It's 1:30am November 2nd 2010. I have to be at the hospital in 3 1/2 hours to prepare to meet my 5th child. Obviously I am having some sleep issues. I figured maybe blogging my ideas would help instead of just laying in bed awake.

First. My excitement level is almost peaked. I can not wait to meet this new little one. We didn't find out the gender so that is what I look forward to most.

Second. Between my own excitement and anticipation and my husbands snoring there is no way I can sleep or at least not for more than a few minutes anyway.

Third. I have a really upset stomach. Nerves? I don't know. I feel a nagging empty feeling like I need to eat something. I went to my "middle of the night, feel like I need something in my stomach" snack of raspberry yogurt. Either that or bananas. I would rather have a banana right now but I don't have any bananas. I only choked down a few bites, so far it isn't helping.

Fourth. I am hoping all the older boys adjust well to their new brother or sister. I hope I can spread enough love around to all of them to make them all know they mean the world to me, each and everyone of them.

Fifth. I hope I can handle the pain that is coming my way. An epidural has been on my mind alot lately. Friends and family who have had them tell of positive experiences. While I am going in with an open mind I am still leaning towards doing this on my own. I want to do this on my own. Drew's labor is still fresh in my mind though and it was so painful. I just have to remember it is only for a few hours.

Sixth. I love my husband. He was sweet to me tonight. He told me not to worry about things. Everything will be fine. He new I wasn't going to sleep so he begged me to try and fall asleep first because he was so tired and he felt guilty sleeping when I couldn't since I was going to be doing all the work of having the baby. He let me chatter, rubbed my back and even apologized as his body twitched while he slipped into dreamworld. At 12:30 I got up to use the restroom. When I came back in to the bedroom he was sitting up in bed. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I was choking on the name suggestion" was his response. Laughing I layed back down and he layed back down too. Snoring came within seconds. Middle names was the last thing we discussed as he fell asleep. I didn't ask what the name suggestion was, I should have.

Seventh. I am looking forward to staying 2 days at the hospital. It will almost be like a vacation! Thank God I have wonderful family and friends who have graciously offered to help with the other 4 boys so that I can spend 48 hours bonding with just my newborn. I love my family.

Eighth. I am hoping for a very quick delivery and most importantly a healthy baby.

Ninth. I am hoping that once I close this laptop I can sleep for 2 hours before heading into the hospital. Fingers crossed.