Tomorrow we will meet our son!

I really cannot even believe it.  Time has just flown by with this pregnancy.  I remember finding out Christmas morning and announcing it to everyone that afternoon, and sometimes I feel like it has just been a whirlwind since then.  I think because I had Tula for this pregnancy, she kept me so busy and occupied that I didn't have time to sit around and think about it like I did with her.  In a way, I am glad for that.  I liked that it went by fast and everytime I thought about just how pregnant I really was it seemed I was at least a week farther along than the last time I had stopped to think about it.  The end has been tougher though.  The last six weeks, since Tula has been really mobile and fully walking, have been exhausting, to say the least.  I think just being in the last trimester can be tiring enough, but add on 110 degrees of heat every single day, and throw a toddler to chase around into the mix and the exhaustion seemed almost unbearable at times.  Thank God for Moms!  Both Mine and John's came out and braved the heat to spend a week or two with us cooking, cleaning, and helping out with Tula.  Letting us get lots of sleep and go out for dinners and that kind of fun stuff.  And don't get me wrong, for the most part I have amazing and perfect pregnancies, I have with both kids.  But the second time around in 2 years...the end gets a little long.  I feel like I have been anxious to meet him for weeks now, wondering if he would pop out  a little early and spare me the "joys" of going overdue.  But alas, that is not the case.  I am 40 weeks tomorrow, and my doctor and I have decided, for a couple different reasons, that I am going to get induced.  

First of all, it really annoys me to this day that I went a full week overdue with Tula and did not even so much as dialate on my own.  I was indced at exactly 41 weeks, as far as they would let me go having Gestational Diabetes.  Oh yeah, and I tried EVERYTHING with her to get her to come out on her own.  It was June in CT, the weather was great, and we were walking usually twice a day.  Mexican food, eggplant, pineapple.....castor oil?!?!  Nothing worked, I still had to be induced.  And I was really bummed about it, I really , really would love to have that fun experience of going into labor on my own, and I swore that the next time I was pregnant I would have that chance.  Oddly enough, now that I am here again and in the same boat, an induction doesn't seem like that bad of an idea and I don't remember it being awful at all.  It's not like I have spent the last year sitting around feeling sorry for myself about Tula's. I had a wonderful birth with her, and although I was induced and had a much more intense labor than was probably neccessary, I was still able to do it without an epidural or any other pain relief and that was the most important part to me.  I can only pray tomorrow's induction goes as smoothly as the last.  

So here is the plan.  I am to go to the hosptital at 5:30 am and check myself in.  If I am at 3 cm (which we are really hoping for, I was at 2 cm at my appointment on Monday) the doctor is going to just break my water for me with the hopes that that would send me into active labour right away.  If I am not yet at 3 cm, they will use a cervix ripening agent for a couple hours and then break my water when I am at three cm.  I have already made the Doc promise that if the nurse checks me at 5:30 and I am at 3 cm already, he will come to the hospital right away and not make me wait around all morning for him.  I will post a birth story as soon as possible, I am hoping it is really quick and we will be holding our son by lunchtime tomorrow!  

Baby Boy, I feel like I have waited forever and a day to meet you.  I absolutely cannot wait to hold you in my arms, to smell your new baby smell, and look at your perfect face and rest easy knowing you have arrived safe and sound.  You are going to bring so much to our family, and I cannot wait to meet you and get to know you.  Doing this the second time around, I know I have so much more of a grasp for just how much I am going to love you, and how much I already do.   Mommy and Daddy and Tula cannot wait to meet you and welcome you into our lives.  You are so very loved.

Today is an emotional day for me knowing it is my last day with just one "baby".  I have adjusted to living life with  one year old and I totally understand how easy they are compared to a newborn.  On the other hand, having went through the newborn stage already with Tula, I realize how fast it goes and how precious those moments are.  I know today will be emotional for me with Tula, I keep getting those feeling of "this will be the last time we get to do this or that"... but I am just trying to relax and enjoy today and not think about it too much, it gets me way too emotional.  

Tula, this year with you as been a delight and I have loved being able to pour all my love into you and only you.  There have been so many special times, jut the two of us and although this parenting thing is a constant learning curve, you showed me what is is to be a Mommy and how special the love is between a Mother and a child.  We have become the best of friends and you are the light of my life! Although this is going to be an adjustment period for all of us, maybe you the most, I want you to always know I just love you with all my heart.  I am so excited for you to meet your Baby Brother, I know you will be the best Big Sister in the whole wide world!