39 Weeks (+ 1 Day)

You know, that + 1 day could be important!

Anyways, no change here!  Baby is still comfortably inside, and giving me the impression that s/he will stay that way for a while still.  I feel great.  Like, one million dollars great.  I definitely don't mind being pregnant at all at this point.

I still have one day of work left, tomorrow, and then I'm done.  I still have an excess amount of banked hours left, so I'll continue to get paid until Baby Struik makes an appearance, and then my maternity leave will start.  It's a little bit weird thinking that this could potentially be my very last day of work at BackCheck, forever.  I love that company (for the most part!)!

I had another doctor's appointment today, which was just as uneventful as all of my others.  I'm measuring 40 weeks, blood pressure is still good, and Baby Struik's heart rate was around 150bpm.  I have another appointment scheduled for next Thursday, and then I'll have a fetal monitoring/non-stress test and ultrasound the week after that if I haven't delivered.  If everything is fine at that point, then the hospital will allow me to go 10 days overdue before they call me to let me know what the next step is.  I would really like to experience a non-induced delivery, so fingers crossed!  I've now gained 45 pounds.  

Oh!  Just thought of two things I don't think I've ever commented on before!  The most common questions I get asked are:
1.  Are you excited?  My answer?  Yes and no.  I've always strongly disliked change; I like things to be predictable and comfortable and familiar.  This is going to be another huge change for us.  It will change everything about our lives.  Not that I'm complaining, don't get me wrong!  We are very thankful for how lucky we've been with having this frozen embryo transfer work...but change is still hard/scary for me.  Yes, I'm excited/curious to see what Baby Struik looks like.  Will s/he look more like Matthew or Kayla?  Or a combination of both?  Or neither?  Only time will tell!
2.  Do you have a name picked yet?  It must be easy only have time choose one!  My answer:  No and no.  I am SUCH a perfectionist!  And Jon is too, actually, believe it or not!  We know the middle name...if Baby Struik is a boy s/he will have my Dad's name, and if it's a girl s/he will have Jon's Mom's name.  That's what we did with Matthew and Kayla (although, reversed...hence Matthew John, after Jon's Dad, and Kayla Rose, after my Mom), and always what we've said we would do for our third child.  It's the first name that's the killer.  Matthew's name is just perfect.  His name was picked because we liked the name, we liked how it could shorten (nicely) when he's older, and the meaning is great (Gift of God).  Kayla's name was picked just because we liked the name, and it worked with Matthew.  This time, I want a name that has a great meaning AND if it shortens, shortens nicely AND sounds good with Struik AND sounds good with the middle name AND sounds good with Matthew and Kayla.  Jon has told me from day one that my front-runner of a name will definitely NOT be the name chosen because he does not like it at all.  I have tried everything possible to convince/bribe/blackmail him to like it...but he just won't go for it.  It's too bad because it's actually the only name that fits all of the above criteria.  All others fall short.  I think we have it narrowed down to two (second-best) names...and I believe I get to choose which of those two I want.  It's just such a big decision that I can't make up my mind.  Hopefully I have time still.  Or maybe that's a bad thing?  Honestly though, I don't think I'll be able to decide until s/he has been born.

And for a quick update on Matthew and Kayla, before I forget to record these:
Matthew:  
- Mentions at least ten times a day how he will carry/hold my baby.  He's still very concerned about where Baby Struik will sit in the car.
- Has gone through such a huge growth spurt.  Biggest growth spurt I've ever experienced with him.  He's definitely into all 24month/2T clothes now.  I feel like every time I put a pair of pants on him they're too short!
- Has just started wanting to choose his own clothes.  Because Kayla start choosing her own clothes first, so her clothes are in the bottom two drawers of their high-boy dresser.  Matthew's clothes are in the second and third drawers (top drawer is a shared sock/underwear drawer)...which is a pain if he wants to choose his own because I have to lift him up to see them.  Oh well, guess I just have to suck it up to be fair to him!

Kayla:  
- Has started calling me "Mommy" when we're at home.  If we're not home, it's still "Mom".  It's super cute...but definitely takes getting used to!  "Mommy, look at this!"  "Mommy, come here!"  She still has no interest in Baby Struik.
- Is 100% in 3T clothes.  We spent a good few hours this week going through all of the clothes in her dresser to see what fit, and then through all of the clothes in her 'next size' box and trying them on too.  Luckily, she LOVES trying on clothes.  She's become very stubborn in wanting to always choose what she's going to wear that day.  I usually try to give her some guidelines (ex. You have to choose a pair of pants and a long-sleeve shirt), but she is VERY good at knowing what matches.