Well, I was hoping not to see the 41 week mark with Baby Beni, but here we are! I can’t say I’m surprised, though.
My water broke at 41+2 with Clara, but I think my due date for her was off by a few days, so I actually think this is the longest I’ve been pregnant. Hooray?
Honestly, I’m still doing very well okay. People seem surprised when I tell them this, but I truly feel as good as I think I can expect to be feeling. I’m relatively comfortable still, and I’m keeping very busy with Clara and social plans. Even though I’m excited to meet our little one, I’m also very happy living in the present and not anticipating the future. (I really think that God gifts me patience in pregnancy that I don’t possess in my ‘normal’ non-pregnant state, because I don’t know how else to explain why I feel like I could calmly stay pregnant forever even when it’s uncomfortable!)
When I was nearing my due date with Clara, I tried a lot of natural induction methods to get things moving. Nothing worked, and this time I’m not going to spend my energy even trying. I’m convinced that the baby will come when the baby comes. I’m resting and enjoying myself (and trying to take some of my own advice) instead of focusing on trying to evict a baby from my womb. I may try acupuncture this week, but that’s more for relaxation purposes than anything else.
The problem is that everyone else seems very preoccupied with the status and progress of my womb / potential labor. After 40 weeks the doctor’s appointments tend to get a bit stressful because we suddenly start talking a lot about what we’ll do eventually if this baby doesn’t start making his/her way out on his/her own. Once the words induction and scheduled c-section start getting thrown around I’m tempted to cover my ears and run. I dread going to my ‘overdue’ OB appointments. It’s like everything is stress-free and easy for 9+ months and then sh*t starts getting real. (I will say, though, that I have an awesome OB who is very supportive of VBACs, so this is already a much different experience than I had in Chicago and I’m thankful that these stressful appointments aren’t nearly as awful as they could be with a less supportive doctor.)
And then there are the constant “any baby news?!” check-ins from friends and family… but I don’t mind those – I actually think it’s nice that so many people are thinking about us!
I know I’m getting big because strangers have gone from the “you look so cute!” comments to the “wow, when are you due?!” comments. And I personally love telling people that I’m a week past my due date. Ohhhhh the looks I receive! So good. It’s like people half expect me to start pushing out a baby right in front of them, which I don’t intend to do.
Anyway, my point behind this post is to say that I’m still here, still pregnant, still talking about pregnancy (as if I could think about anything else at this point), and I don’t need to be pitied because I’m enjoying myself and living my ‘normal’ life – just with a huge baby inside my uterus.
(But please pray that Baby Beni comes before 42 weeks. Thanks.)
