So how does Dec 5th sound?

So after a 4 days of start/stop labor, my midwife and I decided tomorrow will be the day if Shepherd doesn't make his arrival sooner. I have an olympic size pool of amniotic fluid in my uterus. Big surprise huh? No, not twins....WATER! Anyway, both my midwives agreed that sometimes with that amount of fluid your body can be on the cusp of labor and just can't quite get there. Which sort of explains this past week for me. And I'd be all for waiting for it to get there except I'm going on no sleep with two kids and a husband that is trying to be Mr Mom and business owner.

The good news is that I'm already dilated to 2cm. I've never dilated before labor. Always high, tight, firm, thick, etc. So that was a positive sign for me that I'm not, in fact, crazy and I am experiencing some contractions.

So..the plan is to go to the hospital tomorrow morning and my midwife will break my waters. She's confident that no other meds (pitocin) will be needed and my body will kick into gear. Then, as soon as I'm ready, I'll get in the tub and have my waterbirth!

Yesterday after thinking about this option I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I prayed about it and then felt peace. I felt like my body would tell me what to do. Then at 3am this morning contractions hit every 4 mins. They puttered out 7am. I was able to sleep two hours and then woke up again feeling cramping. This was my sign that I cannot do this over and over again for another two weeks. So I made my decision that Dec 5th it is unless Shepherd decides to come sooner.

Anyhow, we'll see what happens today and tonight, but I feel good about my decision to break the waters tomorrow and let labor come. I'm excited and nervous. I can't wait to meet my son. To hold him, to nurse him, to see him. I'm planning an unmedicated waterbirth, so I'm preparing for the work of labor. So I get nervous every so often, but for the most part I feel peace and I'm ready.

I'll post pics and my birth story as soon as I can!