Leading Up

This belly screams full term. Every where I went during weeks 39-40, people said things like "WOW" or "you must be ready" or "you're gonna POP" (my least favorite). But yes, I was ready.

But the week before our due date, Wilkes, Hadley, Will, and Molly were in town. And Jesse was home on spring break. So I had lots of distractions to keep me busy & positive. I also celebrate my 27th birthday on March 27th, just 6 days before our due date!

So happy to see my Wilkesy & Hadley!

On my birthday, Will & I ate lunch at a yummy hot chicken place with the perfect name!

And Will wrote me one of the sweetest letters and made me an origami flower.

(He watched a youtube video to learn how to make it, haha, I love him to pieces!)

Jesse, Wilkes, and I painted pottery.

(This is Wilkes' favorite pose right now, we call it "the rooster")

John's Christmas gift to me this year was a pedicure before Hattie arrived (note to all boys & men: give your sister a pedicure as a gift before she has her baby, so thoughtful & much appreciated)

So we turned it into a Hewitt Girls outing...Kirstyn, me, Sarah, Molly, and Mom went for pre-Hattie pedicures! My toes were the perfect shade of bright pink to welcome our baby girl!

Jesse and Wilkes went on a nature hike and walked at the park with me. Hoping to spur on labor.

Once I past my due date, I went nuts sewing new pillow covers. I made 8 new pillow covers.

I know, I said nuts. But now my living room kind of feels new to me.

Wilkes made this sweet sign for Hattie's bedroom door!

I was definitely glad to have some time to spend with Wilkes and Hadley!

Sweet Hadley with her Uncle Will!

Some Chaco snuggles before Hattie's arrival...

Our due date, April 2nd, came and went. I was a little discouraged. All along, I was planning to have this baby naturally, and I was really hoping to go into labor on my own. I know that first babies are often past their due dates, but after 40 weeks...well, I was ready to have this baby.

But my very sweet and wonderful husband took Thursday (the 4th) off work. We decided to spend the day together doing fun things and enjoying each other's company. We ate breakfast at Loveless Cafe, had coffee at Crema, went to Opry Mills and walked around, saw a movie, I got acupuncture (which was awesome), and he cooked a yummy meal (fresh caught amberjack, broccoli, and sweet potatoes).

This day will go down in history as one of my favorite days ever.

It was a gift. I feel like the Lord gave us this day to be fully present and appreciate each other and enjoy each other's company. We laughed and talked. We walked around the mall and just enjoyed the day, minute by minute. The Lord knew exactly what was ahead of us in the next couple days, and Thursday was such a gift. I think I knew that in the moment, but I especially know it in hindsight.

Will bought me a locket from the 1940s and it arrived on Thursday the 4th. Perfect timing, because Friday the 5th is when all the action started. (Details to come in the next post)