And There Goes the Plug..

Yesterday we had our 40 week check up at the doctor and still no sign of anything near the volcanic activity my friends had experienced in the last two months. Of the five summer babies due, all but ours had come early. I had alternate feelings of annoyance that we had a full term 'dud' and also relief to be spending so much quality time with friends, my visiting mother, attentive husband.

In a black mood when we left the hospital, I was determined to try to shake it off. Though I was tempted to just come back to the house and 'rest' (which no one would have blamed me for since getting up at 7am and it bein 35+ outside) Mom's tourism took over and we went to buy t-shirts, a wireless router, tour the Islamic Museum, and try out lunch at the Malaysian restaurant in the souq.

It was the perfect centering afternoon: lots of walking and spending time around ancient objects. Nothing in that museum was made in a hurry and being around those objects was strangely soothing- including the architecture of the 300 million dollar structure itself. The cool marble, the bountiful air conditioning, and sheer stillness of the place made me catch my breath and reset me for another day of pregnancy (as opposed to impending delivery).

This morning - the date given to us by our doctor's for when our baby was 'due' - I had a meeting with an intern who is doing some editorial work for an ongoing book project. I took my computer so that afterward I could do a little bit of work and make the most of the extra time we have without the baby on the outside. While I was sitting there, I felt wetness. Not enough for the one liter flood I had been warned about for the infamous 'water breaking' but more of a trickle. As though a period were starting.

I kept typing: finished the review I was working on, sent a few more emails, putting up on Facebook that no, in fact, people are NOT helping when they make jokes about your passing your due date. The responses were overwhelming. I've never seen that many people respond to a status update unless it was someone's birthday or wedding.

The remedies came pouring in: sex, spicy food, walking, certain kinds of tea.

When the one hour of internet time given by the cafe ran out, I got up to the bathroom to investigate. There was no rush of water, embarrassing me in the middle of the Middle Eastern mall. But I did find evidence of the 'mucus plug' that everyone talks about so much. This had been previously described to me as something you'd 'know' when you saw.

Sort of like falling in love and trying to decide if someone is 'the one.' There are so many aspects to pregnancy that people describe in this manner, it could drive a more precise person crazy. (For the record: It was like snot but from the other end.)

I called my husband who was excited and announced the fact to his single male friends who likely couldn't care less and were a bit horrified a) at the knowledge and b) at this being announced on the way to lunch. I called our one other close friend and mother of two who urged me to get home as quickly as possible as her water had broken within minutes of loosing the plug.

I bought batteries and postcards for my mother, got gas and doughnuts on the way home.

Nothing. No waters, no contractions, just a yummy shrimp curry lunch and then a one hour nap. Friends from work came by to entertain me: a bit of Wii and board game; then a movie with my mom and husband.

Now to bed, hoping the guy decides to do us all a favor and wait until tomorrow morning. Everything feels better in the light of day. Even your body being pulled apart by something the size of a watermelon.