Due Dates..A Cautionary Tale

So here we are bigger than a "parade of homes" at 37+ weeks--pretty good for someone who's had contractions since the 22 week mark, right? Right. How glad we are that the baby wasn't born that early, but after taking medication every 4 hours and being on bedrest (which I interpret differently than my doctor), it is kind of weird that I am still pregnant.

On the Tuesday before Halloween I was in active labor and admitted to labor and delivery for the blessed event, but this baby had everyone fooled. After staying at the hospital for 15+ hours waiting for this little one's arrival, my doctor reluctantly sent me home, but assured me that I'd be back within 24 hours to deliver. Not so, and a week and a half later I am wondering when this baby will decide to make its debut.

As the understatement of the day, I would like to say that I am pretty anxious for this baby to be born so my clothes will fit, we can save the rainforest by reducing our TP consumption, and I can stop second guessing every little bump I feel from the inside. In the last couple of weeks, I have gone from a heavily medicated, doctor-ordered couch potato/semi-sedentery lifestyle to a non-medicated, emotionally volatile, marathon walker (ok the last one is an exaggeration). Last weekend Andrew, Clancy, and I walked around the mall for 3 hours just trying to coax the baby out, and since then Clancy and I have gone on long daily walks through the downpour to the now-duckless duck pond. So far walking is NOT the answer. So since I am not to keen on drinking Castor oil, taking black Cohosh, or going into a deep state of meditation to commune with my baby about why it is not coming out (actually recommended by one online expert), I guess I will just have to do as every other pregnant lady does and wait it out. As my doctor said when I asked what I could do to induce labor, "If there were something you could do, noone would ever get to their due date."

The moral of this cautionary tale is...don't plan a timeframe for the birth of your child. If you just plan to have a baby within a year of the estimated due date, you'll probably not be disappointed. P.S. My doctor pledged to induce labor on my due date if the baby isn't born by then, so Nov.25th, here we come!