Skelton Photographie: Tater Baby Tres

So here we are; 40 plus weeks with our sweet Tater Baby Tres. Our 3rd baby to be past their due date. It just feels normal to us now. I think if we had a baby on or before our due date we wouldn't know what to do. We are of the camp that due dates are estimates, and you only induce for medical reasons...not for convenience. Here's my take; she doesn't know its Christmas and if she wants to come that day, then so be it. I've heard since the very beginning, oh goodness, I would HATE to have a Christmas baby...and that's why God is giving this baby to us and not you 😏

Sister is doing good. Growing like she should and happily jumping and thriving and in my belly. We don't have a follow up appointment scheduled, just waiting for labor! I'm thinking we may have one more impromptu appointment and maybe an ultrasound to check on sweet girl and see her sweet cheeks.

I'm 50/50 on her being here. I desperately want her here, but I am really dreading labor AGAIN. I know I can do it. I know my body can do it, it's not that. It's the mental strain of coping with excruciating pain and then getting the best reward. I've been rereading all my old go to books for labor and delivery and how to cope with it, and I'm so scared, yet excited. A birth of an almost 11 pound baby WITHOUT pain meds doesn't leave your memory. Shepherd's birth has ruined, yet prepared me for this!

We are hoping and praying to avoid an induction because that makes labor that much harder, ups your chances of getting an epidural, having an epidural with a 'larger' baby isn't recommended because you will not be able to push effectively; and therefore, could cause some damage to your lady bits and your chance of a section goes up drastically. I am doing my best to avoid it all. In the end, of course, all I want is a healthy baby, but a healthy mama is just as important. A healthy mama can care for her babies better.

Our goal was to get me to 38 weeks when I shot my last wedding. And my dear sweet hubby has been on call ALONE for weeks; all in the hopes that sister will hang on and be semi late so that he can actually have some paternity leave.

This pregnancy I haven't done as many updates because I've been working ALL THE TIME, but I guess there's no time like the present.

Total weight gain (thus far): 40 pounds
Symptoms: "morning" sickness in the first and second trimester, tired ALL THE TIME with sporadic bursts of energy and GET ALL THE THINGS DONE, hungry, ravenous, heartburn, heartburn, heartburn, no swelling 👏👏👏, Braxton-Hicks A LOT; aside from all of those, I am showing NO signs of labor. No lost plug, no consistent contractions, barely dilated (maybe a 1 😐), and not really effaced.

I've never lost my mucous plug, but everyone seems to think when that happens, labor is imminent. NOT TRUE folks, not true. With Henry, our first, I had a membrane sweep at 40 weeks and then had a successful induction days later due to PIH. Shepherd was a "home induction" at the recommendation of my doctor. He knew I wanted to avoid a medical induction; so we tried ALL THE THINGS - walking, sex, pineapple, bouncing on the birth ball...NOTHING WORKED. Close to the end, I started pumping to try to make contractions start and then did castor oil ( 2 separate doses 😱😭) 3 days apart and BOOM - 12 hours after that last dose of castor oil, labor started and we had a baby almost 12 hours after that!!

This time around we are starting with the conservative approach; birth ball bouncing, walking, sex, and evening primrose oil, but we are prepared to try other measures later on.

We just want to meet our sister girl and FINALLY give her a name, but we want her to come when she's ready.

A look back at Tater Baby Tres: