case! After she took me home I called some close friends and family to tell them to be prepared for a middle of the night phone call or text message and then I got busy packing, doing laundry, washing the car, giving myself a pedicure, waxing my eyebrows and doing a facial! Haha! I was so excited and hyper I could hardly stand it! Spencer called on his way home from work and we decided to go out to dinner at Mr.Tequilas for our possible “last meal”. I loved the way it all worked out, we were able to prepare like we were having a baby but there was still the anticipation of not knowing for sure if labor would start. A few times that evening I had some real contractions. They were very irregular and far apart, but I knew they were real. We put the kids to bed and told them that if the baby decided to come that we might not be there when they woke up in the morning and they were very excited at the idea of someone else taking care of them in the morning!

Spencer, Em and I enjoyed the rest of our evening together, watched Sweet Home Alabama and then went to bed to try and sleep and wait…..