40 Weeks (and no baby yet)

Well...it's June 2nd. That means I'm 40 weeks pregnant, and my due date is today. And no baby just yet, but I know that shouldn't come as a surprise. Only 5% of babies arrive on their due date, so I can't be too disappointed. I never really thought Sprout would show up today, but it would have been nice. I'm hoping that this will be the last belly picture for the blog! Here's what my 40 week belly looks like:
During our Empowered Birth classes, Angela encouraged us to plan something special for our due date, because she knew it would be likely that it would come and go with no baby. David and I got a gift card to Red Lobster for Easter, and I told him that if Sprout wasn't here by/on June 2nd, we'd go out to eat. And so we did. Tonight after work, we headed into Louisville for what will probably be our last "date night" as a couple. I'm sure we'll go out alone in the future, but we'll be someone's mom and dad by then (gulp!). It was really nice. We gorged ourselves on seafood, cheddar bay biscuits (YUM!), and a chocolate chip lava cookie. Afterward, we ran by Kohl's to pick up a few gifts for June birthdays and Father's Day, then headed home. When we pulled into the driveway, it looked like we'd left a bunch of lights on. We both were sure that we'd turned off all the lights, so we were a little stumped. Then, we saw taillights in the driveway. I just knew we were getting robbed again, but David recognized it as my Mom's SUV. He said, "You think she's moving in to wait on Sprout?" I couldn't figure out what she would be doing at our house at 9:30 on a Thursday night. When we pulled in, Chet, my stepdad met us at the garage door and told us to close our eyes. He led us into the living room and told us to open our eyes, and this is what we saw:

He'd built a cradle for Sprout! It's absolutely beautiful. He's been working on it in his woodworking shop for about 3 months, and just got it finished last night. I can't wait to see our sweet baby snoozing in it!

Here's a different angle so you can get a closer look. It comes completely apart so that it can be stored flat once Sprout outgrows it. It's seriously a beautiful cradle. I can't imagine how much time he's got in it. It's certainly destined to be an heirloom.
On Monday night, I got a text message from our friend, Kristin Sexton, saying that our maternity photos were ready! We went down to Campbellsville a few weeks ago to meet up with her and Benson to visit and to take pictures, which was a lot of fun. I am amazed at the pictures she took. She's an absolutely gifted photographer, and it's going to be so hard to decide which ones to have printed. Here are a few of my favorites:

We go to the doctor tomorrow morning for my 40 week appointment. Last week, Dr. Brown told us that we'll need to pick an induction date at tomorrow's appointment. When I asked him when they'd want to do an induction, he said that they're obligated to do one sometime within the 41st week. As much as I don't want to be induced, I completely understand why it would need to be done, and I would definitely deal with it if it's in Sprout's best interest. I know that the research shows that the placenta doesn't function as well once it's close to 42 weeks. I know that the majority of stillbirths happen between 37 and 42 weeks. We haven't come this far to lose our little one now, and I'll do anything necessary to bring a living, breathing baby home with me...even if that means I don't get the birth experience of my dreams. But that doesn't keep me from hoping and praying that Sprout comes on his/her own time...and soon!

Not too much else has gone on around here this week. We're just waiting for Sprout to decide to arrive. We just can't wait to meet this baby, and it's hard for me to believe that, one way or another, he or she will be here in just a little over a week. I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole pregnancy experience (even with all the anxiety involved), but I'm ready for our baby to be here! Hopefully my next blog post will be a birth story!