Waiting on Baby to Arrive
It doesn’t matter whether it’s your first or sixth baby, the last days of waiting for a baby to come can be hard. The clock ticks by ever so slowly. Every night you go to bed thinking “this might be the night!” only to wake up and realize you have a new day to conquer again.
Since this is a pregnancy that was sustained through lots of prayer and progesterone I realize now I sort of expected the baby to come early. I should know by now never to have expectations when it comes to a baby making it’s arrival!
We wait. And we watch. I stop and try to feel the baby kick, but the kicks slow down at the end of pregnancy. Right when I might get worried, the baby gets hiccups (this baby has lots of those!) and I rejoice in the movement. I feel baby squirming, moving it’s head down low like it wants to come out.
I’ve felt that for weeks now though. 🙂
Last night we had a family movie night in our bedroom. All of us piled in our small room and watched an old classic movie together. One more evening down. One more memory made of waiting on baby as a family. The children frequently ask if the baby will come, as they feel the day is never going to come.
My boys want the baby to come so they can have a spring break from school. I just laugh and say that’s the last reason I want the baby to come!
I have special pile of books set aside from the library for my boys to read…after the baby comes. They look longingly at the pile, and I realize the due date to return those books is approaching. Oops.
So we wait together and try to keep life going, though it has slowed down.
I take a lot of naps these days.
By 11 AM I am worn out and can’t stay awake as I don’t sleep well (I’m writing this post at 4 AM!). I have learned the best way to get a nap in during this time of day is to make sure my older boys have schoolwork they can do on their own and sleep in the living room. If I go to my bed, chaos seems to erupt.
The children play lots of legos. We spread a queen size sheet on the living room floor and they can build for hours.
We spent an afternoon listening to this brand new G.A.Henty story together, while the legos were being built and I sat on the couch working on school. If you need a new family audio story, this is an excellent one!
I’m tearing apart the new reading cards needed for Book 2 of All About Reading while we listen to the story. My contacts don’t always get in these days, and my hair and makeup  barely happens. Somehow my husband still tells me I look beautiful, and I just laugh and say thank you. I have a pretty special husband. 🙂
I homeschool the little girls from the couch, and try to stay on top of business work with my laptop.
The dishes get piled up. With a small kitchen it’s impossible to not have happen (that is literally about all the counter space I have). Our oldest does a great job of doing dishes, but somehow the dirty dishes always seem to win over the clean ones. 🙂
Through it all, we look forward to one thing. A new life coming. It makes all the messes and fatigue and loss of sleep worth it. This special time only comes once or twice for some families, and I am well aware that for some families it never arrives and their heart aches. I realize that I don’t know the future and this could be our last time, as I don’t know the plans God has for us.
My husband was telling me yesterday that I must have learned a lot of patience through this pregnancy. Â I told him that instead of patience, I feel like I’ve had to grow in faith and relying on the Lord. I can only do so much to sustain this pregnancy, and ultimately I have to have faith in Him to help this baby grow, and to help me through labor.
I’m hoping baby snuggles happen soon, but until then…
We wait. And hope. And trust in God that He has the perfect birth day picked out!
PRAY all goes well.
Thank you!
What a beautiful post. We are one of those families that could only have 1 child. We have had 4 miscarriages with no “medical reasons”. I know it is the Lord’s decision and I have grown in faith over that decision. He knows best……… I will pray for your labor and for baby to come in God’s perfect timing.
Oh, I remember those last days…very well! Yet another way the Lord refines us mamas and keeps up dependent upon Him. I viewed those last days as bittersweet, as it was my final hours to enjoy with “just baby and me”. May the Lord bless you and your family as you wait for baby to arrive.
i just had my baby 11 days ago and I know what you are feeling! With five other kids in the house, ages 12-20months, very little sleep ever happened, messes abounded and daily questions whether today was going to be the day for the birth of the baby. Emotions ran high and exhaustion prevailed. But baby Grace finally made her appearance in her own special way! After somewhat a surprise pregnancy, suffering from a medication induced anxiety, I learned much about Gods Grace! Thus her name will alway remind me what was learned during this time!
Praying for you, dear Sister! Your time will come and I look forward to rejoicing with you!!!
Praying for you, baby and your family! What a blessing to be expecting your sixth! So far we’ve only been blessed with one, but I try not to take her for granted because it’s an absolute miracle she’s here since doctors didn’t think I’d be able to have any at all. Lots of prayer and faith, yet being content with God’s decision 🙂 My schedule isn’t nearly as busy as other mothers, so my daughter (who’s four years old) and I love to help other mamas and families during times like yours. We make and deliver hot meals and goodies, clean, do laundry, help/play with children (which my daughter adores!!), run errands and just be there to pray for and support them-then leave them alone to enjoy their meal and clean house. I absolutely love it as I’ve always loved serving others, and just recently my husband said maybe this is God’s plan for me in addition to mothering our precious girl. You are such a great example of a Godly mother, and your baby is so fortunate to be part of a wonderful family. Blessings!
I think that your husband is right, you do look beautiful, even if you do not feel it. A baby bump looks great on just about all women 🙂 I do have to say though, it seems like you are a bit discouraged about what does not get done, but looking at the pictures, I saw all that you did accomplish. Clean, folded laundry, baked muffins, and you are still schooling your children. Your family is blessed. I remember how hard it was to wait at the end (I had a false labor and a trip to the hospital with contractions for several hours, three weeks before my due date only to have labor stop and my baby not arrive until her due date!) I will keep you in my prayers for the Lord to hold you in contentment until your little one decides make an appearance.
Caroline, this is so me right now as we are due around the same time. In addition to what you doing during the waiting game, I do a lot of crafting. Tatting, painting, and etc. It really calms my mind and spirit. Happy Birthing when ever that will be! 😉
Hoping for a calm, peaceful delivery and a healthy, screaming munchkin for you, Caroline. You are such a sweet person and you deserve all the good coming to you.
The last few weeks are the worst. I just had my third a few months ago. I went into early labor, but then it stopped. I was convinced I was going into labor every day for two months. Praying for you! You’re almost done 🙂
I’m going through the same thing right now. 39 weeks pregnant and it’s all a waiting game. This is our first though, so I guess I expect to go late. It’s hard getting all the emails, texts and calls asking if baby has arrived yet. God has perfect timing!
Thank you for sharing a very real slice of your home life right now! I am impressed that even in this season you are accomplishing so much with your business and your children. Keep up the good work! Praying the delivery goes smoothly.
Best wishes for a happy birth day!
You look so beautiful when you’re pregnant
Thank you for being real. It is so refreshing! It really means a lot to me. Thank you