How much bouncing do I need to do?? And other "getting things started" specifics...

[StepfordWeeble]

Hello ladies

I'm 41 weeks' pregnant with my first DC and naturally trying to do what I can to encourage him along as I'm keen to avoid a hospitalised induction. Could you knowledgeable BTDT mums help me with a few questions?

• I've spent much of the X Factor tonight bouncing on my birth ball. If this helped you, how long did you do it for? And was the effect immediate or did you feel the extreme pain benefit later?

• DH and I haven't done the deed for a while; we're both a bit squeamish about the third person in the room! But at this stage we're thinking of giving it a go. My question is whether it is more painful at this stage? When I've been doing my perineal massage the whole fanjo area feels much more crowded so I can't imagine that it would be straightforward...

• I have a breast pump which I haven't yet cracked out for some nipple fiddling. If I use this to get things going is there a risk that I will accidentally express some of the colostrum which I should be saving for bubba? I already leak a little bit... .

I'm also due to be swept next week but would prefer to start of without someone sticking their arm up my fanjo All Creatures Great and Small style.

Thanks for your help!

Yes, sex is a good un and it shouldn't hurt at all. Prostoglandin in semen is what you're after and nature provides the perfect mode of transport for it! Find a comfy way to be and your baby really won't mind, I'm sure

Try rolling your hips slowly in circles one way then the other, legs wide apart, rather than bouncing on the birth ball.

I would opt for manual nipple tweaking in preferance over a breast pump. Although it's entirely normal to leak.

An update: nipple twiddling did it for me! After an hour of it (2 x 15 mins on each boob) I started to feel period type pain then my waters broke. The correlation was so quick and direct that I'm convinced it's not a coincidence!

ooh great news! Give us an update!