The Cline Guarantee

About two weeks ago I said we were practically guaranteed to have Parker by the due date. And here we are: one day out and no closer to having him than we were two weeks ago. In light of this and all of the other chaotic events of this past summer, we have come up with our own version of Murphy's Law, henceforth called the Cline Guarantee: things will NEVER go according to plan.

My own mother has described me as being "time-optimistic" for years and years. I suppose I got sucked into my own head and allowed that optimism to sink in a little too far this time. We have another prenatal appointment tomorrow. Maybe we'll find out things have progressed but in case they haven't, I have a package of double-stuffed Halloween Oreos waiting for me here at home :)

Desperate times...

...call for desperate measures! We're beginning to consider my options for encouraging this baby to come out. In all honesty, I really am okay with him taking his time; I know he'll come out when he's ready. I guess I just expected him to be early because he's my second. Madeleine was 9 days late so I shouldn't be surprised.

While I'm not yet to the point of chugging castor oil (didn't help start labor with Madeleine), we decided we might help inch Parker down with the rolling pin. Madeleine thought it was great fun to harass both mom and baby brother at the same time. I've also encouraged Justin to go out hunting more thinking that Clines tend to gravitate towards chaos; therefore, the more outrageous the circumstances, the more likely Parker is to come out at that time. We're supposing I'll go into labor at the exact time Justin kills an elk in the middle of nowhere where he barely has enough cell phone coverage to receive a phone call full of static and broken words. Then when he gets back to the Jeep to come home he'll have a flat tire. Doesn't that sound like us?

Go Madeleine go!

A little equation

Swollen joints + kankles + barely fitting in to drive the Jeep + lower back pain + 2 new batches of salsa = no Parker...yet

The song that never ends

Still pregnant. Just thought you'd like to know.

Appointment update

I'm a "stretchy" 3cm dilated, about -1 station, and still 90% effaced. Very little has changed from last week. We've had our midwife Jeanne strip my membranes (wipe the inside of my cervix with her finger...sounds fun, doesn't it?) the last two times hoping that would help promote labor. Today I've had more contractions than most days as a result but still nothing regular. She did explain to us that it's really only the last stages of labor that move a lot faster in a second pregnancy. Whereas I thought dilation from 0 to 10 would happen quickly, she meant 6 or 7cm to 10cm happens fast, along with the final thinning of the cervix and baby's decent into the pelvis. It was good to get that clarification; if I had better understood then maybe I wouldn't have been convinced we were having this baby by this past weekend. So here we are...a week from the due date. I have another appointment scheduled for next Wednesday in case he still hasn't come. By that point in time I may resort to the caster oil.

Madeleine's last stand

As we wait for Parker, Madeleine seems to be making the most of these last days as an only child. We continue to dote on her through attention and fun and she loves it! Although I'm sure the transition into being a big sister will be tough at times, her tendency to be silly and goofy will hopefully continue to grow. Here are some of the "best of" from this past week.

Road to nowhere

Still no Parker. I guess I had grown to believe that once the labor process began it would move quickly. Now a week after finding out I was 3cm dilated, we still have no idea when this baby will come out. We have an appointment tomorrow; maybe we'll find out more then.

Madeleine had a well-child checkup yesterday. She's all caught up on shots so she was able to get away with only being weighed, measured, and checked out by her pediatrician. She's 34 inches tall (no surprise...97th %), 26.6lbs (75th %), and her noggin is 48cm (90th%). She continues to follow the trend of being a very big girl. We hope she didn't hog all of those tall genes for herself; otherwise, Parker will be the little brother in more ways than one.

Justin spent the day working on filling out information for the VA. He is currently going through the paperwork to be officially offered the therapist position. He's had his blood drawn, he's been fingerprinted, and he's documented his life for the last 27 years for them to verify he is who he says he is. We should receive the official offer once all of this is processed. While we're disappointed it has taken this long, we are relieved to know things are slowly moving forward. It's strange knowing that Missoula will be our hometown for the next 5+ years but we can't think of a more desirable place to raise our new family.