Baby Thoughts

With my due date being roughly a month away, I can't help but almost constantly calculate when this little one might arrive. This is a very fun guessing game for me. I seriously think about it almost daily now. Though, I don't have to do the figuring, I know the dates by heart almost. So, here are the facts and my estimation.......

If Paddle comes on Big Big brother Widdle's timeline, he or she will be born on September 11. To be honest, this is one of the days I've blacklisted. I just feel a tinge weird about the baby being born on September 11 and would rather almost any other day.

If Paddle comes on Big Brother Waddle's timeline, he or she will be born on August 16th. This is fine with me. If the baby did come then, we would have plenty of time (idealy) to make it home for Widdle's 4th birthday. Also, it would kind of be fun to have four under four for a few days.

If Paddle comes on Big Sister Piddle's timeline, he or she will be born on August 13th. That is next Friday. One week from today. I'm not that ready to go and I don't particularly want the baby to come on Friday the 13th. It's not a blacklisted day, but not a favorite. Piddle's timeline was crazy though, and I am still not convinced that she was as early as the doctors thought she was. I keep mentioning that the baby could come as early as next Friday, but I am not expecting anything until the 16th(ish) or later.

The wrench in the figures is Widdle's birthday. His birthday is the 19th of August. I don't think it would be terrible, but I just don't really want the baby to share a birthday with Widdle. I love birthdays and I want each of them to have their own special day. A day that I can think about the days leading up to their very first birthday and well, I just don't want to have to split that time. Even now I am daily thinking about how I thought Widdle would never come out. I can picture myself walking around T@rget looking for castor oil and the pharmacist begging me not to use it. And here he is almost four years old. Those last weeks seemed so long, and the last 4 years seem to have gone so quickly. I could cry..... but I won't. At least not right now. I still have two weeks.

Here's the other thing. I've been reading "The Birth Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. It is an excellent resource just over flowing with information about birth and tips to help with labor. I so wish I had studied it exactly four years ago! Any who, with knowing how big our babies can be, I am really hoping this baby comes a little early. The dates I really like, with no real significance other than that I think they sound like nice birth dates, are Aug. 22nd or Sept 2nd. August 22nd would put three of our four children's birthdays on the same date. Also, it's a Sunday, so people would be easily available to help out with our littles. I'm not sure why I like September 2nd, I just like the sound of it. So, with reading this book and previous experience and all of that, I know that having your membranes swept is one way to move labor into action. I asked my midwife about this and she said that she would do it only if I asked and no earlier than 37 weeks. *Let me just add here that while I would like this baby to come early, my number one objective is for the baby to be healthy. If that means I carry him/her until the middle of September, I may be stinky and sweaty, but I will do it. I do not and will not (within my control) risk the health of this baby over wanting him/her to be smaller. And by smaller I mean smaller than 9 lbs. Preferably in the 7s somewhere.* With Waddle I had my membranes swept just a few days before 37 weeks, since Widdle was late and the sweeping never did anything for him, and he was born that night. Blah blah blah, with all of that, I will be 37 weeks and have an appointment on that day, the day before Widdle's birthday. Looking back over my own experience, that would have Paddle being born on Widdle's birthday, the very thing I am hoping to avoid! Though, if I moved my appointment to Widdle's birthday, the baby may come the next day, but I don't want to be at the doctor's office on his birthday either. I am not really worried about any of this timing, it's just a fun, silly thing for me to think about. It passes the time and helps me drown out all of the noise around me.

All of that to say, I am excited for this little one's arrival. Sometimes I am torn over the convenience of scheduling a c-section or induction, which are both options for me, but I know the ease of going into labor on my own and the benefits for the baby. While it is more chaotic for the rest of us, it is best and I can and can't wait for it to happen!