Week 41: Day 1 ~ Lady in Waiting....

Yep, still here...still a lady in waiting, as someone called me a while back. That's what I feel like, someone who is waiting for something really special to happen. Just...waiting.

It's been an interesting week. I've never taken this long to have a baby past my due date - Jack was 7 days late, and it's nearing 11pm on my 7th day so this one is going to be at least 8 days late, maybe more. Who knows?

But I am really thankful that I was able to be along in our church's yearly summer camp - I didn't feel like I missed out at ALL, and my children also got to be along in all the activities. Even though getting them in bed at 10pm every night started to take it's toll. Interestingly enough, I had a couple of times where I'd have semi-regular contractions earlier in the week, and then the second half there was just a handful per day. It was fun to surprise people who thought I was maybe 8 months along, telling them I was xx days overdue. It's funny how people react - like I'm going to have the baby RIGHT THEN, right there. =)

So - now we are here today. The last day of summer camp was last night, and nothing at all happened. I got a good night's sleep except for 5am-7am when I tossed & turned and couldn't sleep for some reason. The kids all slept in until 9am, probably from being on the go for 2 weeks straight! DH & I tried one of the more natural ways of getting things going - I'm sure you can figure it out. =)

After that, well, things picked up! Or I should say, they seem to be. I've had regular contractions ever since - about 10-15 minutes apart all day. This could be a false alarm or it could be the beginning - it IS, after all, how I always start out. It's always a gradual thing that gets harder, faster, more intense but only after like 8-16 hours of regular contractions. They're on the more mild side, like I was able to clean and put the kids to bed tonight, talking normally so no-one even knew I was having them. If this keeps up, I'll probably wait until they're getting harder to breath through to actually call my house help to come watch the kids, and head on in to the birthing center.

Kind of exciting, though! Part of me started to wonder if I'd even gotten the date right. After all, I have not had an ultrasound for the first time EVER - so the only date my midwives were able to go by is the first day of my last period. What if I got that wrong? What if my due date is actually not for another couple of weeks? I certainly do look small, and also am not all that uncomfortable for being a week overdue. How depressing of a thought is that, lol.

I've also been thinking about castor oil, for the first time ever. It certainly sounds harmless enough, and I feel like if I can drink 2quarts of saltwater I can probably drink castor oil. But I'm hesitant to mess with what should come naturally to my body, and what HAS always come naturally - I've never had to be induced before. It's just my impatience, I suppose - that, and knowing that we only hired a nanny for the month of July and it's almost halfway over with still no baby.

But in the midst of all these thoughts, I remember that God is in control and He ALWAYS has the absolute best planned for us. Maybe not what I think is the optimal way to do things, or whatever, but His plan is so much more vast than what I can even comprehend. Like for instance - what if this baby needs to have it's birthday on a certain day, for certain events to unfold in the most perfect way in the future? It helps to get my mind off of ME and what I want, and give this situation to God in perfect rest and peace.

I'm off to bed now, but if we do end up going in tonight I'll for sure leave a note keeping you updated. G'night!