Going by the LMP (if you don’t know, don’t ask), Malachi should be here by now.  Of course, we all know my kids don’t follow medical terminology and are pretty snug in their environments.  They also come out big.  Well, really big.

Today I had what was termed a “biophysical profile.”  Basically, this means that I’m past due and they did an ultrasound to make sure baby was doing good.  Turns out, he’s doing great.  He’s quite comfy up in my belly.  He’s got room to stretch his legs…which he did during the ultrasound and my belly went sideways and the sonographer jumped as Malachi knocked the probe off of him (Yes, he knocked the probe off).  She was quite freaked out and I informed her that he does this.  All day.  It’s really interesting to watch my round tummy go completely to one side.  He’s also head down which is very nice to see.

And, true to my babes, he’s big.  Somewhere around 8 lbs 12 oz. to 9 lbs.  Don’t freak out now…my biggest two were 9 lbs 6 oz.  I could not imagine what size my kids would be if I had twins!

I’m still at 3 cm (at least he could tell this time) dilated.  Malachi is still really high up though…meaning he’s still disengaged.

We talked with Dr. J.  He gave us options. Because he’s that good of a doctor.  He was really okay, even without me mentioning it, to wait until next week to schedule an induction.  He was also okay with doing one this week.  Since I’m 3 cm, I’m, yet again, a good candidate for an induction.  Dr. J will not break my water unless his head is engaged.  In fact, Dr. J is pretty much all for avoiding an unnecessary c-section…have I ever mentioned how good of a doctor he is?

After Mark and I talked alone, Mark was more comfortable with going with the 9th for the induction.  I agreed with him and we are so ready to meet our little man.

Plus, Mark wins our family baby pool!
Plus, 3+9=12 and that’s really cool…3-9-12.  Yeah, we’re number nerds around here.  Now, if he was born on 3-6-12, that’d be really cool too.

It seems Malachi is taking after Ge’s side of the family and does not quite know which way is out.  I went in for a 39 week check and Dr. J could not even tell I was dilated, Malachi was up so high.  He attributed it to my experienced uterus being stretched out (I’m told that guys don’t like the word uterus but it’s part of being a girl so you guys can skip this part) and possibly to a lot of fluid. 

I haven’t progressed but, of course, I’m still dilated…it’s just Malachi was so high he couldn’t tell.

Despite Malachi forgetting which way is down, he is very healthy and, it seems, content to stay in side.  So, you still have until the 9th to guess when he’ll come!  You can do that by leaving a comment here.

Next appointment, we’ll be past due and have an ultrasound.

To say I’m disappointed is putting it mildly.  At least last week, we had a glimmer of hope that I would go on my own.  Now, not so much.  Still praying it will still happen though.

It’s not that I’m uncomfortable or want him to come because I’m sick of being pregnant, it’s just that I want to go on my own without pitocin and well, we’re all quite in love with this little guy and would love to meet him!

Since it looks like Malachi will probably wait until next week or later to come, I’ll go ahead and start a baby pool.  When do you think Malachi will come?

To be certain, it will be before March 9th which is a week after my due date and when Mark and I are looking at an induction.

So, here’s our guesses:
Mark:  March 9th (he has such high hopes)
Me:  March 5th
Zoe:  March 2nd
Ace: March 4th…because we could say, “March forth Malachi!”
Liam:  February 28th
Josiah: February 29th (but he told me he hopes not…for birthday party planning, me too)

And Ceili Rain and Bryant have no clue what we’re talking about so they don’t care to guess.

And, if you’re feeling fiesty, go ahead and guess weight and length.  Here’s some tidbit helps for that.

I’ve only had one baby under 8 lbs and that was 7 lbs 4 oz. 
The rest were over 8 lbs and have gone all the way up to 9 lbs. 6 oz.
I do not have gestational diabetes…just big babies.
None of my babies are below 20 inches long.  None.  They’re mostly 21 inches.

I’ll get Josiah’s birth story up tomorrow so look for that!

For now, happy guessing and, of course, we’ll update if there’s anything to update!

I figured I  had better update for today or everybody would think we were having a baby or something.  I had contractions throughout the night and did wake up with some of them.  However, they were not close enough or strong enough for me to stay awake so I was able to get some rest.  I’m noticing very little this morning so they are either fizzling out or getting ready for the big ones.  I’d love to think the latter, but for now, we’ll just wait, pray and see.

On another note.  My aunt fell out of her attic yesterday and has some head injuries.  I’m still not sure of the extent but prayers for her, her daughter and her husband are most appreciated.

And trust me, I will alert all my facebook peeps and blogger peeps when it’s time for us to head to the hospital.  Okay, probably after they confirm my labor and we’re set to stay.

This morning I woke up and got ready and had lots of pressure and I noticed my contractions were a bit stronger.  I couldn’t really time them because, well, because there were six people under my feet asking for food, diaper changes, teeth brushes and more.  Once the morning routine settled in, I offered for us to go for a walk…since it was well over 70 degrees out and the contractions seemed pretty strong.

I also contacted my dear best friend who is an l&d nurse to see if I should go ahead and pack my bags.  She heartily said yes!

So, off we all went.  They ran ahead, I pushed Bryant as fast as I could go and slowed down for the contractions and then picked it back up.  We walked about 2 miles before the sun was too hot and I knew we needed to get school done.

Somehow, I managed to get a time in on my contractions.  Twenty minutes apart.  I dismissed them then and started on lunch and school and what not.  By the time naps rolled around and I fought with Bryant to get him to rest, I was able to time them about 10 minutes apart.

Mark came home around 3 and I headed out the door to my scheduled doctor’s appointment.  All the while praying both that the contractions were doing something and that they weren’t doing enough so I could get my pedicure with my other dear best friend after the appointment.

On the road, I noticed the contractions were getting closer.  Like to five minutes.  Huh.  Oh well, I knew I was going to see the doctor soon.  I  kept up with them staying at five minutes the whole time I was in the office.

I got called back right at the peak of a contraction.  Not easy to go from sitting to standing in the middle of a contraction, but I made it up and rounded the corner.  Dr. J was in the hallway and waved.

When he came in the room, he commented about how I bounced down the hallway and how well I looked.  I corrected him that what I did was not anywhere close to a bounce because a contraction was just ending.  He was a bit shocked.

Anyway, he checked me and I am at 2 1/2 to 3 cm dilated.  I’m supposed to go in when they get more intense and I feel more pressure.  Hm.

So, I got my pedicure.  And my feet feel heavenly and look beautiful.  And all the while my contractions are coming about every 5 to 10 minutes.  It’s amazing what you can do so you don’t have ugly feet for labor.

We are praying that he comes tomorrow.  Not that I’m going to hurry it along via medical things…okay, I was really tempted and I knew I just had to say the word and Dr. J would have admitted me…but we’re really trying here to wait on God and Malachi!

However, I do know these contractions are some strong little puppies and doing this for two more weeks doesn’t seem so pleasant.  So, we are praying that they will get stronger or just stop all together.  Either one would be fine.  Just don’t want to jump the gun and go in early and either have to come home or have them try to stick me on pitocin…again.

Stay tuned!  I’m sure we’ll update when we know more.