Lady in Waiting

This week I am 36 weeks pregnant... we think says the doctor. With the last pregnancy the doctor was convinced I would labour early which just made the wait and the anticipation that much longer! This time we are not certain of the due date (since I only found out about the pregnancy well into my second trimester!), so the estimated due date is based mainly on foetal measurements on the scan. So this time doc is being conservative in his guestimation of the date and has assured me that it is highly unlikely I will go into labour before 9 March (estimated due date being 15 March), especially since I have gone a few days past 40 weeks in previous pregnancies. Yet this time it is me who thinks that labour will start sooner rather than later.  For the past few days I have been experiencing the very familiar dull lower back and abdominal pain. I remember this pain very clearly from the last time, but couldn't remember how long before birth it started. So I put my blog archives to good use and found an old post detailing Sumayah's birth story, where I clearly documented that the 'back labour' as they call it started at about 38 weeks, just over 2 weeks before true labour hit me. So this has got me thinking that perhaps I won't last another 4 weeks, that perhaps this time the baby's eviction notice will be served earlier. Of course a large part of preparing for natural birth is psychological and the 'unknown' is one of the most influential players in psychological warfare. Human beings naturally crave a sense of control and not knowing when, how or what is going to happen means it is out of your control. On the other hand we also crave excitement and enjoy positive anticipation. So while expecting the birth to be earlier may be exciting, I may just be setting myself for a much longer wait... and when you watch the kettle boil it takes longer... much longer! For now I will just be the Lady in Waiting...