39 weeks - pregnancy update

Time goes so slowly for a pregnant woman, but it seems to stand still by the time she reaches the final stage of pregnancy. I have plenty to keep busy: two kids, errands, paperwork to fill out, send, and file, cooking and cleaning, grocery shopping, personal study and reading, making sure everything is ready for baby...and yet I count down every day, hoping that the next will be the time of my deliverance.

I don't know why I am so surprised I am still waiting for this baby to come: Eve and Sophie both came well after their due date...I guess, I was hanging on to the hope that since this was my third pregnancy, the baby would grace us earlier, the path having been already made for her.

At my 34th week appointment, my midwife got me thinking that the birth was imminent: I was 1 cm dilated and had had a few contractions. She even wanted me to go to the maternity ward to be monitored. I realised soon after I left that she simply did not take into consideration forgetting that this was my third pregnancy. That following week, convinced that the baby was due any day, I rushed to get her "trousseau" or hospital bag ready, made sure I had all the paperwork filled out and ready for hospital admission, and made some necessary arrangments to ensure a smooth back-to-school for Eve and Sophie, should the baby arrive before or during that time.

Then the waiting began. I had a lot of contractions, off and on. I even felt the baby come down, but it was never it. We had a few false alarms, I even went to bed with my make-up and contacts (yes, the vanity!) thinking that if I had to go into the clinic that night, it would cut down the time to get going.

Fast-forward 5 weeks and we're still waiting. The waiting is getting more frustrating with every passing day. You see, Levi is due to go to Florence, Italy to start a sculpting program on the 30th. I was hoping that the baby would come early so he would get to spend some extra time with her and it would cut down our grace period before we could join him later, in Italy.