40 Weeks and counting...how much longer???

Just like a first-day-of-school pic, but this is a "Last Day of Work" photo!

This past week has been filled with various emotions.  I had my last day of work on Tuesday, which was anti-climatic, and it was actually harder for me on Thursday, which was the first day I didn't go to work.  I felt totally aimless until I picked myself up and headed to the new Trader Joe's to stock the freezer with post-baby meals.  Tuesday was also my last Jazzercise class, because I was getting so many Braxton-Hicks contractions during class that it was starting to not be fun anymore.  (I also figured the baby would be here by now!)

Then, the due date came and went.  With that, I started feeling really anxious and unprepared for the impending process of labor and delivery.  I feel like I've forgotten all the coping techniques that we learned in our childbirth class 3 years ago, and I'm afraid I'm not going to be as tough as I was when I delivered Evie. And, how big is he going to be if he keeps staying in there?!  Most of all, I just want to know the baby is here, healthy and safe.

Seemingly, just as I needed it, my Daily Guideposts reflection on Friday morning reminded me of just what I needed to hear:

"Life teaches us that there are days when we simply have to stay focused, ignore panic, and ascend the mountain.  We learn that even though fear is raw, God is with us.  We discover that there is no courage devoid of fear; no faith without challenge."

Then, I had a midwife appointment on Friday and was convinced I'd be having the baby within 24 hours with the following stats: 3-4 cm dilated and 60-70% effaced.  Hope began to fade as I had some random contractions that afternoon and evening, but nothing that was regular or increasing in strength.  The random crampiness and contractions have continued without any signs of labor.

Friday evening, Evie also began having a TERRIBLE time going to bed.  She had woken up with a nightmare on Friday morning, refused to nap on Friday afternoon, then had a 2+ hour screaming battle begging us not to leave her in her room at bedtime.  It was almost 10:30 by the time we got her to go to sleep, then she woke up again at 11:15, 1:00ish, and then she came into our room at 6:45.  Not a good night's sleep for anyone.  The following days have been more of the same, and the only solution that we've found to help is if we sit in her room with her while she falls asleep.  It's not great, because as soon as she wakes up and realizes we have snuck out, she freaks out again.  Saturday night, Matt had to sleep on the floor of her bedroom from 4:00am until she woke up in the morning.  Typically, we take a pretty hard line and don't give in to this kind of stuff, but the poor girl is genuinely scared of something, and the more firm we are, the more panicked she gets.  We tried a baby gate across her doorway, and she went over it, under it, then knocked it out of the doorway!  Has anyone experienced this before?  Any suggestions?  I have done some reading on it, and I think that it's related to her anxiety about the new baby and being away from us for a few nights while we're at the hospital.  We keep reassuring her, but it doesn't seem to sink in.  The longer this phase drags on, the more overwhelmed I'm getting at the thought of waking up to feed an infant while trying to help Evie get back to a normal sleeping pattern.  We're all walking around like zombies, and the baby hasn't been born yet!!

What to do?  Well, we decided to pretend like everything was normal!  We attended the Memorial Day parade in Essex on Saturday morning (I'm proud to say I walked there and back!), played outside, Matt took Evie fishing, we went to church, baked cookies, and went to a Memorial Day party (thank you to Ally and Ashlee for the laughs!).  Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated and we hope to share the news of Noah's arrival soon!