How does Wednesday, March 14 Sound...

for a birthday? Hopefully it sounds great because it looks like that is the day we will be welcoming baby Noah. I spoke with the doctor yesterday and he told me to pick out a birthday between March 12 and March 16. Wanting to give Noah as much time as possible to bake, yet aware of the fact that the docs would like to deliver before things get unmanageable, I thought through the possiblities...

Monday seemed too early. He'll just barely be 36 weeks and at this point every single day makes a difference. Aaron also already has a client visit scheduled for out of town that morning and hey, if we get to *choose* the date, it might as well work into the existing schedule! :)

Tuesday is the 13th -- and while I'm sure the 13th is a great birthday for those who are naturally born on it, if we have the option of picking, I'd prefer a less "unlucky" number. No, I'm really not superstitious...Aaron happens to have a meeting scheduled for that day as well.

Thursday is the 15th - the Ides of March. The soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," has forever imbued that date with a sense of foreboding. Given that I am having a "Caesarean" Section and that there were two other potential days still available, I decided to pass this one up.

and then there was Friday the 16th. Now, I have no problems with the 16th and it would fit into our schedule just fine, but the fact is...I've already been in the hospital for a week. If I have the baby on Wednesday, I could leave the hospital on Friday or Saturday. If I put it off until Friday, I'll be here throughout the weekend. After having both of my first two babies on Fridays, I happen to know that as in the real world, things in a hospital function a little differently on the weekends. The overall staff seems a little lighter and when you need something it takes a little longer to get it. This isn't usually a huge problem, but having to wait an hour to get a nurse to come in to check my oxygen level when I was complaining of not being able to breathe after Grace was born did create a bit of a problem. As it turned out my oxygen level was quite low and I was retaining fluid in my lungs thanks to one of the medications I was on after surgery. Once the problem was diagnosed, it was remedied fairly quickly, but the scary wait for a nurse to come in was one of the few things not erased by post-pregnancy hormonal amnesia.

So Wednesday, March 14 it is (barring anything unforseen before then). We don't know yet what time the surgery will be. I know there are a couple of other patients with more extreme emergency situations scheduled ahead of me, so it will more than likely be afternoon. I'm excited and nervous and maybe just a tiny bit disappointed all at the same time. I really thought I was going to make it to full term with this one and I fantasized that on this, my last pregnancy, I might get to experience the feeling of going into labor on my own. You know...walking through the grocery store when all of the sudden my water breaks or being awakened in the middle of the night with excruciating contractions. Sure, those who have had those experiences will think I'm crazy, but sometimes I feel a bit odd about the fact that I will have had three children and never really know what those things are like (I had contractions and went through labor with Tyler but I was induced and was already on an epidural by the time they started). But I digress...

I'm having a baby Wednesday!!! I can't wait to meet him. All of the nurses in the hospital predict that he is going to be one feisty little guy. When they try to monitor him, he very visibly kicks the monitors and moves as far away from them as he can. Apparently the excess fluid he's in, in addition to making his name (Noah) extremely appropriate, also allows him plenty of room to move (despite the fact that he's huge). I've been told by nurses who have seen TONS and TONS of babies in tummies that if there was a prize for most active baby, he would win. Of course, they aren't telling ME anything I didn't know. :)

I will try to get Aaron to post details and pictures on Wednesday. In the meantime, prayers for a healthy baby and successful surgery and recovery would be much appreciated.