The Overdue Diaries

Did you know the only 5% of babies are born on their actual due date?

Well- that's why my Baby Bump app said anyway...

I guess Cooper didn't want to be a part of that statistic!

My ORIGINAL due date was Saturday, September 7th.

This date seemed SO far away when I wrote it down in January.

Then they bumped it to Sunday, September 8th at my 20 week ultrasound.

So while Saturday wasn't my "new" due date, I still had a feeling - deep down - that MAYBE, just maybe Saturday would be the day.

Oh you know, just our weekend "to-do" list.

I woke up early - like ridiculously early (3:45 am) and couldn't fall back asleep. I watched TV for about an hour and then played around on my iPhone (aka started pinning recipes on Pinterest that I'll never have the time or desire to cook in real life).

"Babe," Justin moaned. "Your phone is seriously bright as the sun! If you can't sleep, go somewhere else please..."

I laid in bed a while longer - just looking at ceiling and thinking.

Will this be my last Saturday without having a kid?

I pulled myself out of bed around 5:45 and started doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen. How can a family of two make such a mess sometimes?! I am in for a WORLD of change when Cooper gets here...

Bandit and I went on a walk and I did some exercises until Justin woke up.

Bandit and The Belly.

Once we got ready to go, Justin and I went to my favorite breakfast place - La Peeps (thanks to my Dad). I got my usual - The Beach Comber...a skillet mixed with diced potatoes, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, avocados, Wisconsin cheddar cheese, and topped with two basted eggs. I could literally eat that skillet of Heaven every single morning of my life.

"OMG - LOOK!" I yelled to Justin. "A cheese shop!!! We need to go explore!"

We went inside, but I was pretty disappointed. It was more of an expensive wine market with Simply Tasteful mix dips and what not....

"Well, what did you expect?" Justin asked me.

"I guess a lot more bricks of cheese...and samples! Lots of samples!" I said back.

Disappointed, we walked onward and headed over to Carter's.

Walking into Carter's was magical. I feel in LOVE with that store. So many little, tiny adorable baby outfits!!

And cute little babies bopping around all over the place. I can't count how many adorable babies smiled at me...as if they knew I'm about to have my own little bundle of joy VERY soon.

We ended up getting four  outfits for Cooper...a fleece vest and sweatpants outfit that made my heart go pitter-patter, an adorable monster onesie (which was only $2.99), a Christmas outfit (see below), and a Turkey Day onesie!

Penguin butt! The onesie says "Cool Dude."

He will be on stylish kiddo - that's for sure!

To be honest, I am sitting here and have NO clue what we did the rest of  Saturday...I am guessing I bounced around on an AB ball and watched Prison Break.

Bandit protecting Cooper.

I went on a trip to the store for corn and $60 later, I had snacks for days.

The only thing my poor husband wanted was fresh corn.
Cooper had other plans.

On Sunday - our "real" due date - I again woke up early. I took Bandit for a walk, wrote a blog post for Jada Beauty, picked up a sweet tea from McCallisters, stopped by Bath and Body Works to get some pumpkin-inspired soaps, went to the grocery store with Justin, and I watched even more episodes of Prison Break. I simply tried to keep my mind and body busy!

Later that evening, Justin made chili for dinner - with two kinds of beef in the mix (which turned out to be a BIG mistake).

We both woke up with meat sweats that night...3 am rolled around and I was convinced my water broke!

"OMG babe," I said as I pulled covers off my soaking wet body. "Are you sweating your ass off too!?"

He moaned some jibberish and rolled over.

Well, good to know you feel the same way.

Bandit grunted and I suddenly wondered if he had gotten into the chili as well!

But alas, no baby Coops! Just meat sweats....

So by the time Monday morning rolled around, I was pulling myself out of bed and getting ready for work.

Will this be my last Monday of work for the next 12 weeks?

Possibly - but who knows! I dug around in my closet in hopes I'd find something that still fits me. I've got it narrowed down to about 4-5 outfits that I rotate each week. 

By Monday afternoon, my stomach was cramping and my body was sweating again. I felt awful!

I had the leftover chili for lunch....

I honestly thought I was about to turn into one of those people that delivered a baby on a toilet. 

Will this be my birthing story? Is this how everything will end!? 

To my surprise, Cooper was not born in my office bathroom. And I managed to make it home without my stomach ripping apart again. 

I walked in the door and saw Justin's face...he was miserable too.

WE HAVE TO THROW AWAY THE MEAT SWEAT CHILI!

At least I can still use my belly as a TV tray.

Justin felt SO miserable that he didn't even eat dinner...

"I am honestly afraid to eat anything," he said.

"Not me," I said. "I think I disposed of all my nutrients and I need to replenish myself!"

I made a sandwich for dinner and we watched five - yes five - episodes of Prison Break. 

The Cooper Creepers.

So, here we are...now two days overdue. I'm feeling surprisingly great.  Minus the meat sweats, of course. 

(Never again will we use that recipe for Chili).

Everyone has been giving me tips on how to get Cooper out. Here is the list I gathered so far:

• Walk (Every day- sometimes twice!)
• Squats and jumping jacks (Check - even though those movements make me nearly pee my pants...so then I would just wonder if I peed myself OR question if my water really did break)
• Eat pineapple (Check, although not an overwhelming amount)
• Drink raspberry leaf tea (I haven't tried this one yet, but does sweet tea from McCalister's Deli count?) 
• Eat spicy foods (Does that meat sweat chili count!?)
• Bounce on an exercise ball (Check - this one is actually fun)
•  Drink castor oil (NO THANK YOU - have you read the side effects of castor oil? I'll keep my baby inside of me for a few extra days before I go through meat sweat side effects again).
•  Have fun with your husband (I'm going to keep this one PG because I know a lot of family - including parents and grandparents read my blog on a regular basis- so let's just leave this one as "check")

I've just come to terms with the fact Cooper will come out whenever he is ready. At least he is healthy and safe in there...and apparently extremely comfortable and loving the foods I keep feeding him. Justin said Cooper won't come until I stop feeding him Pumpkin Spice Lattes! 

But let's be real - that's just his attempt at getting me to spend less money at Starbucks.

Cooper + PSL = Love

We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. They've already told me they don't like to go more than a week past the due date. With that mind, I am sure they will schedule me for an induction sometime soon. My preference would be Sunday night or Monday. That way I have one more weekend to myself...or Cooper can come naturally!

Either way, I'm just trying to remain calm and enjoy these final few days. I just feel extremely lucky that I've had a wonderful pregnancy. I honestly have no major complaints right now and some woman feel completely miserable at this point.

I think Cooper just enjoys all the attention he is getting by making people wait...and keeping everyone (including his parents) on their toes!

But hey - I can respect his decision to be fashionably late. 

I've never been one to show up to a party on time...you have to make a grand appearance. 

He is my son- no denying it!

PS I just wanted to send a special thank you to everyone who has been sending us sweet messages and checking in on us! We're so thankful to have so many people eager to meet this little man!

Much love,
Ashley