Punctuality is for suckahs.

(via)
Monday, 10/24/11:
If one more person asks, "Are you okay?", "How are you feeling?", or "Any baby yet?", I will not be responsible for what comes out of my mouth. I fully realize everyone genuinely cares and is excited for us and the baby, but when you're 9 months pregnant, the size of a house, exhausted, and show no signs of going into labor, NOT having had the kid yet makes you feel like something of a failure. I can't explain why, but it just does. Inform FB that I will be incommunicado 'til baby's born, just to give myself a social media break. Secretly logging in to see who's posting what, though, muah ha ha. 

MIL says she's convinced baby has dropped, and from the pressure, I kind of think it's started to happen, but I don't see a difference when I look in the mirror. Went for a 2.5 mile walk to try and kick things into gear.

Tuesday, 10/25/2011:
Due date, still no baby. MIL accompanied me to my prenatal appt. Dr. B did a cervical check - not dilated at ALL, still "high and tight". Eff. Hooked me up for a non-stress test, involving a heart rate monitor and a kick monitor stripped around the belly, for 15 min. Heartbeat was crazy loud, and baby tried her darnedest to kick the monitors off. Baby deemed in no distress, doing "beautifully".

Dr. B then did a short ultrasound to check the levels of amniotic fluid, which were still fine. I said, "I never thought I'd say this, but puh-leeeze induce?" and he explained that, as of yet, there was no medical need to - a non-induction-happy OBGYN is a rarity these days, I'm very lucky! - so to please come back in on Friday 10/28 if nothing has happened since. 

Ate a highly caloric lunch at Whole Foods (their mac & cheese from the to-go bar is to-die-for), then went to Costco, then had a depressed nap. NOTHING? All these Braxton-Hicks and all this pressure and uncomfortableness, and NOTHING? Baby girl, you'd better be on your way. 

Wednesday, 10/26/11:
Went for 2.75 mile walk in the a.m., blasting peppy songs on my iPhone/Pod/whatever. Lots of pressure when I got back, a couple intense B-H ctx, then nothing. FIL arrived from Ohio, MIL says she was convinced baby was waiting 'til both Cowan grandparents were there. I am doubtful that baby will ever, ever arrive. I am going to be pregnant for. ev. er. EFFFFFFFFFF.

Also, found out that Dave's coworkers have started a poll on when baby will be born, and they're all guessing at least a week late. Meanies. I'd better at least get a cut of the winnings.

Thursday, 10/27/11: 
Another 2.75 mile a.m. walk, a few more intense B-H ctx. Still nothing that says "THIS IS IT, YO!" Do laundry. Putz around house while in-laws go out for beach walk and lunch - in major hibernation mode, don't really feel like socializing, which is bad, because I lucked out and ended up with  in-laws who are really fun to hang out with. Anxiously awaiting appointment tomorrow to see if I can get an induction scheduled before in-laws fly back to Ohio on Tuesday... Although they have very sweetly informed me that this was the risk they took in coming out before the due date, I will feel like a schmuck if they return to Ohio without having met their granddaughter. Plus, if I'm still pregnant on 11/1, I will cry. A lot. And possibly cut someone.

Friday, 10/28/11: Another non-stress test and ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels, baby is still doing beautifully. My doc still doesn't want to schedule an induction, though, as he'd prefer to let my body do this on its' (it's?) own, so that there will be less chance I'd end up needing a C-section (it's more likely with inductions, since your body isn't fully "ready" for labor). Scheduled another checkup for Monday, Halloween.

FIL's coworkers also apparently now have a pool on when this baby will arrive. One of them said baking cookies is, for some reason, a surefire way to start labor. I make a batch of homemade peanut butter cookies. They are delicious, but they do not do the trick. Oh well. Someone on Facebook suggested making labor-starting cookies - essentially, VERY spicy gingersnaps with cayenne pepper in them. I shall do so tomorrow.

Went out to The Stinking Rose for dinner with Dave and the in-laws, in the hopes that copious amounts of garlic will "spice" the baby out. Delicious dinner, but again, no such luck.

Saturday, 10/29/11:
Another 2.75 mile walk, off to make those labor-starting cookies. Still no baby. [Expletives deleted]

Can't sleep, the clowns will - wait, no, nevermind.

Insomnia is fun. Insomnia when you're 9 months pregnant and have a 6+ pound baby doing the jive (well, the squirm) on your bladder is REALLY fun. I foresee several naps in my future today.

Still waiting, still pregnant, still having lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions and a twinge here and there, although Thorberta seems to be quite content to stay in Casa de Utero. Dave is insistent that the baby not decide to make her entrance 'til next Thursday, since he has to be out of town on a business trip Monday-Wednesday. No worries, though, I won't be left alone: I have a friend coming to stay with me Monday night, and then my fabulous mother-in-law (Hi A!!!) is arriving Tuesday morning.

Since it's 5am, I don't have to make this whole post make sense, do I? Okay, time for a philosophical tangent, then! The knowledge that any day now, our lives are going to change completely and irrevocably, is surreal. It's not just US anymore, we have this tiny creature who is utterly dependent on us, not just for basic physical needs, but to teach her about the world and help her figure out her place in it. Kiddo, I'm sure we're gonna make mistakes, but I promise we're going to do our very best. And no matter what, we love you and are so lucky to be your parents.

What now?

Today was my first official day of maternity leave, and it was STRANGE. My friend Kelly was here for a long weekend, & didn't have her flight out til late this afternoon, so we hung out, went for a walk at the beach, etc. I kept turning to her and saying, "I feel like I'm playing hooky!"

I've always had a job/school/SOMETHING I had to do, since, well, forever. And now? I'm just waiting.

Lots of waiting.

And yes, I'm still pregnant. Very. Trust me, if and when things change, there will be an announcement. For now, though, I'd appreciate people not asking me, "So, you STILL knocked up?" every ten seconds. Yes, I am, unless you hear otherwise.

For now, though, anyone have any recommendations for good books/movies? One can only go for so many walks and re-fold baby clothes so many times.

Dear Flu: Stop it.

Yeah, so, being sick with a flu/cold thing when you're 37 weeks pregnant? Not fun. The list of acceptable/safe medications you can take is very short, and includes only medications that have never, ever worked for me in the past (i.e. Sudafed and Tylenol Cold). Why even bother taking them, then? I've just been inundating myself with Emergen-C, cough drops, fluids, and sleep. Coughing brings on minor B-H contractions, which is just so, so, so much fun. And everyone keeps saying, "Oh, the baby could come at any time!", which just freaks me out. I'm so ready to be done with pregnancy, but the knowledge that parenthood is the next step makes me totally fine with her hanging out in utero for a little while longer. I'll just keep maintaining that she's not done baking yet. Gotta get a little more golden brown and crispy 'round the edges.

It's a Catch-22, what can I say.

Every time I feel a twinge or a cramp, I think, "Ooh, is this it, is this it?" but then it goes away quickly and I know it's not time yet. I don't think I've had any actual, for-real contractions yet, as it all still feels like Braxton-Hicks and people keep saying that when it's a real contraction, you KNOW. Will I? Or will I be one of those women who randomly wake in the middle of the night to find a wailing, vernix-covered baby in their pajama pants? Oh, would that be strange. I seriously don't know how that happens. How do you not feel a baby emerging from you? Jeeeezum Pete.

I have one more week of work, and am nearly done training my maternity leave replacement, & am working on getting everything tidied up neatly on all the projects I'm a part of. People are like, "You're STILL working?" Yes, actually, I want to feel that I've left for maternity leave having done the best possible job that I can do, pregnant or not. If someone hires me to do a job, then darn it, they're going to get my best work, period. I can't do it any other way.

And once 5pm on Friday, 10/7 hits, I will leave knowing I've set things up to run smoothly in my absence, and then I can relax until labor hits. I'll go for walks every day (with my ID/health insurance card & cell phone on hand, just in case), get a pedicure, massage, and facial, and finish tidying up around the house. I have a ton of DVDs I haven't watched yet, plus lots of shows stored up on our DVR. Hopefully, tiny miss Thorberta gives me at least a few days to enjoy being "unemployed" before she decides to make her grand entrance. And when she does... I can't wait to meet her.