The Story of a Lifetime: Due Date Day!

Using the picture from this past week, at 39.5 weeks, that's already been posted...but you get the general idea.

No word from baby as of yet....except that it's more than a little comfortable in its current environment at this point and has no intention of coming out in the near future. The pregnancy app on my phone actually saw fit to send an alert this morning stating that I have reached 40 weeks and today is delivery date. Really??? I hadn't noticed. Thanks for the heads up. It'd be nice if you could kindly inform baby of that fact.

Contractions are enough of a nuisance to diminish the desire or ability to do much of anything right now....but not enough to go anywhere or lead to a baby. We had a huge party to attend tonight but they're frequent enough to not feel so great and nausea has set in. Church will probably not happen in the morning in order to keep little people from the congestion and stuff they seem to always bring home with them. Long periods of sleep are non existent at this point so I seem to wake at 3:30am and be up for the day. The quiet hours are pretty blissful....so I lay pondering all of life in white moonlight shadows. I find it a bit humorous, as many times as we've done this now, that with every move or change of positions husband sits up alertly asking if I need anything or if contractions are too hard to handle. I assure him they are reasonably non existent and to return to sleep.

And just so we're all on the same page here....that whole full moon theory is a crock of crap.....still! This is the 2nd pregnancy in a row we have proven it entirely, woefully false. There are people...thousands of them....in this world that really actually swear by it...midwives, dr's, nurses, moms throughout the world....that will tell you it is proven fact that more babies are born on a full moon. But to the uterus made of steel....apparently full moons do not phase the gestating, full term womb. So, we sat and watched in awe as the massive, golden orb rose over the hills last night, shadows of tree limbs stretched across looking like drawings that fill pages of children's books....and then we slept....until I woke at 3:30 and watched it roll across the night sky filling our room in soft white light and gently illuminating husband's sleeping form. I then continued to watch the sun come up...and the full moon sank low onto the horizon....and faded into the west...without one single worthwhile contraction.

And in the midst of all the sleeplessness I try and wrap my head around the fact that in order to get a baby here I must labor and bring forth our baby. No matter how many times one does it....the thought is just a daunting one. As absolutely life altering and amazing as the process of birth is....the power that it requires of mind and body are overwhelming and somewhat supernatural. It sounds so easy...it seems so easy...knowing women do this everyday...everywhere. It seems so natural and so....common. Yet as the power of labor and birth overtake body and new life is pushed into this world it is a very overwhelming, supernatural event. There is nothing even remotely common about birthing a baby. So I lay quietly in darkness praying over the birth of this sweet new person that moves within. I prepare mentally for it and I wonder how different it will be from the others. My heart trembles with excitement and anticipation of meeting this new person we have waited so long to see...yet stands sobered with the respect that is required of labor and birth. As I write at this very moment, one of the sweetest friends in all the world, due 5 days before me, currently labors with her own baby. And next it will be my turn.

Preoccupation reigns at this point and concentration on anything is difficult. So, from now until baby I fear this blog may become a bit boring and a little redundant. But, I will post as soon as anything gets started.

And for lack of absolutely anything else better to do right now...and for the sheer entertainment of me...cause I seriously doubt this amuses anyone as much as it does my own self....here's the 40 week pics of each pregnancy since our 1st twin pregnancy. It never ceases to amaze me how different each one is, how different I carry each one and what their weight differences were.

40 weeks with twins #1 (babies 4&5). They came 3 days early weighing 6'4 & 7'2.

40 weeks with baby #6. He weighed 8'2 and was 2 days late.

40 weeks with Baby #7. He was 5 days late and weighed 9'5.

39 weeks with Baby #8. She was 5 days early...our only early single baby yet...and weighed 7'14. And yes, the picture is horrifically awful and blurry...but it's the only picture I bothered to take at 39 weeks....because I never thought I wouldn't be taking a 40 week picture!