It's Oct 18th.

The hospital bags are packed....

{Thought the backdrop of a cardboard box was very fitting considering our house is completely packed up for our move next week}

I've spent today trying to relax as much as possible, made a big batch of yummy Lentil Soup & little mason jars of Green Juice for my lovely hubs to bring in for me while I'm in the hospital.

I can hardly believe this day is almost here. It's been such a crazy scene preparing for this week with all the house packing, wrapping up work and saying goodbye to friends. It's all left me just a wee bit tired today.

I am so thankful though to have had the energy I've had to keep up with everything and I don't take that for granted. You know..like energy to make pose for pregnancy pictures and make faces...

But truthfully, I'm proud of every workout, healthy meal & swig of water I've had this pregnancy and have enjoyed the benefits that come with taking good care of myself. It has been a journey of 75,000 healthy calories to build this life inside me and I am so excited to meet her!

As I've shared, I am scheduled to deliver this sweet baby girl via C-Section. When I had Chloe, I ended up having an emergency C-Section after a very long labour. Things didn't go very well after that either as due to complications I ended up losing almost 80% of my blood volume.

This weighs heavily on my mind as tomorrow morning fast approaches. I am praying for everything to go well and appreciate yours as well. 

Knowing that I'm headed in for this surgery, my hospital bag this go around is looking a little different. Here are my holistic essentials and what I'm counting on to help with a speedy recovery:

~ First & foremost, healthy meals for my family to bring in. It seems more likely that our hospitals would like us to remain sick by the food they feed us while we stay there. As seen in exhibit A & B which I snapped pics of during my Pre-Op appt yesterday:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B: it's unfortunate this machine is out of order ;)

~Dry Skin Brush to help with the circulation problems that often occur

~ Iron: I'm aiming to consume about 30 mg a day while in the hospital to help build my stores back up. Through supplementation and foods such as lentils, spinach, quinoa, bok choy & broccoli.

~ Vit A: very important for tissue repair & in fighting infections. Aiming for 10,000IU a day through sweet potatoes & kale.

~ Vit K: also very important in preventing hemorrhaging & blood clotting. Kale & broccoli do the trick here.

~ Coconut oil for sore "areas"

To try and make this surgery feel somewhat closer to what I believe in, I have asked that they drop the "tent" when baby E is delivered so I can see her right away. I have requested that if I cannot have skin to skin contact right away, that my husband can do this with her. I'm also contemplating bringing in my ipod with a few soothing songs to help dilute a bit of the surgery blahs.

As for tonight...I'm hoping a little bit of this will do the trick for a good night of eyelid theater.

Can't wait to hold this precious miracle tomorrow morning! Thank you for all your thoughts & prayers this week as our little family prepares for some pretty big changes.

Peace & Love.