The end is near.

My husband is confident. He's determined, speaks his mind, and lives for a challenge. If you tell him something cannot be done, be prepared to be proven wrong. I rarely see him get nervous, for any reason... almost.

My 38-week appointment was this morning. As usual, Sean and Gracie were with me, which I love. I was anxious to get to this appointment because I started having uncomfortable cramping yesterday evening, which then lasted through the night and even into the morning. I've experienced a few other "preliminary signs" of labor which have led me to believe that we're coming up on the end here.

After talking with the doctor, he offered to check my progress and strip my membranes. This is when I got a little tickled, even as I was sitting on an exam table naked from the waist down, with nothing but a paper sheet wrapped around me. As the doctor began to describe the "stripping of the membranes" process, I had my eyes on Sean. His expressions were priceless, and I could see that he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and dare I say, nervous. The benefit of having my membranes stripped would be that labor would most likely follow within a couple of days. The small risk, however, is that my water could be broken in the process, leaving me on my way to the hospital to be induced. I decided to decline at this point. At 38 weeks, 2 days, I'm just not ready to risk an induction. I'm also holding out hope that things will continue to progress on their own.

Still, Sean's reaction made me laugh. It was cute watching his confidence wane a bit, especially as mine is building. We complement each other and therefore offer the best support possible when necessary. Childbirth is where I see him the most vulnerable, and I'm sure this is true of most men. He's concerned about me, concerned about the baby, praying that everything runs smoothly, but aware that there is always the chance for a bump in the road. I do have my fingers crossed that there will be no passing out this time. Sean is banned from the room when the time comes for me to get an epidural. During labor with Gracie, he was amazing before the epidural and amazing after it, but he literally bailed out on me during it. (In his defense, it did take multiple attempts to get the epidural in place.)

I'm now 2 and a half centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. Going off of this, and the other things we talked about, the doctor told me my "days are numbered". I have an appointment scheduled for this Tuesday, at which point I will likely have another internal exam and reevaluate having my membranes stripped. Whether I make that appointment or not, I know I am down to the very final days of being pregnant! 12 days until my due date!