Seriously? Never did I think that I would still be pregnant seven days past my due date. Four days? Sure. Six days? It’s happened before. But seven? HMMM… I have to imagine the ultrasound tech or doctor got my date wrong. Especially for my FOURTH kid?! Bananas.
Well, regardless, here we are. I have an induction scheduled for tomorrow morning; I have to be at the hospital at 7 a.m. I was fortunate enough with the first three kids to avoid the need for drugs, so I’m a bit bummed that I might have to take something to induce labor. I’m pretty much hoping that by the morning, my body will be in a good enough position to just get things going with a swift break of the water bag. I say “hoping,” but truthfully, the word, hope, gives me pause these days. Ever since I heard Rachel Hollis speak at the 2019 Rodan + Fields convention, I reactively flinch whenever someone says “hopefully” or “I hope…” or something similar. During her talk, in relation to business (or making your dreams come true), Rachel blew my mind with five words—hope is not a strategy.
While these words have become a sort of mantra that plays in the back of my head when I think about my ideal future or a crazy business idea begins a-brewin’, I can’t really apply them to pregnancy. It’s impossible to ever adequately be prepared for the miracle of birth. Sure, you can sit in a boardroom with your partner or peers and brainstorm ideas for the most efficient birth plan, or extrapolate data from your previous labor and delivery results to find the likeliest outcome for the impending one, but… (a) it would probably be a waste of time because (b) you’d probably be wrong.
The hardest part of having a baby is coming to this realization. Even if you’ve walked this path before, you won’t be able to predict what comes next. Your life will undergo another epic shift and your mind and body will struggle to keep it all together. Part of me thinks that the baby is purposely sticking to the womb because I’m having such a hard time seeing five steps ahead (literally and figuratively).
I just have to keep reminding myself that you are where you are supposed to be in every moment and all things happen in divine timing.
<3 Laura
