Ten Days and Counting...

Saying that we have 10 days (at most) until we meet Mr. Burke seems so surreal. I know all soon-to-be-moms say that, but there is no other word to describe it. I have about a million different thoughts running through my head on a daily basis when it comes to thinking about meeting him and growing our little family of four to five. Oddly enough, the closer we get to him being here, the less I have been worrying. I'm starting to feel the excitement of having him here and meeting my baby more so than I am thinking about how in the heck I'm going to take care of 3 children under the age of 2, if I will ever leave the house, or if the girls will think I have abandoned them. Maybe I've just worried about these things so much that I'm finally to the point of accepting them and realizing we will all make it work somehow because I love all 3 of my babies too much not to make it work. God gave me these precious miracles for a reason and His timing is perfect in spite of what I may think. So I'm hoping in these next 10 days, God will help me to fill my tank with positivity, love, patience, and excitement for what is about to happen in our lives. To get a good jumpstart, here are 10 things I'm looking forward to the most:

1. Hearing his cry and looking into his eyes for the first time.
2. Watching Kyle hold his son for the first time.
3. Watching the girls meet their brother for the first time.
4. The excitement of our families meeting him.
5. Having a "normal" hospital experience with hopefully no NICU and being able for friends to come see us so soon.
6. Having Kyle home for a whole week and having so much time together as a family.
7. Getting through the rough first few weeks and establishing a good routine with the girls and Burke.
8. Although I'm sure the girls will have some jealousy issues, I also can't wait to see them love and kiss on Burke. They are hilariously sweet with their baby dolls right now, and I feel pretty confident they will really love helping Mommy take care of the baby.
9. The butterflies that will most definitely be in my stomach the day before/morning of us meeting him.
10. Do I really have to say it? NOT BEING PREGNANT ANYMORE! Although I'm trying really hard to cherish these last few days of feeling our baby move inside me, and trying to remember those dark days not so long ago where feeling a baby move in my belly was all I dreamed of, I long to feel light on my feet, get up and down easily, and have more energy to chase my little monkeys. And let's be honest, enjoy a refreshing adult beverage or two in this brutal summer heat.

If I had to add an eleventh item to the list, it might be the fact that I am feeling more excitement than fear to meet our little man more so than I did with the girls. My delivery was so unexpected, earlier than I had hoped, and overall much more stressful than I see this delivery being. When the nurse came in and told me we would be having babies very soon, my first instinct was to burst into tears and scream, "but I'm NOT ready for this!" (and maybe I did just that in so many words) This time, it will be so great to be able to pack my own bag, have things somewhat in order, and know the wonderful emotions that come with meeting our baby for the first time.

So as I sit here and feel the B man hiccuping in my belly, I'll leave you with this pic. Every time I pick up Campbell these days she wraps her legs around the top of my belly like a little baby monkey. It cracks me up! I'm sure both girls are ready to have their belly-less mama back... ;)

xoxo