Waiting for a Houseguest

I thought for sure she was coming this weekend.

The baby that is...

Both of the girls were a week early and my due date is next Saturday...therefore Little Littlewood #3 should have been due to arrive Saturday or Sunday of this weekend, but she apparently decided otherwise. She decided she is pretty comfy inside of my belly....or maybe it was the screeching, laughing and general noisy chaotic craziness created by her older sisters that scared her away for a few more days (I'd be scared if I were listening too!). 

And so we wait...for an undetermined amount of time. Me, the planner...the one who prefers a schedule to a surprise...this little one already teaching me lessons about life. About the fact that some things, many things, are out of the control of my plans and scheduling. 

As I chatted with my good friend Sara earlier today (she was calling to check in, knowing about my week early deliveries in the past) I told her I felt like I was waiting for a houseguest who promised they were coming but was incredibly vague about the date. 

"Haha," she laughed, "There's a blog post in that." 

"Ahh...I suppose your right. If I'm not going to go into labor I might as well blog about it!" 

And so I keep grocery shopping for easy to make meal items. I've cleaned the mudroom and parts of the basement. Our "guest's'" room is just about ready...new sheets, vacuumed rugs, soft lightbulbs placed into lamps. I keep trying to tidy up the house...like just before a party. You want to offer your best impression, at least for the first few minutes. 

Mostly I'd just like to bring the baby back to a clean house, but alas, that is much harder to accomplish when you're getting ready to bring home baby #3 than with #1 or #2. So I tidy and the girls come careening through to make their mark...I tidy again...more marks made. I vacillate between wanting to just give up and thinking that if I keep tidying up  I'll catch it just right one of these times-- my contractions will finally start right after I put away that last socks and Barbie doll shoe. 

In the meantime, I answer funny questions from the girls about how I will know when it's time to go to the hospital and what the "plan" will be when the time comes. They are, after all, waiting too. 

I read web articles about 'early labor signs' and they tell me to be patient...that I won't, after all, be pregnant forever. 

I won't? I want to say. Really? I won't? 

I guess for now I'll take their word for it...even though I'm not completely sure I believe them. I'll find another drawer to clean, take the library DVD's back (before I wind up paying big fines!), and try to wait patiently for our precious houseguest.