Stitches are Out! Let the Waiting Game Begin!

Friday I got the cerclage out. I was very nervous. This cerclage was much more difficult for my doctor to put in than the one that she put in with my last pregnancy. She said because of that, she expected it to be much more difficult to get this one out and that it might be a whole lot more painful. So, I went in to the appointment with some nasty butterflies in my stomach. Then when the nurse led me back to a different room than I normally go to, the nasty little butterflies suddenly became some ferocious pterodactyls. Instead of being the plain old room with the regular table like the last time I had my cerclage out, I had to be in a room with a specialized table, specialized lights, and extra equipment. I nearly turned around and walked back out. I managed to compose myself, however, by reminding myself that I'm a big girl and promising myself a cookie if I behaved. :) Anyway, I was really feeling so blessed when my doctor was able to take a look and see that things were actually looking really good and that it wasn't going to be nearly as complicated a procedure as she had anticipated. Thank goodness the skin had not grown up over the stitches quite as badly as last time. She took a bit to find the area where it needed to be clipped, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. The other good news is that I seem to have a little bit less scar tissue than last time. Having leftover scar tissue can cause something called "cervical dystocia" which means that the cervix has a hard time functioning normally and opening far enough to give birth. In essence, the scar tissue kind of forms a secondary cerclage. If it's really bad and your body can't push past it, it will prevent you from being able to deliver vaginally and you will have to have a c-section. I really really hope that doesn't ever happen to me. After the cerclage was removed, my OB checked the status of my cervix. After the stitches were taken out with Baby K, I was only dilated 1 cm and was 80% effaced. So, we were expecting maybe a 1+ or maybe a 2. Well, I guess we were in for a surprise because our doctor said that I was actually about 50% effaced and dilated to about a 3+ and that she could actually stretch the cervix to a 4 with little trouble. Her guess is that I won't make it to May 1st without having this baby. That is totally earlier than we expected considering we went an additional 2 & 1/2 weeks with my last pregnancy. Sooo... I guess the long and short of it is that we really need to get serious about getting ready for this baby. With all the craziness of my school schedule, work schedule, and involvement at church I have just been too busy to do as much as I should have to get prepared. BUT, the baby isn't here yet, so our goal is to get it mostly done tonight. On our list to do before we go to bed: wash all her clothes, pack our hospital bags, and install the car seat. NOW time for the fun part! Lets hear some guesses! When do you think this baby will come? Take a guess at the baby's birth date, time, and the baby's length and weight.