Late baby

Well, my first and second due dates have passed (there were 3 actually; all expected dates used different variables). I guess we're going to have closer to a St. Patty's Day baby than a Valentines baby, good thing I didn't buy a bunch of Valentine outfits like I wanted to. Funny how 40 weeks can go by so fast, but once you get past that it feels like an eternity. These last few days have felt like weeks. It doesn't help that people continuously ask if the baby's here yet, it makes me feel like I'm waaaay more overdue than I actually am.

Doc appt: At my appt. this morning, the doc checked me and I am now dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced. She was surprised that I haven't felt any contractions with that progress. We won't start thinking about induction until Monday

Expectations of labor and birth:

• I am not going into it with my heart set on an epidural. I don't know what to expect, and if I decide that the pain is bearable, I'm not gonna scream for drugs.
• With that being said, I can't count on myself to be tough enough for natural birth, therefore; yes, have the epidural ready. 
• I expect birth to be lots of work, and I imagine that I will be sweating more than I do after my hardest workout. I don't know why, but when I think of labor the first thing that pops into my head is the picture of me dripping sweat. 
• I don't know how long it's going to last. I could take forever to dilate or I could progress fairly quickly. I don't know how long I will have to push for; maybe 45 minutes, maybe hours. 
• I expect that breathing techniques are going to be of utmost importance, and I'm going to completely forget about all the things I learned from our birthing class. 
• I expect I will need to find focus points and use objects (or hands) as stress relievers. 
• I expect that labor will seem like an eternity, but when it's all over I will look back and think it seemed like 5 minutes. 

Expectations of being a mom:

• I expect that I will have an unconditional love for her once I see her and I assume my heart will feel like it's going to explode.
• I expect that I will be very possessive and never want to hand her over to anyone. I promise I will try not to be too over the top, but it will take some time!
• I expect I will not sleep for longer than a few hours at a time. I will just have to try to take naps when baby takes naps.
• I expect that I will be using my dry shampoo more than I have ever used it in my life.
• I expect our house will not be in its tip-top shape, ever again.
• I expect that I won't lose all the pregnancy weight right away.
• I expect that I will be just as emotional, if not more emotional, than I currently am. Hard to believe I can top this.

As you can see, there are no expectations of labor and birth, it's unpredictable to say the least. It all ends up being worth it, though, when you can guarantee the expectations of the aftermath; being a mom. 

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