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Well, I had the second stripping of my membranes at the OB yesterday and I'm happy to report that it did not require involuntary screams of pain.

I think this was mainly due to the fact that the first stripping was so rigorous that there was very little to remain to do. In fact, the provider I had marveled at how thorough the first procedure was, saying, "Wow, she really stripped you good!"  Um, no kidding.

"Aren't second babies supposed to be early?" I whined. She smiled and acknowledged my pain, saying that everyone often hypes up the earliness of second babies.

What she did do was schedule an induction in case I go post-dates. Usually, they schedule this no earlier than a week after the due date, but in our case with JP leaving one week after the due date, she was able to schedule it for January 10.

So, that's that. I have an absolute end date in sight, 3 days after my due date. It's a relief to know that he will be here for the birth. Hopefully, I won't go that long either.

But, as much as I'm hoping for an imminent birth, I'm also getting a little anxious about labor itself. I've done this before, yes, but I have to say, it was a very controlled setting with not a lot of uncertainty.

I woke up in the middle of the night feeling the unmistakeable trickle of amniotic fluid leakage and was in the car on the way to the hospital when my contractions first started. It was an automatic admission and they helped the labor along with pitocin. I had a FABULOUS epidural that allowed me to actually sleep during the last stages of dilation. Talk about serious pain control. Granted, I had absolutely no feeling down there for the pushing but was still able to push out Jolie in 40 minutes. Relatively speaking, my labor with her was a breeze.

I know all labors are different and have started to worry- what if this is much more painful and the epidural doesn't work as well? What if there are complictions? Will I know it's time when it's time (and don't have the luxury of my water breaking to clue me in)?

But, time as a way of erasing a laboring mother's pains. I can't even remember what the placement of the epidural was like the first time and how uncomfortable that was. I know this will all be just a faded memory soon, pelvic torture and all.