Say something consoling to me...

[PeterPan]

I'm still pregnant. :(

 

I was due a week ago Friday, but the midwife thinks a series of stressful meetings (like things where dh could not have been at the birth) pushed it off. So now I'm a week plus 2 days overdue. With dd, I was 3 days overdue, woke up, and it just went, kwim? This time, I've had BH for months. I've been having contractions for over a week, but they were very spaced and stopped with each meeting day, unbelievable. So yesterday they went all day 6-7 minutes apart, 40 seconds long, then caput. Today they're longer, with 80 second ones 9 minutes apart and shorter (30-40 seconds) every 3-4 minutes inbetween. So I get two mini's and a huge, two mini's and a huge.

 

My midwife isn't willing to do anything invasive at this point, not without active labor, and she said those mini's need to get longer and stronger, more like the huges. But it's taking FOREVER!!! I mean it took a whole day just to go from 40 to 80 seconds!!!

 

So if you have anything consoling to say or sob stories or words of how it happened to you and all worked out, that would be just great. It's this slow, dragging out thing that is frazzling me. I just never anticipated it, kwim?

[Laura in VA]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Hoping your little one comes soon!

[LadyAberlin]

When I went into labor with my first my water broke, but the contractions were never strong. I walked all day long and still I was stuck at 6cm for a while. After about 10 hrs or so of that my midwife gave me an enema and I did nipple stimulation in the shower and walah I started having really strong contractions in the shower and I went through transition in the shower and got out and pushed for 45 min and there was the baby. So you might want to try the nipple stimulation in the shower and if your are constipated at all the enema was very helpful.

[Osmosis Mom]

I have only sympathy and a smile for you, Elizabeth!!! A lot of us have been in your shoes. A few days before I had ds I manically went through all the pieces of advice I had gotten and bought eggplant parmesan, ate licorice till it came out through my nose (almost literally), took some herbal stuff and drank licorice tea. Nothing happened.

[Amy in Orlando]

:grouphug::grouphug:

[Plucky]

You are such a trooper. It's hard to go overdue. I know. It sounds like you have a good midwife and that makes a huge difference. Come on out baby! Mommy is ready.

[Garga]

Poor sweetie! Those last couple of weeks are sooo tough. Most midwives will wait (if they can) until you are a full two weeks after your due date. Find out when that day is and set yourself to endure until then! You can do it! You'll be great!!

[melissel]

:grouphug: Well, does it make you feel any better to know that all babies come out eventually? And that you should enjoy these last few days with your DD before the baby comes and you are all swept away?

 

It's very hard. I was 11 days overdue with my first, and finally induced because of poor non-stress test results (a big mistake, but I was young and stupid and didn't have the courage to speak up when we got to hospital and had more tests and the OB said, "Well, if we'd had tests like these at the office, I'd have sent you home!!!"). Those last few days are like torture. My mother believes that God made the last month of pregnancy so awful so that labor is ultimately a relief.

 

I hope your little one comes soon!

[sleepy]

:grouphug:Oh, dear, I certainly understand. Dd#1 was 6 days late, dd#2 was 7 days late, and ds was 11 days late. My youngest, the little angel, was only 3 days late.

 

You won't be pregnant much longer, I promise!:grouphug:

[Karen in CO]

:grouphug:

Both my girls were over a week late. My healthy son and my healthy nephew were both 2 weeks overdue.

 

I had BH with all three of mine. Months and Months of BH. Drink water and lie down. Its like exercise. You're uterus is going to be in GREAT shape for the real thing.

 

Relax. Due dates are just dates on a calendar. Babies come when they are ready. You're just isn't done yet.

 

When I was waiting for my ds to be born, I kept having dreams that I was cooking baby back ribs. I'd hear the timer go off, go to the oven, pull out the pan and there would be a baby. It was kind of creepy the first few times I had the dream.

 

With my middle, I dreamed I was fishing and pulled her out of the water on a big cartoonish hook.

 

With my youngest, I kept dreaming that a Greyhound bus would stop in front of me, Wolf Blitzer would step off with a bundle and hand me a baby. I learned I should quit going to sleep with the tv on and I almost named my youngest Wolf.

 

Relax. Enjoy the last few days with an only child.

[Linda...inOwasso]

Hi Elizabeth!

 

I came on tonight specifically to check on you! Does that make you feel better? :) I have nothing to offer in regards to the little man making his appearance other than you're a better woman than I am!

 

When it came to pregnancy & childbirth, I was a complete wimp. I hated being pregnant... I was miserable from beginning to end. Not only did I become intimate with every parking lot in town from "all the live long day sickness", but at the first inkling of a contraction I was on all fours screaming for drugs. Not pretty, but true.

 

So, I know you're miserable. I know your patience is GONE. Hopefully sharing what an incredible baby I was will make you feel a teensy bit better?

[BizyPenguin]

I logged on just to see if you had your little baby yet. Hang in there!! And try to enjoy these last few hours...or days with baby in utero if you can. Pregnancy really is a wonderful time...Praying for your labor to begin tonight!

[PeterPan]

Wow, every one of you are so encouraging!!!

 

Linda--these contractions haven't hurt as much as they did last time, or I'd probably be a wimp too! :)

 

Karen, your stories are utterly hilarious and left me and dh ROFL!!!

 

Erin, Melissa, and Dusty Lizard--I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're right. MW keeps saying two weeks (ie. this coming Friday, not long, right?) is the magic number, and then she will "do something." So you're right, that if I can focus on it, that's an end point.

 

Elaine and Lizard--Thanks for the kind words about my mw! I like her, had a good experience the first time. I got chewed up some this week by people telling me I shouldn't be going overdue, blah blah, so that was rough. I'm just glad to hear that what she's doing is in the realm of normal for a mw. Honestly, after I read about Barb getting her membranes stripped (same due date) by her mw, I cried! Even though I know it's a different situation, it's still no fun, kwim? And I wondered if mine was being overly cautious. But if she's normal, she's normal. I know she took really good care of me the first time, so hopefully we'll be fine this time too.

 

Nadia, yup manically willing to try anything would be about the sentiment here, hehe...

 

To the rest, thanks for the hugs and ideas to try. :)

 

When you're stuck doing it, you're not much of a trooper, just doing what you have to do. It has blown my mind though, because it's so not what I expected, nothing like with dd. Thanks again for sharing your stories, and I'll be sure to keep reading for more! :)

[Once]

Elizabeth

 

I'm rooting for you tonight. It could be tonight. My labors always started at night and I think that is not uncommon. Also, in your favor is your impatience. When you have finally had enough that's when it all starts. If you've done your nesting then you are sure to have that babe soon.

 

I'm sure you will hold him in your arms very soon and the waiting will all pass away into distant memories. :grouphug:

 

Thinking of you tonight!

[Vida Winter]

I'm still pregnant. :(

 

I was due a week ago Friday, but the midwife thinks a series of stressful meetings (like things where dh could not have been at the birth) pushed it off. So now I'm a week plus 2 days overdue. With dd, I was 3 days overdue, woke up, and it just went, kwim? This time, I've had BH for months. I've been having contractions for over a week, but they were very spaced and stopped with each meeting day, unbelievable. So yesterday they went all day 6-7 minutes apart, 40 seconds long, then caput. Today they're longer, with 80 second ones 9 minutes apart and shorter (30-40 seconds) every 3-4 minutes inbetween. So I get two mini's and a huge, two mini's and a huge.

 

My midwife isn't willing to do anything invasive at this point, not without active labor, and she said those mini's need to get longer and stronger, more like the huges. But it's taking FOREVER!!! I mean it took a whole day just to go from 40 to 80 seconds!!!

 

So if you have anything consoling to say or sob stories or words of how it happened to you and all worked out, that would be just great. It's this slow, dragging out thing that is frazzling me. I just never anticipated it, kwim?

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

Your pregnancy sounds like all of mine (except my 2nd when I induced a week early in order to "schedule" it). For my first baby, I was two weeks overdue and the doctor would not let me go another day, so I was induced.

 

Hang in there, it will happen when it happens. For my last child, my whole family was sitting around in our very tiny rental house -- watching me -- and waiting. It was endless. It about drove me out of my mind. When I thought I could not take it another minute, I woke up one morning, my water broke, and that afternoon I had my baby.

I think since this is not your first baby, things will go very smoothly. But I know how hard it is to wait!

 

:grouphug:

 

~Dana

[sleepy]

Hey, have you read the good birth memories thread? I got all teary just reading those stories. Who knows, maybe reading them will get you in the zone. :001_smile:

 

p.s. Awwww, look at one of those tags down there: "Elizabeth is a sweetie"

[Alana in Canada]

I've been thinking of you and wondering if I shoud send a pm!

 

Every single one of my children ws overdue. I know what you're feeling. My advice would be to walk and rest, walk and rest. Has you MW suggested black and blue cohosh with you? It might be a thought.

 

I swear I spent the last two weeks of my pregnancies with my feet either up or in water. Be as comfy as you can and get lots of sleep. Or go to a concert! Seriously, I went to the folk festival here in town--I wasn't going to miss it--and I'd had such terrible BH I could barely walk! But I had a great time and never did get to bed that night. DD was born by 5:30 am the next morning. I was sorry I had to miss the rest of the festival!

 

Hang in there, Mom. They do come out.

[Quiver0f10]

:grouphug: the last few days are the hardest! I went over due with each and every one of the little buggers, but they do eventually get born. Hang in there!

[PeterPan]

Oh Alana, you're hilarious! There's actually a McCain rally tomorrow in the big city, and I was thinking what a hoot that would be to go and go into labor there, haha. Sort of like your festival. Women swoon for Obama, but McCain brings forth the next generation of voters? Hehe, in any case, I'm not going. You're right though on the BH to where you can hardly walk. They just keep ramping up and ramping up to where it is downright unpleasant. I have the whole waddle thing going and take quite a while to get up the stairs. It's pathetic. :)

 

You'd think after waiting so long to get pregnant (8 1/2 years!), I wouldn't be so all fired up to have it end ASAP. Oh well, it's time. And yes, I'm getting to the impatient, very ready point, which I wasn't at a week ago, just more ambivalently ready. I think I've nested 3 times over, so I'm good on that front. Eating and napping, well I eat as if every meal would be my last (bad idea? hehe) and have been taking extra naps, just to build up a reserve.

 

Just so y'all know, Greta (mom2boys) is going to post whenever the baby is born, assuming this child GETS born. (There was a lady on TLC who never did birth, so it could happen, ack!) If you want a private email, you're welcome email me personally and I'll add you to the list my dh is sending out. Don't flood me or anything, haha. I'm just not planning on bouncing back fast, will probably need time off, and wouldn't want to leave y'all hanging. :)

[PeterPan]

Quiver, I was hoping you would write me!! So did yours all come naturally, or did they have to "do" something to make them happen?

[Chris in VA]

COME ON, BABY!!!

 

Just a little encouragement for your little one...:D

 

BTW, if you do need to induce, ask your midwife to forgo pitocin. There's a thyroid med that has uterine contractions as a side effect--my midwife gave it to me when we had dd. Also, the nipple stim is effective (ask me how I know--or ask dh! No, wait, don't).:lol:

[Harriet Vane]

:grouphug:

[1bassoon]

OK, Elizabeth -

 

I promise you won't be teaching phonics inutero! Really!!

 

I had a piddly labor with #5 - I really wished I'd been more patient, and waited for things to get going more on their own. Had contractions a week early, not strong enough to really kick in. MW gave me primrose oil, things cooked up a bit - I'm known for fast labors, went to the hospital. It petered our, had pitocin, epidural, whole nine yards. Ah, well. Baby was in a funky position, turns out, so not sure waiting would have helped. Second-guessing is for the birds!

 

Hang in there, and I'll be praying for you.

[Sandy in Indy]

I'm so glad to "see" you on the board...I've been wondering. Relax--or at least try to! The baby will come.

[Chris in CA]

My first was a week late, and I still get to tell her all about it :001_smile:

 

ps - at 13 she is still the one I wait for at the door

[Sugarfoot]

we laugh that if my oldest had his way, I'd still be pregnant with him. He just turned 13... Honestly, I've never gone into labor on my own although I've had contractions for weeks that didn't go anywhere. Everything will be okay. :grouphug: Just keep telling yourself that the baby will be here before the milk expires! (assuming you bought milk recently, that is...) It always made me feel better to realize that the dates on fresh foods were farther into the future than my baby's birth... Sorry if that's not helpful to you at all! Maybe I'll just pray and send good thoughts your way:)

[gardenschooler]

I know it's hard, Elizabeth. Hang in there. All of mine were very late (I won't tell you how late, because that is not going to happen to you!)

 

Tomorrow. The baby's coming tomorrow. Just hang on for one more day. (about a thousand sappy songs popped into my head, sorry!)

 

:grouphug:

[Dayle in Guatemala]

:grouphug:My sympathies here. It's hard when you're overdue--the sympathetic looks, the "are you still pregnant?" comments, it's crazy. It'll be over soon!

[hsmamainva]

I'm sending you LOTS of "come on baby!" vibes --- you deserve them!!!!

 

(And today is my youngest son's birthday!)

 

So .... let's go, baby!!!!!!!

 

:party:

 

:grouphug:

[Lizzie in Ma]

Hang in there. That child will be born when it is darn good and ready and all this will be a thing of the past. My littlest was 3 weeks late the monster, I couldn't have been more miserable. :grouphug:

[PeterPan]

Oh Lizzie, three weeks late?!?! I can't even imagine... Well you've made me feel better, because it hasn't gotten to that point! :)

 

I'm going to start some new sewing projects today and just try to keep busy. Dh vetoed going to the political rally, even though I thought it was just the thing to get labor going, to be in an inconvenient place with a bunch of cheering people... :)

[Quiver0f10]

Quiver, I was hoping you would write me!! So did yours all come naturally, or did they have to "do" something to make them happen?

 

I was induced with one and the rest came naturally between 9 and 17 days over due. :D

[PeterPan]

Ok Quiver, if yours all came naturally just by waiting, then I'm going to be patient... Honestly, I've been wondering if my body is broken!

[Quiver0f10]

Ok Quiver, if yours all came naturally just by waiting, then I'm going to be patient... Honestly, I've been wondering if my body is broken!

 

 

Nope, some just take longer. :grouphug: Wont be long now!

[8filltheheart]

Our oldest was 2 weeks overdue after starting false labor at 37 weeks. During the 5 weeks, we went to the hospital 6 times in false labor!!

 

When I finally called dh at work to tell him I had lost my mucus plug and the dr said come in....it was the real deal and I would be having what I was convinced was an overgrown watermelon......dh's response was, "yeah, right, I'll be home in a while."

 

It was 11:00 am when we finally started driving there. Dh complained the entire way b/c he had wanted to be the mad driver in the middle of the night rushing to get laboring wife to the hospital!!!! LOL!! Not only that, we hadn't decided on a name and still didn't agree all the way through labor.

 

By the time I got to the hospital, (after going to the dr's office first), it was 1. They didn't have any available rooms and I had to sit in an office. At 2, they had a room. Ds (not a watermelon) was born 1 1/2 hrs later. :)

[PeterPan]

Oh momof7, that's too funny!!! LOL And what's so funny is, that's us too, a week overdue and still not in agreement on names. I finally told dh that the names I've liked for 9 1/2 months will just have to do, that he has no taste in names and that's that. If I told you some of the names he's wanted, you wouldn't believe it... (or at least I didn't!) But that's ok. In reality he wouldn't have liked dd's name if we had discussed it a lot ahead of time, and now he likes it just fine. He'll get over this one too.

 

And yes, I think if I have another day of "But they're 6 minutes apart so surely they'll be 5 soon...", nobody is going to believe me! It will happen though, I'm seeing that. It's just a patience game. But I really do have a serious basketball in here, oh my. I'm guessing 10 pounds.

[susie in tx]

It's so very hard to wait. I have hated every single time I've had to do it, especially when I was waiting for a baby.

 

Give me a few weeks and I'll be you.

 

I also agree that your midwife is taking a nice approach.

 

Tons of hugs. :grouphug::grouphug:

[Mom2boys]

I keep checking my email Elizabeth, looking for your dh's note that the baby has arrived. I'm sending labor vibes your way! I know it will be any time now. :001_smile:

 

And, your dd has a lovely name, so I am sure what you have picked for this little one is equally wonderful.

 

It's a nice day for a walk. I'm telling you, a few trips up and down your driveway would probably send you right into labor. :D

[Jami]

It's a nice day for a walk. I'm telling you, a few trips up and down your driveway would probably send you right into labor. :D

 

 

Get walkin' Elizabeth! We want a baby today. :001_smile:

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Good luck, Elizabeth! Don't forget to enjoy the last little bit of being pregnant. It won't be long and you'll be missing it. I know I always do.

 

Also, the nipple stim is effective (ask me how I know--or ask dh! No, wait, don't).:lol:

 

It worked for me too! DS was born the earliest of all three of my kids and I was still nursing his 18-month-old sister many times a day.

[PeterPan]

I'm trying to think of the most discreet way to say we keep TRYING everything y'all suggest, and it just ain't working... ;)

[Colleen in NS]

I'm still pregnant. :(

 

I was due a week ago Friday, but the midwife thinks a series of stressful meetings (like things where dh could not have been at the birth) pushed it off. So now I'm a week plus 2 days overdue. With dd, I was 3 days overdue, woke up, and it just went, kwim? This time, I've had BH for months. I've been having contractions for over a week, but they were very spaced and stopped with each meeting day, unbelievable. So yesterday they went all day 6-7 minutes apart, 40 seconds long, then caput. Today they're longer, with 80 second ones 9 minutes apart and shorter (30-40 seconds) every 3-4 minutes inbetween. So I get two mini's and a huge, two mini's and a huge.

 

My midwife isn't willing to do anything invasive at this point, not without active labor, and she said those mini's need to get longer and stronger, more like the huges. But it's taking FOREVER!!! I mean it took a whole day just to go from 40 to 80 seconds!!!

 

So if you have anything consoling to say or sob stories or words of how it happened to you and all worked out, that would be just great. It's this slow, dragging out thing that is frazzling me. I just never anticipated it, kwim?

 

Oh, you poor thing. I just sent you a PM, then saw this thread. You will give birth sooner or later. I had much the same experience as what you are having now, with contractions forever, dragged out, tired out, everyone asking me, calling me, etc. etc.. Just try your best to keep doing fun things to take your mind off of the wait. Around here, medical people don't let you go longer than two weeks overdue, so by day 12 overdue, I knew I'd have a baby in two more days. But then she was born on day 12. Pretty much the same story with my son. Waiting is sooooooooo hard! :grouphug:

[PollyOR]

How's it going? :grouphug:

[Sara in AZ]

Just chiming in to say I feel your pain. I'm not due until Tuesday, but since my first two were born at 36 an 37 weeks I was completely ready to have a baby a month ago. I never knew how bad that last month could get, and all I have to say is I'm sorry and hang in there!