With my first I was blissfully pregnant, enjoying the last few months of my first year of marriage, and almost 21 years old. I was taking prerequisite courses at a community college, with the goal of working towards being able to apply to nursing school. I gained more weight than I should have, but goodness I loved that pregnancy. Paul and I regularly went on long hikes at counsel Crest in Oregon, one of my favorite places ever. I had no aches, no pains, just a young pregnant mama soaking it all in. Ryker Paul was born at 38 weeks 4 day, 6#14oz and 20 inches long - this sweet bundle of boy who made me mama, made us parents, changed the love between Paul and I forever - a love with more depth. That moment, that is what life is about, life changing.
With Kip, I was in nursing school. I delivered him, and then a few days later walked at graduation. He was just shy of a month old when I took the NCLEX exam and became an RN. I did clinical hours up until my last week of pregnancy - constantly on the go, which made his pregnancy seem to fly by at lightning speed. He was born at 38 weeks 1 day, 7#1oz, 20 inches long - my biggest baby (so far) and easiest most amazing labor ever.
With Jovie, I was working as a pediatric mental health RN. Sister gave me several quirks along the way - single umbilical artery, always measuring small, pre-term labor at 32 weeks followed by strict bed rest, and later developing pre-eclampsia. She made her big debut when I went into labor despite bed rest at 36 weeks 6 days, she was born at 37 weeks on the dot…5#14oz, and 17.5inches long - pink, tiny, and perfect. She was my littlest lady, but by far the toughest delivery.
Hartley's pregnancy has been the quickest of them all. Grad school, working as a bedside nurse, and raising my family will do that. I am now 9 years older than I was during my first pregnancy, and I can honestly say, if Hartley was my first pregnancy, I'm not sure that there would be 4 little Loprinzi kiddos. Age might be the difference in the way my body is handling the strains of pregnancy, or maybe the demands of life currently. But, one thing is certain, this mama is counting down the weeks left lugging around this extra weight and belly.
I am honestly savoring every last moment, even the sore/aching ones. This journey to the final 4th Loprinzi is so bittersweet…the last of many things, the last pregnancy, the last voluntarily weight gain of 20-30 lbs over the course of 9 months, the last time I'll run with a big belly and get those crazy looks, the last time I'll feel hiccups/kicks from inside my belly, or spot the little limbs randomly poking out of my belly, have sausage toes, and "cankles," the last moment in the delivery room between husband and wife as we welcome our last little bundle…bittersweet.
With the boys I carried low and wide, the girls were higher and more upright. With weight gain - I gained the most with Ryk - because I was addicted to orange slurpees, then Jovie, then Kip, and I the least (so far - however I do still have 3 weeks to go) with Hartley…my face absolutely shows the weight gain.
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