Stick a fork in me...

...because if you do, it might induce labor and then we'll finally get to meet this kid.



So, yeah! Today is my guess/due date. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over. I can't believe that if you put both of my pregnancies together, I've spent 81 weeks being pregnant since September 2008. (Well, technically August 2008, I think.) That's a good chunk of time (duh) and frankly my body is going to need a long break after this. No more kids for awhile. I'm looking forward to thoroughly enjoying my two boys, and maybe we'll add on one more when the time is right.

I'm feeling much better than I was the other day. (Your comments did much to brighten my spirits - thank you!) My midwife told me at my appointment on Tuesday that having those kinds of meltdowns is good because 1) it's good to get all of it out of the way before I go into labor, and 2) it's a good indication that things are happening and my body's getting ready. Love her!

I've not having internal exams this time around, because I want to avoid the anxiety they caused me the first time around. So I have no news on that front. Burt Reynolds has dropped, though, and my bladder has noticed the difference. So has my stomach. I've been eating ravenously like I haven't eaten in weeks. I'm having Braxton-Hicks contractions pretty much all day every day, which is another good sign. Burt Reynolds is in the LOT (left occiput transverse) position, where he's been for the past couple of weeks. This is what that looks like:



It's not a "bad" position for him to be in, but it's not exactly where we want him. We want his back facing the front of my pelvis. (Please and thank you, Burt Reynolds.) I've been doing some things to help him into a better position, and if that doesn't work, then here's hoping he'll get lined up on his own while I'm in labor (which most babies do).

Another interesting factoid: my midwife has told me to expect a labor similar to that of a first-time mother. Since my body wasn't really ready when I was induced with Charlie and since I didn't make it all the way to 10cm and pushing, I can expect this labor to possibly be long. I'm hoping it won't be because my mom had quick (and natural) births. But there's a reason why giving birth can be like running a marathon - you've got to be prepared to be in it for the long haul.

So I have no idea when I can expect to go into labor. I've been doing a couple of things to possibly help: drinking red raspberry leaf tea (not consistently) and taking evening primrose oil. The tea is supposed to help tone the uterus while the primrose oil is supposed to help the cervix get all nice and effaced. I have no idea if either one is actually working. I've also been doing some walking, but I haven't been going overboard with it because I don't want to tire myself out.

I've decided that if I hit 41 weeks, then I'll do some acupuncture to hopefully get things going. The acupuncturist was trying to talk me into doing it over the weekend, but I really want to wait because 1) it's expensive, and with our crappy ass insurance, it's not going to be covered, and 2) even though it's a natural induction method (and not something like Pitocin), I really want to give my body every chance to do its thing on its own. The good thing about acupuncture, though, is that it won't induce labor unless your body is ready for it. So it's not like I'd be forcing it into something it doesn't want to do yet.

We're pretty much all set around here. I still have my to do list that I'm plugging away at. I'm hoping this weekend we'll just stay around the house and clean clean clean. I don't think we'll ever really be "ready" for such a huge transition, but all we can do is prepare as much as we can.

We're really excited to meet our little guy. Everything is going to change once again, which has caused me so much apprehension for pretty much this entire pregnancy, but my love for Burt Reynolds outweighs any fears I have. I know everything is going to be awesome. (It just might take awhile to get there.)

I want to close this post with a little something my doula said in a message that recently passed between us. It made me so happy to read.

I am SO proud of you! You have made such smart decisions to set yourself up for an awesome birth. It does my heart good to see a woman (and her awesomely supportive husband) making educated decisions and not accepting the status quo. :)

Reading that made me realize that I am also proud of myself for all the hard work I've done to make this birth into an empowering experience. Now I just need to let go and realize that this birth will be what it needs to be, that Burt Reynolds will end up with the birth he needs to have (whether it's a VBAC or a repeat c-section). It's almost like planning your wedding. On the day of, you just have to stop trying to control it all and enjoy what happens. So that's my goal: to enjoy the ride.