“So, what’s your due date?”
“May 14, but she has to stay put until the 17th. M has a final on the evening of the 16th.”
My OB’s skeptical look said it all, but she still felt the need to correct me. “Babies come when they want, not when you want. She’ll probably be here early.”
“No. She’ll wait. I just know.” I placed a protective hand on my belly and smiled knowingly. She just laughed.
“We’ll see.”

I was pregnant with my first child and I had it all figured out. Mind over matter was all it was going to take. I would work until the day after my due date, then go home, put my feet up, and wait for M to finish his last final of the year, then, and only then, would I go into labor.

My due date dawned bright and clear. It was a gorgeous spring day, warm enough for a skirt. I shaved my legs, standing up in the shower, and skipped off to work. OK. Maybe I didn’t exactly skip, maybe, just maybe, it was more of a waddle, but I did manage to shave in the shower with no help, honest. I worked all morning at an event we’d been planning for months then headed home to nap a little.

The next morning I taught the last session of Sunday School for the year and, as promised, I went home to put my feet up while M did some last minute studying. I only got up off the couch to get into bed, and in the morning I only got out of bed to get back onto the couch. And at 5:45pm M threw his bag onto his back and came to give me a kiss goodbye before heading out to school. I smiled and wished him luck and didn’t mention the massive contraction that had just gripped my abdomen. I had contractions all evening and when M bounced back into the living room four hours later, hard earned beer in hand, they were coming every 10 to 15 minutes.

The rest, as they say, is history. C was born by c-section, 28 hours after that first contraction, on May 17th, just as I had predicted, showing my doctor that sometimes, just sometimes, even first time moms know what they’re talking about.

This post was inspired by the Sunday Scribblings prompt “The Date.” Click here for more great entries.

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To all those who have expressed such nice compassion for this post, please know that I’m doing a lot better. I’ll post an update tomorrow. Smooches to all of you.