This is it...

By the time most of you read this blog post on the morning of April 20, Cart will have arrived - full term at 39 weeks and 4 days gestation! We had our pre-op appointment today at UNC, and are expected to check in Tuesday morning at 5am. We're the first case of the day in the OR, so Cart should make his arrival before 8am.

My doctor told me to make sure I get some rest tonight because tomorrow is a big day. While I understand the idea, how on earth am I supposed to get any rest? I'm excited for the birth of our son, but also nervous about the surgery. So between those feelings, and the sound of my growling tummy (I am not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight tonight), I am sure to spend most of the night watching QVC. Or maybe M*A*S*H reruns.

Thanks to my wonderful husband for taking this maternity photo of me. We never had the chance to take any typical maternity shots with the boys' pregnancy, so we were very excited to take this one. I have been exceptionally fortunate to have Nate's encouragement and positivity by my side through this pregnancy. He's been the steady shoulder through all of the angst I felt over delivering again prematurely and never once waivered on his determination that we would make it to this day. I think he's a bit bummed that he no longer gives me weekly shots in the bum, though.

Thanks also to my lovely Mandy Lyon for doing a little photo editing to make this shot super special.

Check www.ncslaviks.blogspot.com for updates tomorrow. We'll post updates and photos when we're able. We seem to have created a lot of familial angst with the creation of Cart's "un-real" name, so we're sure that there are great-grandmothers and friends alike who can't wait to call him something else.