It Runs in the Family

Stubbornness runs on both sides of our family, so it should be no surprise that my unborn child has already inherited this trait. Yes, nearly a week after the due date my G.P. gave me and four days after the date that is in my hospital records, I am still waiting to experience the most amazing moment of a mother's life. And I have to admit: I'm getting downright anxious and annoyed!

With each passing day, I sleep less, pee more, and my ankles get bigger. And I still have nothing to show for it!

The... past... week... has... literally... dragged... by. We're in a state of limbo, afraid to venture too far from home or do too much just in case our little Crumpet decides that now is the time he or she is ready to make his or her grand entrance. Every day, I wonder if this will be my child's birthday, and every night when I settle into bed after an uneventful day I say, "Well, surely tomorrow." But tomorrow works out to be much of the same.

The Other Half is just as anxious as I am, though he hides it more. Instead of vocalizing his anxieties like me, he's been channeling them into various chores and hobbies, like defrosting the freezer or getting things ready for his home-brewing experiment. (Incidentally, this has involved "emptying" several beer bottles that can be reused for his home brew, a task which has proven both practical and calming.) As for me, I went through the nesting phase already (I thought that was a sure sign that things were imminent!), and now I find that, although there are tons of things I can be doing, I don't have the energy or motivation to actually do any of them.

I realize that due dates are really estimates, at best, and that, in fact, most first-time mothers deliver a little late, but I can take little comfort in that fact right now. We have everything ready for baby, and there are lots of people here waiting to meet it, so you would think it would be ready to come out. It can't be comfortable all scrunched up inside me!

My dad is arriving from NC on Wednesday. When he and my mom first started planning their trip over here, he was going to come for the first two weeks with my mom (she's here for four weeks), which would have meant he would be getting ready to go back home this Thursday, as opposed to arriving on Wednesday. It's a good thing he changed his mind because he would have had no time to spend with his grandchild. As it is, he might be here for the birth after all.

I have another hospital appointment on Wednesday (that is, if I haven't gone into labor before then... here's hoping!). They'll do an internal exam then to see if that will speed things along, and if the baby is still being stubborn I'll be induced next Sunday. God willing, I won't make it till then.

Until then, I continue to wait, knowing full well that once the baby is actually here I will be wishing I had this week of "nothingness" back because never again will my life be this calm.