Kennedy came a little early, so with this baby I had some expectations that she would be early too.  Last night, when Daniel told me I was officially more pregnant than I have ever been, I didn't really appreciate it too much :)

I honestly thought this baby would come before making it to 38 weeks 3 days. So being 38 weeks 4 days I am feeling a little overdue, even though I'm not. I guess I better practice the art of allowing until I get to hold this baby in my arms.


In an attempt to keep me positive about being more pregnant than I have ever been before, I want to write a few things I am thankful for lately.

Since we have felt like the baby is coming soon, we have been trying to just really enjoy the last moments as a family of three. I feel like we have been more present with Kennedy and doing the things that she wants to do and it has been really fun.

I am so thankful I still feel pretty healthy and strong. We love to go on long walks every day and this past week I have felt really good, like I could walk forever. It's been nice. For a while there I had some pretty bad leg pains and just didn't feel great, but the past little bit I have felt better for the most part and I'm really thankful for that.

I re-watched our little video about finding out we were pregnant and it reminded me just how much of a miracle this pregnancy is. It's interesting how I could lose sight of that a little bit. I'm thankful for the reminder and that I am now at the end of the pregnancy instead of the beginning.

I'm thankful to feel the kicks and wiggles inside of me. I feel more present around it now, knowing that there won't be a little one inside much longer.

I am thankful that now that all my expectations have been foiled, I can just move forward and allow whatever is to be to be. All is well.

In other news, since baby has been on my mind I thought I would record Kennedy's Birth Story and How Kennedy Got Her Name. I wrote about it a little bit here, just after she was born, but it was fun to revisit and tell the story in a slightly different way.

How far along: 38 Weeks!

Baby size: 19.6 inches and 6.8 lbs. The size of a Leek.

Maternity clothes: Currently wearing Daniel's basketball shorts and one of his shirts and it feels so much better than I expected. Maternity clothes are feeling pretty tight these days. Hopefully I won't need them much longer.

Sleep: Seeing as how I am writing this at 3:30 in the morning some nights are a miss. But luckily I have had a few really great nights of sleep lately too. And for that I am so so thankful.

Gender: Another little girl!

Best moment this week: This may seem silly but I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday and it was kind of the last thing I had on the calendar to do before baby arrives. After leaving I just felt a weight lifted, like I am completely free from any obligations from here on out, so truly baby can come anytime and I won't miss anything. Now I am just hoping she gets the message that we are 100% ready for her.

Looking forward to: Meeting the little one and seeing how Kennedy reacts. Also looking forward to knowing how it all goes down. When will she come? Will it be morning, evening, middle of the night? Will labor be fast or slow? Like last time or different? The anticipation is real over here.

What I miss: So I am not really sure what is happening, but I think baby girl is just in the right position where every once in a while she is right on some nerves and it sends jolts of pain down my legs. And it has been the worst. I am crossing my fingers that she has moved a bit because it wasn't quite as bad yesterday and has actually been okay during the night, but I really miss not experiencing that ever because.... ouch.

Movement: I love feeling her move still, even though the big ones are crazy. There is not much space in there obviously so a big kick can completely shift and change my belly in weird and wild ways. So glad she is active.

Food cravings: This isn't really a craving, but I have had moments of ravenous hunger come out of nowhere lately. I mean sometimes I am hardly hungry at all and I pretty much just eat my three meals a day, but on occasion over the last two weeks I have all the sudden just been starving and I basically eat an extra meal. Not sure why that happens.

Aversions: Maybe bread. Especially at night. I notice if we have bread at night or if I have a piece of toast before bed or something, I get really bad heartburn, but if not I haven't really had it. So I don't really have an aversion to bread, but I definitely never appreciate the heartburn so it's best to just avoid it, at least in the evening. 

Nursery: We have worked really hard over the past two weeks cleaning our house and organizing it. It feels so good and there is a lot more space. Last night I was just standing in our clean house and thinking, we are really ready.

Overall: Overall I am feeling good. If you catch me when I am in pain or super tired, well it's the worst. But for the most part I am so so good. I have been able to keep doing all the things I want like go on long walks. We are feeling prepared to welcome this baby into our home. Overall, all is well.

Miscellaneous: Last night Daniel and I were talking about how we have been doing all the things to get ready for baby and we feel like we are, and we know that it is definitely in the realm of possibility that she could come any moment now, and how it is still hard to really comprehend that we will be a family of four. It is just hard to grasp what that will really mean or look like. We also talked about how we have been a family of three a lot longer than we were a family of two. And that is just kind of wild too. But we are so excited for this new addition and how it will change our lives for the better. Can't wait to meet you baby girl! Please take after your sister and come soon :)

KENNEDY | 38 WEEKS

At 37 weeks with Kennedy I wrote a post about things I was thinking and that were happening. It was kind of fun to look back at that last week before Kennedy was born. How I was really feeling. So I thought I would write one for this pregnancy too. Things that have been on my mind and how I am really feeling.

-Honestly I am either feeling perfectly fine or completely awful. Sometimes within the same day. Most of the time I feel really good, and the end of pregnancy hasn't really stopped me too much from doing what I need or want to do. We go on long walks still, I work in the garden, I'm still able to do all the normal chores around the house - and I am so thankful.
But there are moments or hours where I feel like I am completely falling apart. Usually when I feel like baby is really low. I get these shots of pain down my inner thighs that are the worst. My legs get really restless. And I have been having tons of Braxton hicks contractions, especially at night. I feel like it just makes me feel overwhelmed not knowing when this baby will come. Also there is just not a lot of room left in me.
During those moments I just try to breathe and know that it will all be okay. And it always is. The anticipation is real though.

-I feel so much more prepared for this baby than I was with Kennedy. Everything is washed, I have a hospital bag. The house feels organized for the most part. I am just really really ready for this baby to come. While with Kennedy the night before she was born I made a long list of all the things I needed to do before the baby came and proceeded to do none of them because I set down that list that night and spent the next 20 hours laboring and giving birth. Ha. Luckily I know now even if I don't do everything I feel like I need to do, it all works out okay.

-Not only am I feeling prepared to welcome baby to our home, but I am so excited to meet her. It's been a long road and I am just so ready to get to know this little girl inside me. When we were struggling with infertility there was a time when I was talking to Daniel and trying to share how I felt. I tried to explain it by saying that when someone we love passes away the separation can be hard, even if we know or believe we will see them again. I felt a lot in those times that I just felt some similar pain, like I missed my babies and didn't want to be separated from them any longer. That feeling of separation was difficult. I don't know if that makes sense but it was the best way to describe how I felt. I believe we are all eternal beings, and just like I believe we will be reunited with loved ones in the next life, I also like to believe that we knew each other before. Anyway right now I am just so thrilled that me and this next little girl will finally be reunited for our time together here on earth. I am excited to know her again.

-I am nervous about birth but also remember it being one of the most glorious, empowering experiences of my life. I am interested to see how this time around is different or similar to Kennedy.

-I am so excited to see Kennedy with a little sister. She tells me all the time how much she loves baby sister. I am also so excited to just have some time with our family after she is born, so we can each get to know and love her. I'm not sure if we will have more kids or how many more we have, but  I feel so strongly that Daniel and I with these two little girls - in this moment
our family is perfect, whole, and complete.

Well that's what I've got. Can't wait to see what these next few weeks have in store. And I can't wait to welcome Baby Girl Barrick #2 to our home.

How far along: 36 Weeks!

Baby size: 18.6 inches and 5.8 lbs. The size of a Honeydew Melon.

Maternity clothes: Everything is too small lately. Even my real maternity clothes. I like when my shirts are long, and they all ride up too much for my liking right now.  Plus it is hard for me to really invest in maternity clothes when I know that in a few weeks I won't need them anymore. So you might see me in repeat outfits now.

Sleep: Not my best. I am taking lots of naps because it has been pretty hard for me to sleep at night. My legs have felt really restless lately so it is so challenging to fall asleep, even if I am exhausted. Then I wake up for bathroom breaks. And I really need to work on not having things on my mind. I'm hoping this baby sleeps much better than Kennedy, but if not these last weeks of pregnancy sure prepare you for multiple nightly wake up calls.

Gender: I am over the moon excited it is a little girl!

Best moment this week: We went to do a hospital tour because we are way more prepared/ on top of things for this baby to arrive than we ever were with Kennedy. Also with Kennedy we had appointments at the hospital we delivered at, and I have never been to the hospital we are going to deliver this baby. So we decided we should know where we are going. Anyway we had the tour and it literally made everything so much more real and exciting. It took me right back to Kennedy's birth and remembering just how special it is to bring a child earth side. It was so fun to talk about and imagine us all meeting this little girl. I loved it.

Looking forward to: The day baby girl arrives in our world. I am so excited to meet her. It has been a long road to get her here and now we are so close. 

What I miss: Not having heartburn. And other pregnancy symptoms. This too shall pass. 

Movement: She still hiccups all the times. Sometimes multiple times a day. I seriously can't believe it. Other than that there is not much room so my belly takes on some crazy shapes when she decides she wants to move around. I love feeling the movement though. It is a beautiful reminder that she is there and she is real.

Food cravings: I told Daniel today that I am really just done making dinner. Do we really require three meals a day? I drink a smoothie every morning and those have been tasty and easy. Other than that I'm kind of wishing we could just take a break from the whole food thing. Or go get Jamba Juice açaí bowls every night. Also ice. I think it's probably because of the heartburn.

Aversions: Making dinner. My only aversions this pregnancy has been really salty stuff like pickles. Other than that I am pretty open.

Nursery: This week we got a garage at our apartment complex to take some stuff over to for storage. We spent Saturday taking over a few boxes and a bookshelf. Mostly we are just trying to minimize the things we don't use very often and open up some more space so that when we get babies stuff out it has somewhere to go. It has actually been really nice.

Overall: I am just so excited, a little nervous, and mostly ready for this baby to come. I either feel great and have tons of energy and drive to get all the things done, or I feel like a nice long nap followed by a warm bath, and potentially another nap. Life is good. This summer has been great and is just getting better and better. Can't wait to share it with the littlest member of our family.

Miscellaneous: When I told people I was due July 5th the first thing everyone assumes is that I will automatically have a 4th of July baby. And then they say get ready for a long hot pregnant summer. Well folks , it's a third of the way through June and we had to go cover our sensitive plants at the garden for the last three nights so they wouldn't freeze! It is wild. It has been really nice to not have it be too hot, and if everything goes according to my plans, I won't have a long hot pregnant summer. But please let it not freeze again until fall. It's a lot of work covering plants.

KENNEDY | 34 WEEKS