Less than thirteen hours. Wow. I am excited, nervous, scared, anxious, so many emotions wrapped into one. I say thirteen hours, but my labor could happen sooner. I don't think it will, but wow. Come seven o'clock tomorrow morning, my labor is being induced.
I've never been induced before. My doctors think that it's a sure bet, that I won't have any issues with the induction. Hopefully they're right. In the meantime, I'm trying to savor these last moments of feeling the baby squirm inside me.
The past few days have been fairly good to me. My mom and mother-in-law are here. They've been a real help and great company. Because we didn't trust the baby to fully cooperate tomorrow, my mother-in-law is staying an extra day. I'm glad. I want her to be able to see her granddaughter before she leaves. Surely that will have happened by Tuesday afternoon.
I did manage to make it to church today. I was actually on good behavior, no monologue that consisted of thinking it might be funny to be burned by the holy water. My mind may have strayed once or a million times during the homily (the priest today had a very thick accent and a monotone that made it nearly impossible for me to follow along), but I used that time for prayer that my baby will be healthy and that my husband will survive my labor. Okay, I probably prayed that the baby would also sleep through the night, be able to talk, and be fully potty-trained, but I'm not counting on that happening. It never has before. So a healthy baby is my prayer.
Today was the first time at church that I didn't nearly vomit during communion. I have a terrible cold right now and can't smell very well. I also made sure to cover my nose as I walked past the chalice. I figured out that the sanitizer smell comes from the cloth they use to wipe the chalice. But the cold was what really helped. I'm hoping that I won't be a snot faucet tomorrow. Gross.
I've definitely used the past couple of days to reflect on this pregnancy, trying to pinpoint when it was exactly that I fell in love with this baby. Was it during the first ultrasound when she looked like nothing more than a bean with a heartbeat? Was it when my belly started to protrude? Was it with the first kick? Was it when the whole family was excited? I don't know. A part of me thinks that it was when I held that dress a few days before I figured out that I was pregnant. I think subconsciously I already knew it, but was so afraid of everyone else's reaction.
This is going to be a small post and I apologize. I'm hoping that I may be able to do a few updates from the laboring room, but so much depends on how it goes. I won't post during hard labor, but I may give you a play-by-play of what happens during the first part. I will also make an attempt at posting the rest of the details as soon as I can. It may be while I'm still in the hospital or it may happen soon after I'm released. It depends on what transpires during labor.
And with that, I am off. Here's to hoping that if I do post from the labor room tomorrow that I don't change the rating of this story to "Mature" from all of the swearing. And here's to hoping that the labor goes smoothly.
Thank you so much for sharing in this journey. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter.
