On The Eve.

Tonight my bags are packed (with pink girl things) and I am excited to have a baby tomorrow! What a gift.

I am not really nervous... yet. I already have expectations that labor will be tough. My OBGYN was joking about how funny my legs look - the left one is significantly smaller than the right. I have lost SO MUCH muscle (and I didn't have much to begin with) these last 7-8 weeks of not moving. And I'm thinking when it's time to push and tell my body what to do, it may just whine and revolt from lack of use. I'm sore all over. Goodness, I can barely walk up steps without getting tired.

Add that on top of the fact I may not be allowed to have an epidural, well it could be a real rough go of it. But if baby is alive, we'll get through it. She's going to come out eventually. I may be a complete mess but there have been woman since the beginning of man that have done labor in worse conditions than this. Hopefully I'll remember that as I struggle through tomorrow. And let's hope it's just tomorrow and not the next day and the next! Ha, kidding. I think.

I may not be allowed to have an epidural because my platelets have continued to drop. If you go below 100 they won't give you one. The plan for tomorrow is to check my blood when we arrive and see what's going on there. We'll see. Again, not THE issue. We'll go with however things are leading and what my doctor says. And if I do this naturally and survive, that'd be wonderful! And if I get an epidural, great. And if I end up with a c-section, okay. Goal = baby and me doing fine. Her birth story will be perfect to me if she and I are alive in the end.

I thank God for this gift of peace and lack of nervousness on the "holy moly I'm going to be in labor tomorrow" part. My focus has just been on how baby is doing, making sure she's alive in there. She was kicking just a bit ago so join me in thanks for these last-10-hours-before-we-are-there movements.

Our girl's day of birth is most likely going to be a cold, not-lovely day here in North Dakota. High of 38. We might even see a dusting of snow. It's been quite lovely up until, however, so I'm going to try not complain. The weather on your birth date is not a deal breaker.

Greg is in bed (perhaps a bit more nervous than I) and I'm about to join him for a (hopeful) decent night's rest with no newborn screams. Hopefully we'll get some rest before we are up at 6am and to the hospital by 7am. Not sure how things are going to go down initially but we'll try keep the blog updated as the day, and labor, progresses. We are grateful for your support and your prayers.

-Heather