cheerleaders needed for a glum overdue woman. come tell me some happy endings that happened to you....

[swottybetty]

.... if you were induced first time but not second time

.... if you went into labour between 41 and 42 weeks

.... if you went post 42 weeks and it was all fine. anyone have a homebirth post 42?

tia

still here?

Hi,

I had a homebirth 16 days past due date. I did go in for all the monitoring and had a really supportive doula (have you thought of that as an option? could help both you and hubby? he could make tea for her! ).

Everything was fine for me. Just went with it really. I called to cancel my last hospital appointment saying I was in labour and then just hung out at home and waited, went to the supermarket, watched 'Some Like It Hot'... Think it was about 12 hours proper labour. It was great.

Good luck!

You could get some guided visualisations from www.easybirthdownloads.com - I'd suggest Induce your Labour + a Stress Release, listen to them as much as possible, even when you're going to sleep. There's a good chance your baby will get the message! They've also got great recordings for quick recovery and easier breastfeeding. Good luck and enjoy these last few days of pregnancy, your baby will soon be here.

still here

booked another sweep this week and more acupuncture. the sweep is on weds, have an induction booked for friday. dh wants me to go in for the induction. i am going to ask the cmw who does the sweep whether the team would support me if i held out for a homebirth over weekend and rebooked the induction for monday. i know that they have to come out for you, but know that without dh's aupport and without the mw's goodwill i really dont have these battles in me.

i am finding the lack of clear advice about post 42 week pregnancies really frustrating. i have waded thru a lot of the NICE stuff but its hard to put all the pieces together. i just want someone to talk sensibly to me and with evidence. i fear that neither my local hcps or the posters on the ten month mama website are meeting my needs

joyfull, what were your nhs cmws and consultants like when you went post 42?

i assumed its a bit late in day to book a doula? asssumed everyone would be booked up from ages ago. i really wish i had got an IM from the start. would have been less that three hundred a month and would have got moneys worth cause of antenatal treatment, really cant find 3k out of nowhere now.

ach - i feel really stressed and annoyed about it all again. have been determined not to moan or obsess and been doing ok. but just now dh said he wanted me to go in on friday and now i just feel like that is way too soon - i really cannot imagine going into labour in the next three days.

one in five labours in the uk is induced (thats induced to get started, not including those given syncto to speed things along late.) nuts, huh? does that mean a fifth of us are malfunctioning? i am beginning to lose faith in my body

My first dc was induced, but at 39 weeks so who knows how long je would have held out?

I wanted a homebirth with dc2 and asked to be allowed to go to 42 weeks before being booked in for induction. I had a sweep at 40+6 when the mw said she could hardly feel my cervix as it was so high. She told me not to expect to go into labour anytime soon

Contractions started early morning on 41+2 and dd was born 7 hours later at home in the birthpool. Labour really did come from nowhere; I hadn't had any twinges, a show or anything. Good luck

I second Kiki - lots and lots of relaxation techniques for you swotty.

Your body is just fine. Hand the birth over to your body and your baby. Even if you end up with an induction after the sweeps, you can still have a wonderful birth and a beautiful baby. And there is still time for it all to begin by itself.

Lots of relaxation. Gentle music. Let go of all the tense muscles. Let go of the pressure and research. Let go of the worry and statistics. Smile! Very soon you will have a baby.

SIL went 20 days past due date to get a home birth. The deal was that after I think 12 days she had to go to hosp for daily monitoring in triage - just an hour or so - to make sure no distress or anything weird happening with placenta. She stuck to her guns and went into labour day 20 after her due date - this was her first baby.
Could a spot of reflexology help maybe?

My first baby was one week late. My second was born 16 days late-at home (on the day they had finally forced me to agree to be induced).

swotty, if you want a doula, ring round, you'll be suprised how many are free most likely. i booked IM for ds2 4 weeks before due date, and 3 practices were free out of the 7 i got in touch with (this is north central london), so you'll probably find someone to doula as well, if you want that.

If you're interested in IMs and doulas you've nothing to loose by ringing up and asking - we booked our IMs at 36 weeks, and still managed to get exactly the skills base we needed. You also loose nothing by asking about payment plans (you don't necessarily have to have completed payment by the end of the period of care) and payment in kind (one of our IMs was desperate for building and decorating work). Looking back, even though we signed on so late we got SO much in the postnatal period I really don't feel we were shortchanged, even though most of my antenatal care was on the NHS.

If you want impartial advice, most IMs offer a consultation appointment for about £50 - even if you don't think you'll book them (which is where they usually come in as a more indepth introduction than over the phone) they may well be prepared to come out and talk through generic pros and cons of going past 42 weeks (there are legal implications to giving you specific advice if you're not under their care).

Have faith that your body and baby can do this, regardless of how your labour winds up starting.

swotty may I hijack your thread please?

I am all glum and have had a good weep over the kitchen sink this morning in true 50's housewife style.

Am 41 weeks today. Had sweep Saturday. Plug went Sunday but no sign of anything happening since then. Have another sweep booked for tomorrow.

DS was born at home in pool at 39 weeks - fab, fast 5 hour labour - all perfect.

I guess my expectations were for a similar experience and I am finding it hard to readjust expectations.

Quick question - if I do end up being induced and labour starts after the pessary bit - will I be allowed to use a pool? I know that if I end up on the dreaded drip that is not an option. Really don't think I could get through labout without water.

Oh arsey bumholes - why won't this baby make a break for freedom!?

hijak away rampant . it's through sheer force of will that i am not spending all my time weeping. it's so silly isnt it? i know exactly what you mean re adjusting your expectations. i have moments of feeling really selfish about something that is so trivial compared to the baby's welfare. but then i feel so scared of repeating my last birth and i feel that without good medical reason, surely it would just be best to hold out a couple more days.

re the pool, i dont know the specifics i'm afraid. i do know that whether you are allowed to labour in the |MWLU depends on the individual hospital. my last induction was at st thomas' in london and i was told i could have up to three doses of the pessary and still be able to labour in the MWLU. This time i am booked in at Mayday in Croydon and have been told that i will be in the labour unit automatically becuase of being an induction.

good luck x

oh I really feel for you both !

Rampant - I can't answer your question re the pool with any authority but I cant imagine a pool being refused to you unless there were another medical issue. You would probably need to be dilated a bit, like everybody else, and could only be intermittently monitored but I doubt that a bump-started labour would prohibit the pool (without a drip as you say).

I say, have a damn good weep. I remember how scary and pressured it was being late myself. Best of luck!

Just a quick update from me...

I had my lovely boy on Sunday at 42 weeks . Went in to hospital at 2am and had him at 6am. It all went very well and he is very sorted.

Hang on in there - it feels like they're never, ever going to come and then it's all over (this is my last one).

Good luck to you both!

Hi swotty - any change with you?

I lost some plug today after a long walk so am feeling a little more positive.

I know exactly what you mean re feeling selfish and knowing that the outcome is the most important thing, but at the same time wanting a good experience. My DH (who is being lovely and trying to jolly me along) said today that "everything else is just garnish". That made me cry! It's not JUST garnish is it?!

To add to the pressure my parents have come all the way from Cornwall to help out (fortunately not staying at our house) and I feel like I have stage fright! Not to mention all the neighbours - has got to the point where I am creeping out of the back gate to avoid well-meant kerbside chats!

Arggghhhhhhhh! I so want to have my homebirth - I know I can do that, know I can cope with it all. I don't KNOW how to cope in hospital.

Good luck to you and thanks for kind thoughts blinder.

Congratulations changer!!!

Were you induced in the end?

Wishing you a very happy few weeks with your new baby.

If it's any help - first dc at 42+2, induced, awful.
But dd2 was booked in for induction at 8am at 42 weeks. Had sex the night before, knowing it would be the last time for a while, started contractions naturally at 4am, went to hospital at 8.30, she arrived at 10.20. Easy peasy.
I too felt that my body was malfunctioning (not helped by a MW who told me I obviously had a 'lazy cervix and would never go into labour without medical intervention'). But I did. Best of luck.

lazy cervix indeed [shakes head]. Some MWs!

I stopped answering the phone after my MIL rang up for (what felt like) the 100th time to "just ask if she's had the baby yet". What did she expect us to say for goodness sake? "Yes - it was last week - we didn't think you were interested..."

I found this poem helped me through those interminable last few days:

My baby's not a library book,
so she's not overdue.
My baby don't take long to cook,
coz she's not veggie stew.

My baby's not an elephant,
and I'm not fit to burst.
The time and date aren't relevant,
we're blessed with days, not cursed.

My baby can't read dates as yet,
because she's very new.
So there's no cause to fuss and fret,
if she don't come on cue.

So stop your worry,
stop your asking,
there's no hurry
we're relaxing
in this golden pregnant time,
this pause, which is just hers and mine.

You leave us be, we are just fine.

©Rachel P (Wales) (from here)

Yay! Great poem x

Lovely poem Tangle - thanks!

Am still pregnant BUT think waters have gone and am cramping alot. Booked for sweep this afternoon SO hopefully I will have a baby in the next 24 hours.

No weeping this morning.

Am keeping busy and eating lots of fruit.

Thanks for the support - any news swotty?

xx

congrats changer! i love your descrption of your lo as "very sorted."

no news here - quite an intense acupuncture session last night. cramped a lot after but then went to bed and slept right through. didnt even wake for my 4am pee . does seem like i have quite crampy moments, esp at night and they go when i lie down and go to bed. last night pain was getting quite bad when i went to brush teeth and go to bed. couldnt help wondering if maybe i should have just stayed upright and moving in an attempt to bring things on.

sweep later today. am going to ask MWs whether i can delay my induction so its on monday not friday. in theory i know they cant say no, but i really want their support for me to have a homebirth if things kick off over weekend.

tangle - hormonearama - i just wept at that bleedin' poem. i am doing so good at not weeping at the moment (i am one of life's natural born weepers), then you come along and blow it!

rabbit - that is so exciting re your waters. any progress? my sweep is at 4.30, i wil check in later to see how yours went. i was 2cm and 7/12 on bishops last time. i have wild fantasies about 4cm and 11/12 this time!

i know what you mean re having family up as extra pressure. one of the reasons i really want a HB is so everything can be low key and just me and dh and dd. my mum is assuming she'll be coming up and looking after dd if i am induced. thing is they'll have to stay cause they live to far away, and they'll have to start driving before rush hour which means i'll have to let them know tomo after lunch if i need them. mil is only and hour away and could easily get here by 7.30am and would be happy to be called at 6am on the morning. i wish i could ask her cause it would be less of a production and would make me feel like i had an extra night - but my mum would be so hurt . more i talk to dh more i have been realising how much of my desire to avoid induction is about this.

lol at the neighbours - i am now going to trump you ... . i live in the boarding school where dh works and leaving the house is a nightmare. i keep head down and dont make eye contact or everyone from the matron to the chaplain to the deputy's wife will start a convo. grrrrr.... by this stage i was meant to have a teeny tiny baby and already have lost the first 6lbs!

thanks for all your kind words of encouragments everyone. esp those with the positive stories of late labours. really appreciated

Thanks for the congratulations. He is feeding well and has slept well today too (fingers- crossed-not-to-jinx-this emoticon).

I wasn't induced. He came of his own free will - with a bit of help from the sweep though! Went into hospital at 2am wanting some gas and air and he was born at 6.

It helped that as I have been in this 'late' position before, I accepted the early scan date of a due date a week later than I knew I was IYKWIM. So the hospital had him as being born at 41 weeks, but I know he was 42. The hospital policy is to let women go to 41+5 so they would have been hassling me to have had my waters broken if I'd argued for my due date as opposed to accepting theirs.

3 of mine (number 2 of the 4 was a c-section) have been late - 41+2 (but waters broken by an over zealous MW), 42 and 42. Mine clearly take a little longer than the average.

Good luck!

these early days are so special arent they? glad all is well in house of changer .

how did it go today rabbit? my MW was so convinced of my ripeness that she successfully deflected all my enquiries about delaying my induction til monday. i feel really really low now. dh took me to appt and lost his temper three times cause he ended up late for work (by fifteen min) and i just feel so pissed off and on my own with this. i really do not want to wake up tomo and have to be getting my family up so i can be induced on friday. its like this whole freakin big production that i really did not want. my last sweep they said i was ready to go, same happened with dd and i still ended up on the drips and the continual monitoring. oh jeez, i feel like such a child at how much this is upsetting me.

Hoping you've had your baby by now but if not can I join you? 40+6 and desperate to avoid a repeat of DS1 hideous medical induction at 42wks.
I'm booked at the MLU and have got a week before they kick me out to the local sesspit hospital. I'm hoping they can do a sweep at my MW appointment later today and am even considering sex which with pretty dire SPD could be interesting

LCN