Countdown to Macario's 1st Birthday: My Estimated Due Date

Today is the 1st anniversary of my Estimated Due Date (EDD).  From the first time I ever saw my doctor with regard to my pregnancy, my EDD never changed. It was always April 12, 2011.  I had a really hard time getting that number out of my head after Macario was born because I had used 4/12/11 for so long. 

I had never heard the term Estimated Due Date before, it was always just Due Date, but EDD is really a more appropriate term because no one can say for sure what day your baby is going to decide to be born (unless you schedule a c-section--inductions don't always pan out either).

Anyhow, even though we had this date all along (despite a weird measurement at 28 weeks) I just had this sense from the beginning that I would go past my EDD.  I don't know if I was just mentally preparing myself in case I did go past my EDD or if it was true intuition, but either way it was a dream come true for me.

Several years before I got pregnant I had this dream that I was pregnant. The dream went like this:

I was very pregnant and very happy. Aaron and I were together doing something when I suddenly went into labor (instant labor like you see in the movies). Aaron was sort of panicked and was trying to get me into the car, but I was just standing in place crying. I didn't want to go anywhere. Thinking I was scared, Aaron came over to comfort me and walk me to the car. He started saying, "Don't worry, baby. It's going to be ok. You can do this." He kept saying stuff like that as we drove to the hospital until finally I said, "I'm not crying because I'm scared, I'm crying because I still want to be pregnant!" Then I cradled my pregnant belly in my arms and sobbed.

In reality, I felt a lot like that as I got closer to my EDD. Of course I was excited to be getting closer and closer to meeting my little guy, but I was also sad when I thought about saying goodbye to my pregnant body. I had a dream pregnancy. It really couldn't have gone any better. The entire experience had been more than I ever could have imagined. I absolutely loved every second of being pregnant.

Most women might have felt frustrated to still be pregnant after their EDD, but I felt so blessed to get an extra week of pregnancy. I loved the way I looked and felt, but more than anything I loved having my son in there-feeling his every move and watching him squirm all around.

I was very excited to meet him, but I knew he would come eventually (can't stay in there forever), so I decided to savor every last drop of being pregnant.

Here I am at exactly 40 weeks, patiently awaiting our son's arrival:

Notice he's still very high up in this pic. He never descended, hence the need for a c-section.