Claire, Soup, Jacob Finch is finally here! He came into this world weighing in at 9lbs and 9 ounces and 21 inches long. :)
I was pretty surprised to discover he actually was a boy. I had pretty much convinced myself we were having another girl, well, and after a couple ultrasounds thought so, too. :)
But overall, we are all in love with this little guy. :) I'll be writing up his birth story soon. I was able to go natural with the help of the good Lord, a close friend, my husband, and a nurse {who had previously also been a midwife}. As of now, we're all happy and healthy and getting use to a new routine. Thanks to all who have followed along on this journey, I can't wait to see how it all plays out!
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Well, today is the day.
We will be going in around 9:00 am to induce labor. I hope you are ready. I'm ready to meet you. I've dreamed of this day for 40 + weeks now. I've imagined the moment you're placed on my belly, in my arms, playing it over and over again, feeling the love and joy that I know I'll experience.
I look over at your Dad and imagine you look like him. I hug Maddie because I know I'll miss her so the night we're a part. You are coming into a wonderful family. I am so happy and honored to have you join us. Your Dad is amazing. Your sister is so full of life. Your brothers will love you even though they may not say it often. You are the blessing that completes our family. You make the circle go round.
I hope you're as happy and as excited to see us as we are you. I will miss the special bond we have, the presence of you within my body. Momma loves you so much. It has been am amazing pregnancy. I have enjoyed every moment of it. It seems to have flown by so quickly. Thank you for growing so big. Thank you for being my baby.
I love you.
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Back in October of last year I got sidetracked and my running fell to the wayside. And then in May I became pregnant and didn't feel comfortable picking back up with it. I've missed running. I've mentioned it several times. It's not that running is physically an enjoyable sport it's hard and challenging but that in itself is what I find enjoyable.
If it was easy everyone would do it and yet only a small portion of the crazed fitness geeks out there run, and yet I'm proud and excited to say I'm one of them. I may not be the fastest or can even match toe to toe with vetran runners but I love it none the less.
So, I've felt a little out of wack not running. I've tried different activities since then: workout DVD's, swimming, the treadmill, and bike. They all give me what I need - a workout - but they all lack what I truly desire - to simply run.
So then you ask why I'm sitting here wasting all these words on talking about what I want to do rather than just doing it. Well, it's my knees, they haven't been happy for awhile now and rather than going out and doing it the way I did the first time {running everyday with swollen knees} I'd like to take some time and do it differently.
I'll be starting with my bike. When I ride {from the comfort of my own living room} my knees stay lubricated and pain free. It blows my mind but my knees actually need to ride, probably even as much as my heart needs to run. So, instead of only planning for next year races I'm also planning for another moment that will require a great deal of dedication, strength, and desire - the natural birth of my baby, in a hospital setting.
On a side note, even though I've always planned to have all my children drug free, I was only able to see it through during the home birth I had with Maddie. And since we aren't going a home birth this time around, I really need to be prepared to do this naturally in an environment that typically supports medical intervention and drugs. And I'm not knocking Moms who use medicine to ease their birth, I'm just saying this is the route I want to go even though I've failed twice before.
So, this post is about setting goals, getting back on track, figuring out what I want, and making it happen. I have 4 months to spend devoted to strengthening up my knees so that I can start running again by mid February/March. And while keeping my mind focused on next year's races, I'll actually be training for the best moment of all, meeting my baby girl. :) So, here's to making it happen and enjoying the journey of getting there!
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