We made it

Here we are, January 4th, and Charlotte is still in my tummy. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. This issue I've worried about pretty much since I got pregnant is now officially not an issue anymore. My lesser worry, a big snowstorm, does not appear to be too much of a possibility in the next 10 days either. BIG sigh of relief.

Brad and Kim's wedding was lots of fun, I can't believe they're actually married now! Mostly I can't believe Brad is married now. It's always weird when someone you grew up with gets married I suppose. But everything went well, I managed to do some slow dancing, sobbed through most of the ceremony, first dance, daddy/daughter dance etc. and even managed to FREAK Will out when he saw a random puddle of water on the floor in the place I had agreed to meet him before heading to the reception. I found him running down the hall with a panicked look on his face yelling "Are you OK?" It's nice to know he cares.

So now, I am kind of at loose ends. I really appreciate the extra time Charlotte is giving me to get ready, but I honestly expected to have a baby by now so I am kind of just hanging out at the house, napping a lot, slowly putting up curtain rods and VERY slowly getting the Christmas stuff put away. It is a really strange mix of super-relaxing and super-tense. I am constantly paying attention for a gush of water, or a contraction that hurts in THAT way. I am making a pork shoulder for dinner tonight, and when I started it cooking this morning it was strange to think I might not be here to take it out of the oven 8 hours later.

It's also weird because if I were going away on a trip for 2 days and leaving Emily here with grandparents I would make sure all her clothes were clean and put away in the right place, her bed made "lasagna style" with several layers of clean sheets and waterproof pads in case of an accident, plenty of food she likes easily accessible, the house clean etc. The problem is, I don't know WHEN I'm leaving this time, so I am trying my best to keep everything perfectly ready at all times but it's tough because I'll let you in on a little secret...I don't usually live that way. More often than not, I pull her clothes out of a (clean) laundry basket to get her dressed vs. her closet. If some clothes or sheets are dirty, I usually don't wash them right away because we have more. If she has eaten all of her favorite snacks or dinners I don't worry because I know what she likes and I can just go shopping and make some more food. I try to keep the house clean, but it certainly doesn't stay clean and I always work best on a deadline which I don't have this time. Well I DO have a BIG deadline, but I don't get to know when it is.

I did actually think I was in labor last night for awhile...my back hurt so badly that it woke me up out of a dead sleep at 1:15AM. I decided I was having back labor (I just KNOW I'm going to have back labor, as much as she has ground on my back during this pregnancy) so I stumbled out of bed and went to the bathroom (which is always the first order of business upon waking). In my sleep-dazed state, I was thinking to myself "If this is very early back labor, I need to go to the hospital and get an epidural NOW!" because boy did it hurt. I tried talking to Charlotte and telling her that I didn't mind her coming now, but there was a much easier way to do it for both of us. If she could just turn her face towards my back we'd all be happier.

Once I laid back down in bed (on my left side this time) I felt a little better and soon I was back to sleep so it obviously wasn't labor. I suspect it was a bit of digestive upset, possibly caused by my over-indulging in frozen buckeye filling I discovered in the freezer before bedtime :-(

Emily seems to realize something is afoot, because she has been spending a lot of time in "No, Mommy, no!" mode. This morning she wanted noodles, she didn't care that we didn't have any noodles, then she wanted yogurt, no not this yogurt, YES WE DO HAVE OTHER YOGURT, she wanted to see the doggie visiting Tank next door, she wanted Tank and his friend to come BACK outside, SHE wanted to go outside, she wanted to watch a pony show (???), she wanted to be picked up but she was not willing to use her words to ask and say please etc., all liberally sprinkled with crying and whining. Luckily there are also times during the day where she'll sing songs about how much she loves me and be a total sweetheart, so I guess she's basically just being a 2 year old. Just a more whiney one than she usually is.

So, as much as it surprises me, it's looking like I might actually make it to my 39 week Dr appointment this week. We'll see what's up then, and we'll see if they start trying to schedule me for an induction again like they did last time. But no matter how well I feel, and no matter how few signs of impending labor I am having, this baby WILL be here in the next 3.5 weeks, and most likely earlier! I'll hold out hope that Charlotte continues to be agreeable and won't decide to come while I'm at the grocery store or just laying down to sleep for the night. But I've been so lucky already I will definitely take whatever happens and be happy!