Well, here I am.
Two days shy of my estimated due date of October 12.
And no signs of labor.

I’ve tried it all.
Yesterday I ate an entire pineapple for breakfast. About half a bottle of hot sauce on a burrito for lunch. And have been walking every day even though it hurts just to stand. But let’s back up a bit…

The 39th week started with my birthday, as well as my weekly appointment. I was more excited to find out what my doctor had to say than I was about any birthday celebration. The good news is that I have actually started to dilate, but only to one cm. The bad news is that I wasn’t nearly as effaced as she estimated the previous week (she guessed it to be maybe 20%, but noted that she didn’t even like to put a number on it when it was that low).

While the doctor did say that anything could happen and that I could go into labor over the weekend, she also made plans to see me in another week. She still gave us the option to induce labor at any time. In fact, we could have left there with an official date set. But with the way my body is progressing, there’s a good chance it would be a long, hard labor if we force it. So as tempting as it is to meet Iris soon, we have decided to wait till the next appointment to set an induction (with fingers crossed that she’ll come on her own anyway).

This Thursday is our next visit and, depending on how things have changed, we could very well end up with our original induction date of October 14. But except for the usual Braxton Hicks contractions and the occasional cramps, I don’t feel like too much is changing. Even if that’s the case, the latest my doctor will let me go is 41 weeks, which means that October 20th is the absolute latest that we would schedule anything.

As mentally and physically done I am with being pregnant, I just try to keep in mind that labor can happen at any moment and that a lot of times all of these checks of progress mean absolutely nothing. I’m trying to enjoy the last few days of No Baby Land, but it is hard when it’s all I think about and all I feel.

I did have a lovely birthday thanks to my friends & family. It started with a near two hour prenatal massage by a midwife. I was hoping that the pressure points might trigger labor, but no such luck. At least it made me feel a million times better! Another amazing gift was that my mom surprised me by cleaning our house from top to bottom while I was at work. Vacuuming is the last thing I feel like doing these days, so it was much appreciated.

Well, it looks like we could have a 40 week pregnancy blog (or at this rate a 67 week post), but only time will tell…

For now though, all you get is a silly photo of our other baby.