Patience

Not so sure why I am so set on her coming early.

Perhaps I was thinking because Greg and I were both born early that she might be inclined to be early too? Maybe it is because my feet have begun to swell and my back hurts.

Greg is ready too. He keeps telling me how anxious he is to hold his little girl. He would most likely write this himself if the Mizzou Journalism Ph. D program was not consuming 90 percent of his time right now. I feel like as we get closer to her due date we are finding all sorts of things we have not done yet. I've created a two page list, he's finished one list and made a new list. We cannot help that we are constantly planning I guess.

My parents are flying into town later today to help me prepare and possibly urge Miss P on a little. I like to call it "cheerleading."

I'm trying to wrap up some smaller projects around the house, get all the birthday/anniversary cards sent in the mail and catch up on sleep (as I say this at 2 a.m. awake yet again). Right now I am able to sleep for a little more than six hours at a time before I wake up. People may read this and think I am crazy, but I cannot wait till there is a baby to wake up for.

This morning I woke up and found my Baylor ZTA sorority sister Jen had her baby girl overnight. Part of me wishes I was in the same boat. I am so happy for Jen and her husband Ryan. They will be wonderful parents.

I wish there was something I could do to make Miss P want to arrive. I keep telling myself I have no control over this--and I know I don't.

Someone told me if there are things to get done around the house she might not feel like she can come...but that is really hard when you moved into a house pregnant and still have an office that looks like a junk pile looming around you.

I need prayers for patience. 

I scheduled another doctor's appointment for next Friday (10/14) in case she has not arrived yet. In a lot of ways I feel like a little kid waiting for summer vacation to start.

Are we there yet...

So I'm asking this question literally as the "child in me" refuses to come out...

I'm not super impatient, but yesterday I started to get that way. I know I still have a week left until Miss P's "guess date" but she keeps making me think she might be early. Yesterday Greg and I went to my last prescheduled doctor's appointment. Miss P was half asleep and had a low heart rate on the Doppler, so the OB sent us over to the hospital to be hooked up to some monitors.

They got me situated in a "pregnancy triage room" which is basically just a labor and delivery room equipped for emergencies. I'd been there before back in June when I hit my head on the chandelier in our living room.  I sat on the hospital bed in the room. Then they hooked me up to the fetal monitor and started measuring her heart rate and mine to see if I had any contractions. They also gave me grape and cranberry juice to drink. I was actually happy and positive while we were at the hospital, despite the fact that I very quickly discovered we would not be having a baby.

Within five minutes her heart rate was back up to 140 (babies are supposed to have a heart rate between 120 and 160 during this time of pregnancy). Within 10 minutes she was already awake, kicking, and moving around. Greg would talk to her and her heart rate would go up. The nurse and technician said she was perfectly happy in her "home." All I could think is that my little girl needed some sort of dress rehearsal to prepare herself for coming out.

While in the room, I was made aware of all the details of a labor and delivery room.  There was a green cart with all the pain solutions one might want right in front of the window, a board with patient information (with a section for the baby's information too), no nasal tissues (which I thought odd), comment cards to praise the hospital staff (very clearly placed in the middle of the wall in front of the hospital bed), one chair for a guest, a food tray and small bathroom. I kept thinking to myself that if they took all the medical equipment out the room slightly resembled a dorm-room setup.

We had a nurse, technician, resident and doctor assigned to us. We spoke with each one. They were all nice. After they had taken my blood pressure and observed me and the baby for awhile they said she was fine, I was fine and we could go home. They said they needed to contact my doctor before they let me leave. This took the longest amount of time compared to the rest of the visit.

After about an hour in the triage they "discharged" us. This basically meant they said to go home and hope that we have our baby in the next week and a half or so. I've had a pretty uneventful pregnancy so far (knock on wood, or fiberboard since my Ikea desk is all I have).

So after this adventure Greg and I went to TGIFridays and had dinner, and maybe out last date as a childless couple. I'm going to miss our times out together, but we both expressed that we cannot wait to be parents. That trip took a lot out of me, but I am hoping that is all Miss P needed to feel confident enough to leave the womb.