Dear Presley

Dear Presley,

It's your Mommy.  I'm the one who has kept you well fed and safe the last 38.5 weeks.  What a roller coaster it's been!  Now here we are at the very end and I don't want to sound pushy, but GET OUT OF MY BELLY!!!!

The beginning of February marked the "safe zone" when you could be born healthy, albeit early.  At first I was anxious, but not overly so.  There was still some preparation to keep my mind off of your impending arrival and although I was uncomfortable, I could manage pretty well.

Then came February 6th.  My midwife checked to see where we were at and discovered that I was 3 cm dilated.  Suddenly your arrival seemed within reach, which was awesome because it coincided perfectly with my prediction for your birthday (Feb. 7th) as well as the heightened discomfort of being pregnant.  To help speed things along, she did this lovely little procedure called "sweeping the membranes".  It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but later that evening brought on a bunch of contractions, which was exciting.  The weekend came and went with no baby.  Sunday morning I went to the hospital at around 1am because I had a contraction that lasted over 10 minutes non-stop. When you have babies, you'll understand why that was worrisome.  After some monitoring, they determined things were fine and sent us home.  Not before she let us know that she could feel your head when she checked me and let us know that it really should be "any time now".

Along came Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Each day brought more discomfort as it felt like you were sinking lower and lower, ready to make your big entrance.  Everything has gotten more difficult and more painful.  Each night that I go to bed, I pray my water will break in my sleep like it did with your big sister.  The pain of labor seems like a small price to pay to be relieved of the pressure of a human being in my guts.

Then there's today.  Friday, February 14th.  Valentine's day and Oregon's birthday.  A perfect day for a little girl to be born, don't you think?!  We've got less than 10 hours left before Valentine's day is over.  If I labor quickly, it could be your birthday.  Wouldn't that be swell?!  I think so!!  I have a doctor's appointment this evening and I know it's probably not going to happen, but I plan to ask the midwife about induction.  I was really hoping to avoid that route.  It's just getting so hard to do even the simplest things.  My feet are swollen so much that shoes barely fit.  My sciatica is so painful when I walk that it makes me want to cry.  Sitting and standing are both equally as uncomfortable while you're resting right down in my pelvis.  Each wiggle and movement spurs a new ache and as the minutes roll by, I wonder when you'll finally be here.

All the miserable side effects aside, I'm just so ready to see your face!!  To see if you have lots of hair or if you're bald.  To see what color your eyes are and what your personality is like.  Are you as big as you feel?  What will your cry sound like?  How much will you look like the ultrasound picture we got last month?  I'm ready for dirty diapers, crying, and swollen, leaky boobs.  I don't get much sleep now anyway, so why not lose sleep to the little miracle we never thought was possible?   What better reason to be exhausted than because there is a tiny human who needs food and comfort every hour or two?!  

So, what do you say?  Wanna be born today?  Just give that bag of water a good strong headbutt if you are!

Love,
Mommy