Post dates...or are we?

Here is the latest picture we took of her growing. Our 40 week sign is up but I have not been motivated to capture that picture yet.

You can still see the lip gloss stain left on my belly from your kiss at my shower Manda...never came out.

Well my appt this week was once again uneventful. Still 1/2 cm. I was 40 weeks according to my LMP on Monday June 25th but my girl cycles have never been the normal 28 days or whatever they are suppose to be so it's hard to use that date as an indicator for when we conceived. Sometimes my cycles would be up to 7 weeks, that's a three week difference! So according to her measurments and her earliest US (which is suppose to be the most accurate one), her adjusted due date is July 3rd. So much for me not wanting to be fixated on a due date...now since she hasn't come, everything seems to be revolving around these dates. I had to clarify with Rachel what our actual dates were this last appt because I honestly didn't know. Blah, it was exactally what I didn't want happening. Now people are asking and giving their two cents about how far post dates I should go and when I should have a scheduled induction for. Most people think I am crazy for not planning an induction by this point and having an "end date" in mind. That just goes to show you how common inductions really are I guess. Being induced for medical reasons is one thing but to be induced just because of impatience or because the baby should be ready anyway just isn't for our family. Matt and I really want her to decide when she is ready to come out. If she makes the first move then I will know she is done growing and whatever we need to do to get her out after that I could feel comfortable with. I still really want to see what it is like to go into labor and experiance that pitocin free. I am worried though she will hang out in there long enough that we may not get that chance before its advised medically to make a move for her. There are risk associated with going too far post dates. Your fluid levels begin to decrease and she still grows, so the risk of squishing the cord and her life line increases. The placenta also starts to give out after a certain point and stops providing the best nutrition/oxygenation. I am praying this is obvious to her and she will come before this all naturally starts occuring. We will have appts now twice a week to do non stress tests and check her fluid levels to make sure she is staying healthy and ok in there. As long as we agree to this, Rachel is totally comfortable going the full 2 weeks post due date waiting for her. The problem is picking a due date. We can go with the conservative date of June 25th or the July 3rd one. Even though the June date is probably off, it is hard to put my NICU mind to rest and bank on the other date being right. So we go back Monday for a non-stress test and if things looks fine we will wait until Thur to do another and an US to check fluid levels.

So that is where we are now. Physically I have been par for the course at 40 weeks but emotionally it has been a rough couple days. I am just praying she makes a move this next week and comes on her own and I am trying to keep the "what ifs" at bay. I almost wish at times I didn't have any of the NICU knowledge plaguing me because this would be much easier if I was naive. Each day I must turn the issue back over to God and trust in his plan. Easier said than done.