Bono's Arrival Part 1: 39 Weeks

June 29, 2012:

Today, I am 39 weeks along in my pregnancy.  It is truly hard to believe that everything went by so quickly.  It seems like just yesterday I was telling Eric (via iMessage...laying right next to him in bed) that we were expecting, and now I am looking forward to meeting our little guy or girl at any moment.

The fact of the matter is though, that Bono will be arriving sooner than we thought.  A few weeks ago, our doctor starting talking about inducing at 39 weeks due to her concerns about my swelling.  After some blood tests, which came up good and showed no signs of preeclampsia, though we thought that induction was no longer an option out there.  On Wednesday, we went in for what we thought was a routine 39 week appointment, but at the end of the appointment our doctor brought up induction again. She seemed concerned that my body was not progressing toward getting Bono out and my swelling is still really bad.  We were a bit taken aback to have this brought up again, because we thought it was behind us, so we told her that we would have to think about it and get back to her.  I was also concerned with how much weight I have gained and how big Bono is (wanting to make sure that I still have a chance of natural delivery and no C-Section).  Thus, she ordered an ultrasound, which we were able to get done that afternoon.  Bono measured in at right around 39.5 weeks along and 40 weeks along in some areas, giving us an estimated size of around 8 pounds.  That made us both feel a little better about the idea of inducing, since we would like to keep the baby from growing too large, and my original due date was July 1st, which would be this coming Sunday.  We wonder now if that is the more precise due date, and if we never should have added the 5 extra days getting us to July 6th.

Bono's foot...maybe with Migrin toes? :)

When we left the hospital that night, I was in a state of shock.  Thoughts came flooding at me from all directions.  Because I haven't had any contractions, and my body really isn't changing for labor, I really thought I had at least a week left...a week to get more of work wrapped up...a week to work on final nursery projects...a week to clean up the house...a week to get my thoughts together.  Now though, we were considering forgoing that week and meeting Bono in just days!!!  I admit that I was also freaked about the idea of becoming a mother.  Don't get me wrong, I CANNOT WAIT to be Bono's mommy, but I also question what type of mom I will be.  Do I have enough patience, will I be able to be unselfish with my time, how will I work AND give Bono all of the love and attention he/she needs?  These thoughts and more put me in a bit of a stupor for most of the evening.  We continued our night stopping off at Hobby Lobby for some final nursery items (I was now in full nesting mode!) and then to Qdoba for dinner (maybe some spicy food would put me in labor without induction).  When we got home, I immediately called my mom to give her the news.  It was one of those moments that I really wish my mom lived across the street, instead of a couple hundred miles away.  I knew she couldn't tell us what to do, but I still needed to talk through it all with her and try to gather my own thoughts.  Eric & I continued to talk about it that evening, and the more we talked the more we felt it was the right choice.  Our doctor definitely thought it was the best course of action (for a variety of reasons...one of which I do believe is because she will be on vacation next week and wants to deliver the baby, but also because she doesn't like having her patients go past 40 weeks as it apparently poses additional risks to the baby).  As we discussed it, one thing that Eric mentioned that brought comfort to both of us was a reminder of our prayers.  We have been praying for a long time that God would give our doctor and her staff wisdom to direct us toward whatever is safest for Bono & I.  Now, we had a recommendation from the doctor but were unsure if we should take it our not.  Do we wait until 40 weeks??  We "slept" on the decision (there was very little actual sleeping involved), and the next morning decided that we were going to go for it as long as our doctor still thought it was the best course of action.  When I talked to her yesterday afternoon, she said that since the baby is pretty big already, she would recommend it for us, rather than letting Bono continue to grow in size.  That said, the decision was made final, and now Eric and I are preparing to head to the hospital this evening to begin the induction process!!

It is hard to believe that by the end of the weekend, we will be parents.  I can't wait to meet our little blessing from heaven and hold him or her in my arms.  Although, I won't lie and say that I am not scared about, I embrace the adventure ahead and cannot wait for it to begin!