For our "well-done" baby, or more like "crispy around the edges" baby...

I can't tell you how many times we have said "we better make sure we do [blank] before baby comes" or "this is our last time doing [blank] with only one kid"...

We thought we only had a weekend for such thoughts, but now, more than a week later, baby still hasn't come! Last weekend I had my 'last' Dr. appointment (and was dilated to 2cm), cleaned the house for the 'last' time, we went on our 'last' date, walked our hearts out on the waterfront in our 'last' attempt to make baby come, completed what we thought was our 'last' shopping trip (where we got Malia her very own wagon),

watched our 'last' movie, and went to church for the 'last' time.

On Monday, baby's due date, I organized the linen closet, cleaned out our junk drawer, and even cleaned out the garage. I suppose you could consider all that nesting. On Tuesday the doctor sent me to the hospital to get checked due to some spotting and contractions, so I took some 'last' profile pictures before baby came... or so I thought.

After sending me home (still only dilated to 2cm) with instructions to walk, I walked 4miles, took Malia to the park and swung on the swing (an old-wives tale for putting yourself in labor), went to Muchas Gracias and ate spicy jalapenos, bounced on the exercise ball the rest of the evening, and even took a dose of Castor oil. I guess you could say that I really thought all of this would help! Unfortunately the only things I walked away with were shin-splints and a tummy ache. So... on Wednesday I decided to go with a different approach and tried to do next to nothing. I did organize the bathroom drawers and washed the rest of baby's clothes, but besides that it was a very relaxing day. I even met Aaron at work so that we could go the the movies for another 'last' time.

***

What should have happened after all this was giving birth to a baby! Wednesday night was a sleepless night with painful contractions every 2min. We headed to the hospital 6am Thursday morning and found that I had made progress and was now dilated to 3cm. After monitoring me all morning and having me sit in the jacuzzi tub for over an hour, I was checked again but to our disappointment had not progressed. So what do you know... they sent me home AGAIN! We were really hoping they would have at least hooked me up to some pitosin, or even broken my water. Looking back, all of this kind of feels like a repeat of Malia, only thankfully (no matter how much it sucks) we aren't stuck inside of a hospital and are still able to eat our own food, sleep in our own beds, and enjoy the outdoors.

***

After returning home we headed off for a 2 hour walk. My shins did NOT appreciate it. Then I am pretty sure I spent the rest of the day bouncing on the exercise ball outside, all while managing to still enjoy the sunshine. It is so much fun, by the way, to watch Malia ride her bike like a big girl! Thanks ZZ for teaching her!

I think that evening we watched a stupid movie not really knowing what else to do. On Friday Aaron went back to work, which by now, no one believes that he missed work due to being in the hospital... they all think it was a lame excuse since baby hasn't made any attempt to arrive yet. I had another Dr. appointment where to our amazement, I was dilated to 4cm! The Dr. even said that I would have a baby by the weekend and that there was ZERO chance that I would need to get induced. How exciting! (Can you believe that we actually fell for that?) That night we headed off to Camas Days hoping that the drive would trigger an instinct for baby to come out since we were far away... but of course, nothing. On Saturday we enjoyed the sunshine and went swimming at Horseshoe lake all morning and afternoon, but even the cold water didn't scare baby out. Sunday, yesterday, we went to church for another 'last' time before baby comes, went for another long walk, and even tried to find the contraction trigger point on my ankles.

***

Yet, HERE I AM, Monday evening, sitting on my couch blogging after a busy day of 'last' cleaning, 'last' shopping, and a 'last' firepit, feeling HUGER than ever. But thankfully the end is in sight! Tomorrow evening I am scheduled to be induced. If all goes well, we should have a baby by Wednesday! I was really hoping not to be induced again since it went so awful with Malia last time. Just to give you a re-cap I never dilated to more than 2cm until they broke my water, she was a 54 hour labor, I pushed for 4 hours, tore like crazy, and to top it all off, Malia needed CPR. At least this time we haven't been in the hospital the whole time, I am already dilated well beyond that of Malia, and I waited longer till getting induced. So what else is there to do? We took a 'last' profile picture at 41 weeks,

and a 'last' family picture before we turn from a family of three to a family of four.

Malia will always be our sweet little baby! We are a little sad she won't get all of the attention anymore, and are very nervous at how this whole 'two' kid thing will work out, but if baby comes out looking as cute as this little girl, then we should have NO problem... right?

Here's wishing us luck for tomorrow!

(Random, but I had to throw in a picture of Aaron's beautiful roses.)