Now I understand what my women friends were talking about when they described the tension and frustration you can feel these last weeks of pregnancy. In my case it’s not so much a “Good god get this baby outta me!” feeling as it is a “C’mon already! When do I get to see him???” feeling. And the stop/start/stop nature of my labor isn’t helping! A full three weeks ago I started getting symptoms that indicated labor could be as little as a day or two away, but here I am, almost to my due date, and labor, “real” labor, hasn’t really started yet. I feel like Chicken Little, or the boy who cried wolf, as I keep cautioning my boss and co-workers, “Well, my doctor said it could be any day,now…” as I continue waddling in to work each day. sigh.
But there has been progress: I’m partly dilated and have been getting cramps with increasing intensity and frequency over the past couple days. And according to our doctor, he is in the perfect position, and even his umbilical cord is wrapped up neatly like a little firehose, well out of his way. My theory is that our little guy overheard us talking about the due date and is loathe to put us out by arriving early. See? He’s already so helpful and considerate of others. Maybe I’ll give birth to a little bohddisatva?
We couldn’t be more ready (and yes, I know no one is ever truly ready, but let us have our little fantasy…): The freezer is full of food, the house is clean (for now), the nursery has been done for weeks with its supply of diapers and clothes at the ready, and our bags for the hospital are in the car.
I haven’t experienced any fear or anxiety about labor yet. I think it’s because I know that, no matter how much it hurts, it won’t last forever. And I know that Joe will be right by my side. No, most of my anxiety is focused on what happens after he’s born: Will I be able to comfort him when he cries? What if he won’t stop crying? What if he figures out he’s in the hands of an amateur and panics or, worse, treats me with aloofness? What if he grows up to be politically conservative? Or wants to listen to the Wiggles?
We’ll keep you all posted on the big event! Joebanks can post photos from his palm directly to our site, here, so look for some babybanks photos, hopefully sooner than later!
