Today I’m 10 days shy of my due date.  To say I’m anxious is an understatement.  I can’t sleep at night and it has nothing to do with being uncomfortable, hot or having a kicking, full-term baby inside of me.

I’m just so excited about meeting my little girl and so totally nervous about labor and delivery.  These are, of course, all very normal feelings for a 38-week pregnant woman.

This is my second baby, so I’m not the blissfully ignorant first-time mama I once was.  I know what’s going to happen (to an extent, as each delivery is different) and so I have a very pre-conceived notion of how all this will go down.

With my first baby, my water randomly popped (literally!) at 10:30 p.m.  seven days before my actual due date.  So now every night around 10:30 p.m. I begin to wait for my water to break.  And I wait, and I wait, and I wait.  But nothing happens.

My little family is in a holding pattern.  We don’t want to make too many plans.  My husband is afraid to commit to any business meetings or events.  I don’t want to schedule too many playdates for my oldest daughter.  And I take my own commitments day by day. Sure I could go to the store tomorrow, but better go now…  just in case.

Because I’m a second time mom and had a vaginal delivery the first time around, the doctors have offered me the option of scheduling an induction.  It sounds like a rather convenient way to have a baby (I’d be able to arrange childcare for my oldest, there would be no middle of the night drive to the hospital, I’d get to choose my daughter’s birthday and maybe even get a mani/pedi prior).  But when it comes down to it, I’d rather let my baby decide when she’s ready to come into the world…. well, as long as she’s on-time. I can’t promise I won’t change my mind when I’m five days past my due date!

And that, my preggo friends, is what you call “the waiting for baby game.”

About the Contributor: Amy G. is the mom to a beautiful baby girl and pregnant with baby #2 (due January 2012). She is a regular contributor to The Belly Blog, a blog for pregnant women and is sponsored by Lullabelly, a prenatal musical belt.