Ready for childbirth?

[AliceInHinterland]

People keep telling me that the baby (pretty much due now) will come when I'm 'ready'. The alternative is an induction at 41 weeks, and I'm probably as ready as I'll ever be. Obviously I'm nervous - about the birth, coping with a newborn (DC2), but I don't see this changing. How can I either get more ready or convince this baby that I am?

The baby will come when it's ready, not you!

I am 10 days over due and soooooo ready - baby is clearly not! Guess it's just a waiting game....

I know that the baby needs to be ready in theory but midwives etc are also telling me that I need to feel ready. I can't believe this enormous baby is not ready, it's bigger than my first baby was at 6 weeks according to the scan!!

Scans are notoriously wrong for size. I was told I was having a huge baby, he was 7.12lb.

The waiting game is hard!

I'm really hoping that it a slight overestimate at least - thanks for the reassurance!

I know what you mean by you being ready at 37 weeks the Mw and everyone else was sure I would go early (woman in my family rarely go late) I was induced at 41 weeks and my body just didn't seem to want to play ball, so done told me it might have been down to stress, I was told my grandad had 6 weeks to live 7 weeks before my due date and he ended up being taken to Marie curie to die while I was in labour this point T stopped dialing and we ended up with forceps. They say the body sometimes doesn't want to bring the baby into a stressful environment but it's to primal to be on any sort of conscious level iyswim.

No advice apart from relax and much as you can and it might happen.

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandad - I can see that would stop all the hormones flowing as they should - it must have been a very mixed up time for you. I definitely think there's something in the idea that you need to feel very safe and relaxed, so I'm planning to be very lazy and hope that helps!

another one saying don't worry too much about growth scans. I was way off the top of the charts for fundal height/bump size, was sent for growth scans, predicted a whopper. DD was a perfectly average 8lb 2oz.

Thanks Basking - you do wonder why they bother if it just causes unnecessary anxiety! I will try to remember to update - hopefully soon!!

Thank you, still hanging in there! It does seem such a mysterious process and I think it would be really interesting to know whether anxiety blocks the cascade of hormones and results on average in longer pregnancies. Some people much have such strong physical factors in the other direction that the usual system is totally overridden unfortunately resulting in premature birth - I wonder how many of these births get a decent explanation? I only know of one or two, one had preeclampsia the other never got a satisfactory explanation.

I was seriously fed up definitely ready at 36 weeks with DC2 (DC1 was born at 37+1, and DC2 showed at 1lb bigger than DC1 on the scan, so everyone assumed she'd be a 37-weeker too). Despite having had nightly "false alarms" and stop-start labour from 38 weeks, I was still very ready at 40+4 when she eventually decided to haul her hefty 9lb butt into the outside world, just a few hours before I was due to go in for induction. She was 1 1/2 lb heavier than DC1, born with hair and long fingernails, and established labour lasted 1hr7mins (as opposed to the agonising 13hrs of being "almost ready to push" that I had with DC1).

As for how you'll find it with a toddler and a newborn, believe me it's infinitely easier than being 9myhs pregnant with a toddler!

Best of luck for an easy labour xx

So maybe anxiety can block labour BUT being ready is not enough! It is funny how often you hear of people going into labour the morning they are booked to go into hospital though. I think I am going to start bringing out all the tricks. Spicy dinner, acupuncture, a long walk and a seduction might be on the cards. Your comment about toddler + newborn ring easier has cheered me up substantially!

And thank you for your kind wishes for an easy labour.

Had the baby at 40+1, I did feel that the house was nice and ready, it was pretty clean and tidy and I had finally folded all of our clean washing! She also weighed less than 8lbs so you were right that growth scans do seem a bit off.

Congradulations Alice !

Thank you x