Five weeks until she’s due. Five weeks until everything changes again. I lay awake at night, watching my stomach contort as she stretches and kicks, and it’s just me and her. A little miracle growing inside.

On the outside, there’s chaos. A nursery to prepare. A van to purchase. A house to clean. Dishes in the sink and mounds of clean laundry on the couch waiting to be folded. A full-time job. A four-year old and a two-year old in constant need of care.

It’s a balancing act, and much of the responsibility falls on my husband these days.

With the other pregnancies, I was anxious for life to return to “normal”. I could only think of the discomfort and exhaustion. I wanted it all to be over. And while I’m more than ready for this little one’s arrival, it’s different somehow.

One reason is that God has been teaching me about contentment. I’ve written about that a lot over the last two years. Another reason is that I know that this is the last child. This is the last time I’ll experience the miracle of a life growing within.

Mostly, however, as I watch my other daughters grow, I realize that this is a unique time – something that only a mother is able to experience. This is the only time in life where this child is all mine and I’m all hers.

These last five weeks, the final stretch, these are moments to treasure.