Another Weekend Gone By: 41 Weeks Pregnant

Since we hit full term in this pregnancy, a bit of sadness comes with Monday’s appearance.

I know babies don’t come when it’s convenient.  But if Katherine came over a weekend it just would have been so great.

My dad works out of state now and commutes home on the weekends.  It is something my family has dealt with before, and although very hard they’ve always persevered.

So whenever a weekend approached, we hoped Katherine would come for several reasons.  I think this past weekend was the hardest to watch come and go.  Spencer had Friday and yesterday off from work.  The weekend would have allowed siblings to not miss school.  My dad was home and would have been able to come to Jackson when she arrived.

Family has always been something so very important to me.  And especially growing up where we moved quite a bit and didn’t have our extended family around, our immediate family was everything.  We always had each other no matter how circumstances changed or trials we encountered.  So having family here for Katherine’s arrival is a big deal for me.  My parents never lived close to their families as we were all born, so they had to fly in for births.  And somehow it always worked out.  I’m sure at some point we will live somewhere where we aren’t just a several hours drive from family.  But for now, we are so family will be able to come and welcome our little girl into the world.  Her arriving in the middle of the week might not be convenient and might mean some family members can’t be here, but we know we are blessed to live as close as we do to them so that at least some of them can come.

Yesterday marked a week overdue for us, and at our last appointment on Friday, the doctor said we would need to be induced on Wednesday if she hasn’t come yet.  She isn’t here, so the plan is to be at the hospital tomorrow morning to get this process started.  We have an appointment later today, so we’ll be updated a bit on how K is doing.  And we know she could still come today, but it looks like we will be getting induced tomorrow.  I’ve had a couple people ask why we didn’t want to be induced, and so here are a few short reasons:  We are just more comfortable with the natural process; I can’t eat or drink after midnight tonight; I won’t be able to get out of bed much because of having to be monitored more; There is a higher chance of needing an epidural because of possible harder contractions; There is a higher chance for needing a c-section.  We’ll see what happens!

We would have loved to have been able to go into labor naturally and spend as much time at home as possible before heading to the hospital.  That way we could go to the hospital for the end of it and need less intervention.  But we’ve said all along that we know things could go differently, and we will face whatever comes with joy.  We know the Lord has heard the desires of our heart; He has listened to our prayers; He is trustworthy and faithful.  He will walk with us through this journey, and we know He will bring Katherine into the world in the way that will bring Him the most glory.  And we are blessed to have the doctors we do.  We really do trust them.

So in the midst of many uncertainties and transitions, we live in gratitude.  We have wonderful, God-fearing doctors.  We live close to family that can come celebrate with us.  We serve a faithful and good God.  Life is about to change, but our God is constant.  Life’s about to get a lot better; children are a gift from the Lord.  And we already praise Him for ours.