We are officially in the waiting stage.
Every morning I wake up and think, “Okay, if I went into labor today, what would that look like?” I assess childcare, what my plans are for the day, how far from the hospital I might be, and whether or not Micah is at work. I make a logistical outline in my head and then go about with the day’s activities.
And then I counter my preparation thoughts by reminding myself that it could easily be another week or two until this baby arrives.
And although most pregnant moms wouldn’t mind their baby coming a week early, I think most of us also have a specific “after date” in mind. That hope that the baby will come after we get that one final thing completed, usually in the 38th or 39th week of pregnancy.
It would be great if the baby could come…
…after the floors get installed downstairs.
…after we move our stuff into the new house.
…after I get that report filed for work.
…after my last class of the semester.
For me, my last day of teaching was yesterday, but I am hoping to come in tomorrow to wrap up a few things at work. And then I will be grading and emailing from home until this baby arrives. My “after” day is Wednesday, April 12th, but we’ll see what God has in store.
These final weeks of pregnancy are reminding me of being pregnant with Zianne.
With Z, I caught the WORST head cold two days after my due date, and I actually prayed she would be at least a week late, so I could recover my health before going into labor. She was, thankfully, nine days late, and even then the nurses offered me a humidifier in my hospital room because I still had a lingering cough and congestion after delivery. Likewise, I caught a weird cold and cough last week. It’s not as bad as the one I had with Zianne, but I still break into coughing fits a few times a day. I would love to have this symptom pass by before I go into labor. With Talitha, I was perfectly healthy during labor.
With Zianne, I was teaching two college classes. I found out at the last minute (literally the week of her due date), I would get a paid maternity leave and a substitute instructor for six weeks after she was born, but the whole semester was a scramble of emails and logistics regarding teaching. This time around I am ending my classes early and trying to finish my grading before the baby arrives. With Talitha, I was on summer break and had zero teaching responsibilities.
And there is something that feels a bit novel about this pregnancy… like it did with my first. We are in a new state with a new doctor and a new hospital and without a huge network of friends and family around us. Even though it’s my third pregnancy, it’s my first California pregnancy and that feels a bit unknown. I have all those feelings of expectation and mystery right now, since I can’t really imagine what this labor will be like. With Talitha, we were at the same hospital with the same doctors and had tons of friends and family around to help us out before and after delivery.
I have NO idea what the gender of this baby is… just like with Zianne. Part of me thinks it’s a girl. Part of me thinks it might be a boy. But, honestly, I really don’t know. With Talitha, we had an inkling she was a girl because the doctor’s found a pelvic cyst at the baby’s 20 week ultrasound. They didn’t divulge too many details to preserve our surprise, but we knew there was high chance it was an ovarian cyst and, therefore, she was a girl. I am thrilled to have no clue this time around!
This is me. Just waiting… eager, intrigued, tired, filled with joy.
