The end is near

*40 weeks, 3 days* (though I originally typed 50, instead of 40...)

I'm still pregnant! Yep. This little one is super comfy inside of me and is showing no interested in making his grand entry into the world! But never fear - the end is *officially* in sight!

Yesterday, we went back to the doctor for a non-stress test (NST). They hooked me up to some equipment that monitored the baby's heart rate and whether there were any contractions, and I pressed a button every time I felt him move. I'd been instructed to eat something sugary beforehand, and they gave me candy when I got there to get him (and keep him) moving. He passed with flying colors! His heart rate was spot on - Ben said it would go up when he would move - and the doctor said I even had a contraction during the test. Could have fooled me!

So we passed the test, meaning the baby's still thriving and the placenta's still doing it's job. The doctor then measured my belly (still growing) and checked my cervix (still high and closed, but "starting to soften"), and informed me that not much has changed. Duh.

I go back again on Monday (40w, 6d). We're going to do another NST, and the doctor will check my cervix again. Assuming I'm still pregnant at that point, he basically said we'll start the induction process on Tuesday night. I was unclear as to whether the process starts at the office or the hospital. Basically, he'll insert a gel that will help "ripen" my cervix - hopefully getting things moving along, so that Wednesday morning, they can start pitocin, thereby starting contractions.

SO - finally, I feel like the end is in sight. Wednesday, October 15th is it, though I'm not lying to myself in thinking he'll be BORN on the 15th. I'm thinking it'll be the 16th, because I don't see things moving very quickly, given my current state... And I *really* don't see anything happening naturally between now and then. I'm not normally a pessimist, but nothing's happened to this point... Though I was having the weirdest nesting yesterday - I was on a mission to find back massagers and very specific Halloween decorations......

Now we just need to settle on a name for this child...