"Overdue"

With our "due date" having come and gone, it seems like neither Andrew nor I can go more than 10 minutes without being asked "Still no baby yet?" to which the response is of course, "Still in the belly." Otherwise this blog entry would probably have a different title :)

This question is certainly expected at this point. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the news of Pip's birth and whether or not Pip is a little he or she. And so are we. So this question, while redundant all day long, is not really a bother.

What is funny to me is how many people are surprised we haven't induced yet or scheduled an induction for as soon as possible. So many people are so surprised that we've been let to go "this far."

We're only 5 days past the due date! A due date is really quite simply an average. It's an arbitrary day picked as a midpoint within the typical time range that it takes to nurture a healthy life inside the womb. A due date basically gives you a 4 week window in which baby is considered "term." My thinking is that if Pip needs a bit more time in there, then why steal that time from him/her.

So, do we have an induction scheduled yet? Nope. Tomorrow I have a non-stress test (NST) followed by an appointment with one of our midwives. Assuming it is normal, and there is no reason to think it won't be, then we will keep plotting on. On Tuesday if Pip has still not been born then we will have another NST and appointment. We would then begin to discuss scheduling an induction for the end of that week.

I am excited and anxious to finally meet Pip, but I'm truly not exceedingly uncomfortable. Obviously the moment there would be a medical indication that Pip needed to be assisted then we would want to do whatever was needed. But would we induce just because we're tired of waiting? Of course not.