This is IT!

Our last day as just the two of us (and a dog)...Erik and Kristin (and Crosby)...a couple (with a dog)...we are so scared, nervous, excited, scared, anxious and did I say scared? I've had limited newborn experience and well, Erik has had none...I don't even think he's ever changed a diaper. I know he'll be an awesome father...I can see it when he's with Crosby...so gentle, caring, loving! I can't wait to see him holding our daughter...I can only imagine I'll fall in love with him all over again and love him that much more deeply and fully.

Anyway, today, I've been feeling contractions about every 10-15 minutes throughout the day. They haven't been painful but it's enough to notice b/c my abdomen feels rock hard. I've also felt some worsening pressure, kinda progressive since Tuesday. I hope this is the start of early labor but considering that it's 10pm, the hopes of a 10/22 baby are slim to none.

It was weird leaving work (after definitely a busy day) today knowing that the next time I go to work that I'll be a mother...craziness! I almost started crying on the way home thinking about how tomorrow at the time, I could be holding my daughter. Anyways, when I got home today, I did my customary nap to reenergize. Erik and I decided to go to Springfield for dinner since it may very well be our last dinner together, just the two of us, for quite some time.

As usual, it was wonderful. I had a Sirloin with their herbed butter, mashed redskins and salad and Erik had their Oktoberfest special chicken (beer, harvest cider, apples), mashed redskins and salad...both of them were great and I would love to try to make the Oktoberfest knockoff sometime in the future. We just spent time talking about everything and anticipating what may happen in the next 24 hours. Mom/dad, Lauren/Nate, Heidi/Jay and Andrea were all informed of the game plan.

As of the appt on Tuesday, Dr. S was going to have scheduled for induction in the 3-7 time block but he was going to try to have me come in around 11pm-midnight, barring any overly busy times on L&D. Then, we'd get set up with pitocin and labor overnight. In the morning, he would come in to rupture me and let me progress and hopefully deliver during the day while he was there...I made a point of seeing Dr. S the past few weeks b/c I knew he was on board with what I wanted to happen.

So, as of now, we just wait for the call to come in. I'm getting ready to go to sleep to try to get as much as I can now to be ready for tomorrow. Erik and I have the car packed with all of our bags, supplies (Boppy, pillows, snacks), cameras, and diaper bags. Car seat has been installed for about a week and we're ready to go!

We are ready to meet our daughter...to see who she looks like b/c looking at the 3D U/S, she has my nose and long fingers/toes and Erik's face. We have letters written to her that hopefully she'll open when she's mature enough to understand them. We have all of our hopes and dreams for her and pray that we'll be the parents she deserves. I've cried or been on the verge so many times about how much we love her and how much her family already loves her and she's not even here yet. It's so sad to think that there are so many children born to parents who could care less about the child or who never wanted the child in the first place...then you have couples who desperately want a child and for one reason or another are suffering from infertility.

Here we are...2 young kids (yes, it's hard to believe that we're 28 and, um, now 29 and have this beautiful home, a fabulous puppy child who first taught me what it's like to love something just as much as your husband and to want to jump in front of traffic to be able to protect her from harm, growing careers, and living the life of our dreams) who it seems like we are living in a dream and one day we'll wake up from our dream and be back in high school as our 17 year old selves....but for now, our dreams are going to come true and our daughter will enter this world. I hope she knows just how much she is wanted and loved!

We love you Brooklyn and we can't wait to meet you!