I've been wanting to write this for a while, but just haven't had time. Its amazing how fast my days go by when I am staring at my little girl nearly every waking hour. :)

I couldn't believe that I had actually made it to 40 weeks. At 37 weeks, my doctor predicted I would have Gia a little bit early, if not in the next few days. So for 3 weeks, I was hoping that each day would be THE day... but it never was. I had virtually no signs of impending labor, and as much as I tried all the old wives tales to induce labor, none of them worked.

So we went to my 40 week appointment on May 5th-- my actual due date. The doctor had told us the week before that if I made it to 40 weeks they would do a non-stress test and check the fluid levels. Sean and I had stopped by McDonald's for some breakfast on the way. I think it was the best sausage biscuit with egg that I have ever had. When we were called back, we were whisked into an ultrasound room. I was really shaken up by this. I had expected that they would do the NST first. I have a love/hate relationship with ultrasounds. I love them because they are such an amazing window into the untouched world of my little one, but I also have a bad history with ultrasounds. Regardless of the fact that my pregnancy with Gia had been textbook perfect to this point, I was still terrified the ultrasound would show a still heart. But of course, my fears were unfounded. The ultrasound tech was clinically swift and sufficient. I asked if everything looked ok, and she said that my amniotic fluid was really low. They would probably just send me off to the hospital to deliver right away. But the baby looks perfect. She estimated that the baby would be between 7 and 9 pounds. WHOA. I was in shock! A healthy baby! Being born today! On her due date! 7 to 9 pounds?!?!?! Boy was I glad we'd stopped at McDonald's because that would be the last time I'd eat for a long time that day!!

We'd prepared for the slight chance that we might have a baby that day, but now that it was certain, I just didn't know what to think/feel! We had packed our bags the night before and loaded everything (including a bag for Gia!) in the car that morning. Truthfully, I had planned on doing whatever it took to beg my doctor to induce me that day... crying, snorting, wailing... whatever it took. :) I'm thankful that my body knew I was done and Gia was ready to deliver on her due date, fully cooked.

Dr. Gardner came in and let us know she'd already called over to the hospital and that we were all set to go have a baby! So we called some of our family to let them know today was the day! We moved our car in the garage to be closer to the hospital entrance and headed inside. Next time I was in that car, our baby girl would be with us!


We got to the 9th floor to check in, and it seemed pretty busy. We had to wait in the waiting room for a few minutes. While we were waiting to check in, there were two other women in there who were in active labor. They were having a hard time breathing and were clearly in pain... but there were no delivery rooms open for them!! I was thankful that I wasn't in active labor yet, but worried about whether or not we would get a room that day!

Shortly after, I was called to the registration desk. I asked the lady if it was busy and she said it was the craziest she's seen it in a while. And that is saying a lot. Our hospital delivers more babies per year than any other hospital in Ohio... somewhere around 6,500 babies annually. So for her to say that meant a lot! Sean's cousin is a NICU nurse at our hospital, and she had told us she'd try to call ahead and get us a good room when I did go into labor. Well, as I was checking in, Sean got a Facebook message from her telling him that if at all possible, I should not go into labor today because the unit was so crazy busy! Ha! So much for that! But, because my doctor's office had called over to let them know I was coming, they already had a room ready for me!! Yay! We were checked in then right up to our beautiful labor and delivery suite. We took a hospital tour weeks ago, and the hospital has nice LDR rooms as well as some older ones. I'd been really hoping to get one of the nicer ones, and I did!


Alright... so that's how we got checked into our room.... more later!