10 days overdue

I had my suspicions that our baby would be late, since most first timers arrive post-due. Not sure why they take longer to bake, but that's the word on the street. But! I didn't think I'd be 10 days late...or more. Here we are, bags are packed, house is cleaned, baby stuff is ready to go and no baby to speak of. There are some strategies you can try to get things moving but most have been traced back to folklore. Bottom line, the baby comes when it's ready.

I like to view this as my first test as a mom (I'm on the baby's clock, not vice versa). Meanwhile, I'm getting bigger by the moment; people can't avoid looking at me at Green Lake or the grocery store. And my parents have been truly good sports; they've been here for 2.5 weeks now, and I know they're getting antsy.

Honestly, I was more anxious 10 days ago when I felt like labor was gonna start AT ANY MINUTE!! The best way I can describe being overdue? It's like coming in for a landing, then the pilot pulls the plane back up, and while you're ascending and the flight attendant announces that instead of landing, you're gonna circle the airport for 2 more weeks. Ten days ago friends and family were calling me, Dave, and my folks for updates; my phone hasn't made a peep in a few days. It's pretty anticlimatic for us all.

Full term pregnancy is 37-42 weeks; the 40th week is the due date you're generally assigned, but it's not an exact science. The baby can arrive two weeks before or after and still be considered "on time". I chose to see the midwives at my hospital rather than an OB/GYN, and those lovely earth mothers take a more holistic approach to pregnancy and birth. They tell me that the latest research doesn't call for induction until 42 weeks unless there are complications. Since there aren't, I'm looking at next Saturday as the last resort. I hope it doesn't come to that...