Ramblings of a 40 week pregnant woman

So I've made it to the monumental day, my due date... I've never made it this far. I've never been given the chance to make it this far! But let's be clear, a due date is not an expiration date, and I'm not even technically "over due" until I reach 42 weeks... that's right, 42 weeks! I realize I'm in for the daily questions, "Is that baby here yet?" I know everyone means well, and it's okay! But it could be days, even weeks before this baby comes. Most Doctors won't give you that chance to just go into labor naturally. For some reason this magic number of 40 weeks freaks them out, even though the average baby comes at 41 weeks + 1 day!

Last Friday I hit rock bottom. I had gone through several days of stop and go contractions... 1 hour of 8-15 mins apart, and then hours of nothing. I was so beyond frustrated by this. When I woke up \Friday morning, I was a blubbering, crying mess. I couldn't stop crying! Through tears I emailed my doula Katie and just poured my heart out to her. I was tired of the teasing contractions and wanting them to just keep going. I was also suddenly feeling the pressure of being faced with the decision of whether or not to induce before my Doctor goes out of town. Katie called me as soon as she read my email! She talked me off the ledge... she told me that this is all very normal, that my body is just preparing for the real thing. I wasn't even at my due date yet, so there is no reason to worry why it isn't happening yet. She also encouraged me to not even think about inducing yet. She even said that it may be okay if I choose not to induce at all and just trust God's timing of it all. She said even if I go into labor during the few days that my Doctor is gone, there are several very supportive Doctors that are usually on call for Dr. C. that would most likely allow for my VBAC without a struggle. It made me feel so much better about it all. I don't want that extra stress and burden. She encouraged me to listen to some praise music, pray, and just relax. So I took her advice... I put on a Selah album and started doing the dishes as I listened. A song came on, that stopped me in my tracks. It's called "Hold on." Hold on, just a little bit longer, hold on... if you think you can't make it one more day, just hold on! I mean seriously?? Could those words have been more tailor made for me right at that moment? I just stood there and cried some more, but this time tears of joy! Thankful that I know that it is all in God's hands, and I can hold on just a little bit longer... it won't last forever, eventually this baby will come out!!

On Saturday, I woke up in the best mood! Amazing what a difference a day makes... but I was determined to not be discouraged, to know that these "practice" contractions are not all for nothing! They are warming up for the real thing!

Last night I had consistent contractions throughout the entire Super Bowl! I timed them the whole time, ranging from 6-15 mins apart, but generally between 6-8, lasting about a minute each. I was encouraged! I went to bed... slept for about 2 hours and was woken up by some intense back pain and more contractions. These were about 5-6 mins. apart! I couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up and ate a bowl of cereal and timed my contractions. Finally, a couple of hours later, I was able to go back to bed and fall asleep. I slept mostly the rest of the night. Either the contractions slowed down or just weren't intense enough to wake me back up. I am still encouraged, even though they have slowed down this morning! They seemed more real than ever last night.

So these are the ramblings of a 40 week pregnant woman... I am getting excited and nervous for the real thing to start up! I will keep you all posted.