Forty Weeks...

Today is my due date and there is no sign of baby; I haven't even had a proper contraction yet. My lazy cervix has stayed at 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced for the past three weeks. Of course, Ton Ton is stressed out -- the way he gets when we have a plane to catch and I'm still doing laundry a few hours before takeoff. He seems to believe that calling every hour, on the hour, to inquire about the state of my uterus, will send me into labor. That technique may work to get me to run errands, but it's not working on Belly!

I too am anxious to meet our baby, but figure that I can use a few more nights of limited sleep before they turn into nights of no sleep at all. Plus, I really want to go see "Away we go"...I got priorities people!

Last time I went to the doctor, he told me that I will be induced on July 8 if the baby hasn't come by then. 41 weeks and 2 days. I do not want to be induced, it is not part of my plan/pipe dream! I saw the Business of Being Born, and Ricki Lake said that all those extra interventions are bad for baby. I am supposed to go into labor naturally and have the kid without any drugs. I even considered doing it at home in a birthing pool, but I care too much about my hardwood floors.

Why I choose to believe in Ricki Lake instead of personal experience is beyond me. In the past few months, three of my friends have had their births induced and they have nothing but good things to say about their experiences (and their epidurals!). They all had beautiful, healthy babies that are thriving. The film also implies that mothers who have c-sections don't bond well with their kids. Well, my brother and I were both born via cesarean section, and I can assure you that Big E had no trouble bonding with us. We are actually still trying to completely cut off the umbilical cord.

Despite all of that, I'd still like this baby to come when he or she is good and ready and not thanks to Pitocin. But I've also decided that if Belly needs to be induced out of me, I will just take it as a compliment to my uterus. Maybe there's a whirlpool tub and a plasma TV in there!

Flexibility -- it's what being a parent is all about, right?

Other plans/pipe dreams that may fall by the wayside: breastfeeding for a year and cloth diapers!