On January 4, 2021, Wallace Ronal Skelton was born at 3:44 pm, weighing 7 pounds 4 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He came into the world with a splash and with the most beautiful sounding cry I’ve ever heard.
Funny enough, January 4 was my original due date from my first doctor’s appointment when they measured the fetus via ultrasound. But at my 12-week ultrasound, they said he was measuring closer to December 28. Based on my last period before getting pregnant, the due date calculation was December 31, so ultimately that’s what my doctor adjusted it to as a “happy medium” between the two ultrasound measurement dates.
When my New Years Eve due date came and went, I was beyond frustrated. I’d been having Braxton Hicks contractions for at least three months and had convinced myself (and told everyone else) that meant he’d be arriving early, despite my mom being one to two weeks late with all four of her pregnancies and despite my doctor saying BH contractions really don’t mean a thing about when baby might arrive.
Regardless, I was ready to meet this little one. I was trying ALL the (safe) things to get him out: daily long walks, so much raspberry leaf tea (with doubled and tripled bags in my mug), dates, squats, spicy food, bouncing on a yoga ball, and everything else you hear about. And still… nothin’.