Its the FINAL coutdown!!!

The last two weeks I have been pacing around the house wondering when this baby will be born--waking up each day questioning whether those pesky contractions would die down or lead to labor. I have cleaned the house daily, washed sheets twice weekly, packed and repacked my hospital bag hoping that all the cleaning would send me to L&D.

I was really hoping for labor to start spontaneously. I envisioned my water breaking, heading to the hospital in hurried excitement, and walking the hallways and doing pelvic rocks a top a yoga ball to handle contractions instead of using drugs. For months I have dreamed the perfect birth, as I imagine every woman does, and now I sit here staring at the clock waiting for our 5am departure for our hospital induction.

I have tried all the home-induction techniques (everything short of castor oil) and have been walking for hours on end each day hoping that labor would occur. Now that my blood pressure is elevated, fluid retention high, and my due date passed, we are waiting no longer. I had hoped to avoid making this decision and have so many fears for tomorrow, all compounded by feelings of guilt for agreeing to induction. However, I understand the serious nature of childbirth and want to ensure the safety and health of my soon-to-be son, so sometime tomorrow, I will be a new mom.

There is a huge sense of relief in knowing that tomorrow is the day. I feel like a weight has been lifted and rather than questioning whether each day is the "day" I can focus on my birth experience, relaxing, meditating, and anticipating our son's arrival. I still intend to keep our birth natural and am confident that with the strength of myself, Dale, and family, I will be able to accomplish this.

So, today, is my last day pregnant and while I am excited to count 10 fingers and toes, I am going to miss my beautiful belly, my glowing skin, and long nails (a first for me!) and eating 6 times a day! I look forward to sharing an intimate night with my husband, dinner with my family, and getting what will be my last night of sleep for quite a few days!!

We will keep you posted in every adventure along the way, however, please understand if our blogs are not as consistent as they have been! I cant guarantee when our birth announcement will be made but please check our hospital's website: http://www.newbabynews.net/hospitals/com28/public/ at some point this week to see if our little one has made the headlines!