Timid and now overdue first timer nervously awaiting the big day needs advice of wise Mumsnetters...

[champagnesupernova]

Hello

I'm 40+2 today and up until the due date was blissfully not worrying about when this baby was coming. I hadn't done any of the traditional "bring on labour" things of which Lulumama and Mars speak so eloquently, in fact I'd rather been avoiding them as am a bit scared of labour

Have actually been avoiding hot food, and very careful when rubbing in my stretch mark oil for fear of accidentally stimulating my nips {grin] and certainly don't have any raspberry leaf tea in the house.

Our AN clinic is held on a Monday but because of the bank hol, it wasn't this week, so my next appt is at the hospital on Monday. (41 weeks)

Now I'm paranoid that if I've not had it by then, that they'll be talking about all sorts of induction processes and things and I'm wondering whether I should be thinking about curry?

Baby is kicking madly (seems much more active in the last ten days or so) and I do feel very full of baby!!

Am I over-reacting and should I just take it easy and be patient?

TIA

Weeelll, trying a a few nice natural methods would certainly be preferable to an induction, which many people find stressful and drawn-out. It's going to happen! - so if i were you I'd get tweaking, get the tea, have a curry, a shag, and you could try my method - a loud rock concert - to get things going. Or book yourself a luxurious facial or something for a few days' time, and by sodslaw you'll end up in labour and have to cancel.

I went to 40+4 overdue, which is really not much for a first baby, but I remember feeling very lost and befuddled once the due date had passed. But I bet you'll be posting your baby news shortly

Do talk to the midwife about your fears though if you haven't yet - I was very anxious about labour and they were brilliant and very understanding. Good luck!

Sorry to hear that you sound a bit stressed about labour - it is scary because you have no idea what to expect, but despite the fact that it is painful you should remember that it is also (compared to pregnancy) relatively short and when it is over you finally get to meet your baby!

There are things that you can do to encourage labour and I am sure people that know more about this than I do will be here shortly. Please try not to be too scared or tense about labour. It can be very painful, but it is manageable pain or else NO ONE would ever repeat the experience! And the best advice I can give you is that when it starts (which it usually does whether you are ready or not!) you should do everything in your power to stay as calm and relaxed as possible because anxiety can make the experience seem worse than it is. I know because I was the most tensed up first time mother ever (imo) and it didn't help. I still plan to have more children and when I do I will do everything in my power to stay calm and relaxed - having hot baths, listen to calming music, do breathing exercises because my anxiety was a bit of a problem and, frankly, didn't stop the labour anyway (thank goodness)!

Sorry to ramble on - just wanted to try to reassure you that I understand your worry but that if you focus all of your energy on staying as relaxed as possible and focussed on the outcome (your baby!!!) then you may find labour a much easier process! Best wishes and can't wait to hear your news!

Plan to shave your legs/muff etc in about five days time, not before. I can guarantee you baby will be born before you get to your bic.

Seriously though, I'm not sure I'd bother with all the natural induction methods, the only one which worked for me (got show/twinges etc about 12 hours later, he was born at 40+5) was sex. Ate most of a pineapple but it just added to my heartburn, curry did much the same, nipple stimulation pretty much just makes you feel like a plonker and makes your partner think he's on a promise (yeah, right!) Long walks can tire you out and you never know when you might need the energy.

As for the actual event, there's no need to be scared, just keep an open mind about everything, don't be too rigid and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it, you get no medals for doing it without pain relief, so just do what you feel is right at the time.

Relax baby will come when baby is ready. You could try as many natural methods as you want and still have nothing happen.

It's very scary and with my first I was in denial that I was even going to have a baby until the midwife told me I was 10cm and could start pushing when I wanted to. I was induced with ds1 and it really was a wonderful experience. To be honest I found being pregnant for 9 months much more painful and harder than labor.

Good luck to you.

DD was 40 + 6 , tried all the natural methods- curry, bumpy roads, sex, rasp leaf tea to help contractions. What did it was a Sweep by the midwife followed by walking a couple of miles - oh yes and the fear that she had me booked for induction 4 days later!
Gas and air is wonderful stuff! Good luck!

I would highly recommend relaxing as much as possible, even though I know that isn't easy. I wish that I had done a lot less in the days before I went into labour, as I got quite tired.
Also, they will probably discuss induction, but that doesn't mean that you have to have induction if you don't want to. As long as the baby is OK, you will have another week to go into labour spontaneously.

I went to 40+10 and 40+11 with my babies. At both 41 week appointments scans showed that I had very little amniotic fluid (which can be a sign that the placenta's started to break down), so I was booked in for inductions the next day. Luckily, dc2 made an appearance that night, but I was induced with dc1.
Inductions aren't that bad, but I wanted to avoid one the 2nd time around because 1, medically induced contractions are more painfully, and 2, the fecking drip stand and continual monitoring restrict your movement somewhat and everyone obsessing over the monitor drove me mental! (The midwives at my hospital were heroes and bent over backwards to find me a portable monitor so I could move around - if you get to that stage, insist on one, otherwise you'll have to stay still throughout!!)
So I went all out to get baby two out naturally. The only two things that worked were acupuncture, which I totally recommend because it's a nice, relaxing therapy, and a vigorous stretch and sweep, which you may be offered at your 41 week appointment.
Good luck!

I went to 40 + 10 with DD before I was induced. It was the last thing I wanted but nothing else seemed to bring labour on and actually the induction was nowhere nearly as bad as I'd thought. I think once you're ready to pop it just gives things a little push along. In the end all I had was one dose of prostin gel and DD was out within 8 hours. For me pregnancy was SO much harder than labour. Good luck with it all, you'll be fine.

I went 40 + 11 with my DD and then had a lovely birth if a little long! I tried all the tricks, pineapple (bad mouth ulcers!) Raspberry leaf tea (tastes foul but i think it helped with the contractions and how effective they were) Sex (i was huge - it was uncomfortable !) Long walk (DP took me on a 3.5 mile hike i just kept asking him to call a cab!) not sure if anything worked but she arrived of her own accord - oh i did have a sweep and reflexology in desperation - With my DS i also tried all the tricks but he was more than happy where he was thank you very much and i was induced at 40 + 15 which i so desparately wanted to avoid as i was phobic about the hospital i had to go in to have this done. However the staff were fab with me the induction wasn't as bad as i thought one dose of gel and he arrived after 3hrs of active labour and 10 mins of pushing, so try not to get too worked up your lovely baby will come when ready and even if it takes a little gentle persuasion it will honestly be worth it in the end! Good luck.