Ding!

This baby is good and cooked. Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks so, since I’ve essentially made no progress cervix-wise since last week. Nope. All my doc’s other patients went into labor the night before my appointment, “and not one of them was due yet”. (Why does he torture me with such tales?) Me? Still under 1cm dilated and still working on the softening part. I think M is secretly praying I hold out until next Wednesday, which is when he’ll be eligible for FMLA and will be able to take a nice two or three week break with me and the baby.

The doc asked me about fetal movement, which I had been a little freaked about on the way to his office. I hadn’t felt this baby move ever since I was up in the wee hours of the morning (not sleeping well at all). He hadn’t moved all throughout my morning routine and I had all sorts of scary imaginings of “fetal demise” (stupid baby shows) on the way in to the office, but figured that maybe the baby was tired from being up with me all night. Sure enough, I felt him while in the waiting room and brushed it off. My doc did no such thing. He hooked me up to the electronic fetal monitor and did a non-stress test. When all looked OK, I was released and told to do kick counts everyday from here on out, and to call if I notice anything out of the ordinary.

In the meantime, every one is waiting with baited breath. I can’t miss work without being asked if I’ve begun mat leave, and every time I call someone, they wonder if it’ll be me announcing “I’m in labor”. I’m not complaining. It’s just that I’m just watching and waiting along with the rest of you. Kind of like when everyone is watching and waiting for a person to appear and that person walks up behind them and says “whatcha lookin’ at?” Yup. That’s how it feels.

In the meantime, I ordered and received my Moby wrap! Last night I practiced tying it onto M (while he pretended to be a bible character because of all the drapey fabric must have made him feel like Moses or something) and gave him a tour of how the baby goes in, then later I practiced tying it onto myself – which doesn’t work so well with a big, pregnant belly. Still, it’s the piece of baby “equipment” that I’m the most excited to use. I can’t exactly explain why. I think it’s because I can “wear” the baby and be hands-free. It intrigues me. Inexplicably so.

Now if I can just get him here. . .

~Nichole