Anyone else past due date and want to join the club?

[DimpleHands]

I am 40+2 today...

Quite surprised as DS1 came bang on his due date and I thought second babies were likely to come earlier! Absolutely no signs of anything happening so far...

Consultant wants to book me in for an induction next Monday but I think I'd rather wait it out until I get to 42 weeks (please God don't let me get to 42 weeks!).

Anyone else want to join the thread and keep me company?!

Kiwi mummy I was 40+4 with dc3, latest of my three too, but easiest delivery.

Congratulations!!! Lovely news :-)

I'm still here 40+5
I was 10 days late with number 1 so I'm bound to be late again!!

Congratulations TakesTwo!!

Can I join please? 41+1 today, DS came at 40+1, no idea why this one's decided to hang on a week longer. Booked in for induction on Tuesday, had 2 successful sweeps and 3 failed ones - cervix is 2cm but baby keeps going from totally engaged to not engaged at all and they can't sweep when he's 'bobbing' apparently for fear of cord prolapse if the waters go. After the last sweep had about 4 hours of contractions which died off when I went to bed, fast losing hope of spontaneous labour at all. Oh, and the last midwife I saw reckoned he'd be 10lbs+ too so every day that goes by I'm aware that he's growing!!! Argh! Soooo totally fed up with it all.

Congratulations TakesTwo! 10 and a half pounds - wowzers, well done!

Welcome Pizdets. I'm the same - DS1 was bang on time and I was convinced this one would be the same. Now 11 days late! I find the sweep thing absolutely barbaric - and I've only had two failed ones! Anyway, it's quite a long way until Tuesday so fingers crossed for you!

Congratulations takestwo

Quick update! Visited the midwife today for the dreaded sweep which actually turned out to be managable! (Popped a paracetamol before hand so maybe that took the edge off). Baby is now engaged and so low down she could quite easily feel his head! Was very successful as far as sweeps go so fingers crossed it'll get him moving! If not I'm booked in for induction on the 28th! This i was dreading but I must say I'm quite relieved just do have a date!!

Thanks for the welcome. Funny to think Tuesday seems far off to you - feels frighteningly close to me! Pinning my hopes on the sweep tomorrow, feels like I was so close to getting going after the last one, he just needs to engage and stay engaged and not swim about - there's no room in there anyway!!!

eiys hope the sweep does the trick for you. I've found them pretty ok so far, just frustrating when he's bobbing about and they can't do one.

Keeping busy here walking the dog, finishing the nursery and plenty of park trips with DS whose favourite phrase at the moment is 'up mummy, come here mummy'. Also started using a bit of clary sage which might help??!?

Hi Pizdets I'm keeping everything but my legs crossed that the sweep does the trick! Luckily LO has stopped bobbing around just in time for my sweep but there's still time for him to be a pain and pop back out again! Just read your initial post! My fingers are crossed for a natural start for you before Tuesday! I'm not so sure about this clary sage business as I have no idea what it is or what you do with it? Could you give me a little info please?

That sounds promising eiysmummyc - bet you're really close now!

I am at the hospital again and just had another scan (all OK) and about to have another CTG and anothe attempt at a sweep - aargh!

Have to come in Sat and Sun too for more monitoring. Had a chat with the consultant and asked he if she thought it was best to get the baby out on Monday with C section (when I'll be 42 weeks) or leave it a bit longer. She said in no uncertain terms that I should definitely not go over 42 weeks. She also said that the longer overdue you go the less likely it is the baby will come on its own... So now I'm 11 days late it's looking unlikely to come naturally!

I've tried the clary sage - they have it to me at the hospital and told me to rub it into palms of hands and soles of feet. No effect so far! No effect from reflexology. Also taking homeopathic pills to induce things - I think that was probably £8 down the drain! Amazing what one will buy into when desperate!

Well, fingers crossed for an eventful weekend everyone!

Keeping everything crossed for you eiys hope it does the trick. There's some info on oils here www.babycentre.co.uk/a1038554/aromatherapy-in-pregnancy the bit about clary sage is at the bottom.

dimple surely that can't make sense? The longer you go overdue the less likely you are to go into labour? How did that work 100 years ago? Were women pregnant forever? Having said that I'm taking the induction if we get to Tuesday and he's not come on his own (feel quite despondent that he won't at the moment). There are risks of course and also I'm just so fed up with it all. Sorry you have to keep going in, what a pain! I've been at the local birth centre for sweeps most days in the last week (although most of them failed!) and it's so tedious, especially when you have a little one to look after at home too.

Been on my feet all day today and can feel he's engaged, getting loads of random cramping etc but nothing which is getting my hopes up. Keeping hopes pinned on tomorrow's sweep which is of course no good for my mental health!!!

Yes I know - I was thinking that on my way home! Doesn't really make sense does it?!

Part of me really just wants to wait for the baby to come on its own but the consultant was quite blunt about the risks and thinks even leaving it until 42 weeks is pushing it. Have pretty much resigned myself to the C section on Monday now... oh well que sera, sera and all that.

Hey ladies
Hope everyone is doing ok. I am sat with my 48 hour old son on me!

Will try and summarise briefly as it was a bit of a longer process than I was hoping for, but has made me much less worried about interventions.

So I started with period type cramps on Monday night, had turned to contractions by Tuesday 11am. Saw my midwife Tuesday afternoon who confirmed I was in early labour and 2 cm dilated. Continued with contactions throughout the afternoon, home birth midwife came at 9pm and was still only 2cm! Very frustrating. Was up all night with contactions increasing but not becoming that regular. By 9am I was 5cm and got in the pool. At 1pm had examination and was only 6cm. Pain was getting quite bad. Waters broke in the loo badly stained with meconium so ambulance to hospital: I was screaming with the pain and requested and epidural on arrival (around 2pm). Continued contactions, was 7cm by 5pm. Very slow progress! Started on syntocin drip at 5, was fully dilated by 8 but baby's head was not engaged fully and was a weird angle. They suggested to try pushing for an hour then attempt forceps but didn't think it was that likely to work and offered a c section instead which I took. He was born just before 10, perfect little baby at nearly 9lb.

Far from my planned home birth and to be honest quite stressful and painful but all worth it and the interventions (drip, anaesia and Op) were all managed so well.

Struggled to feed him to start to stayed in hospital an extra night. All going well now so off home in the morning!

Hope others are doing well and this story is useful X

Oh my goodness acquiescence you must be absolutely exhausted after all that! Well done and congratulations! Sounds like the C section was a good call - much better that than forceps I reckon.

Hope you are recovering well and enjoy your little boy!

Thank you! C section was not nearly as bad as I thought, so fast and the cut so well managed. Hoping yours goes well if that is what happens X

Quite exhausted but I think adrenaline takes over!

Congratulations acquiescence! Hope the feeding and healing continue to go well.

Congratulations acquiesence sounds like a bit of an ordeal which you have come through amazingly. I definitely think I need to spend the weekend preparing myself mentally and not going to pot next week because things haven't worked out how I planned.

However I am placing some hopes on the sweep later today - will spend some quality time on the ball to try and get him engaged and fingers crossed it could help. Been having more cramps since yesterday evening, although not ramping up at all!

Any results from the sweeps this week Dimple and eiys?

OK an update!

Had a sweep yesterday - the midwife juuuuust managed to reach my cervix, and gave me a mini sweep - apparently it was posterior but very favourable. Then had a hot curry last night!

Went into hospital a couple of hours ago for a CTG. The trace showed I was contracting, although I could barely feel it. Came home and had a "show". Feeling very heavy and cumbersome and like things MAY be starting!

Hurrah dimple!!!! Hope the progress continues steadily. Good luck!

Woohoo Dimple. I wish I was feeling just as enthusiastic. Things aren't so promising for me. Sweep yesterday at 11am at which I was 2cm dialated, cervix 2cm and slightly posterior. Had nothing until 12am this morning where I had two contractions which then stopped and none since! Lost some of my plug earlier on around 3.30 pm!! No other signs atall not even a niggle! Currently sat drinking a stupid amount of pineapple juice and doing some light bouncing on the good ol' excercise ball!

Good news dimple hope it picks up from here! eiys I will join you on the depressed bench. Lost my plug about a week ago but it hasn't made any difference! No sweep today as he's 'free as a bird' according to the midwife. The aches and cramps which I had last night faded as the day went on and I feel fine now. Pretty much just trying to stay sane and get my head around induction on Tuesday now, although will try and nip in tomorrow on the off-chance he's decided to engage again and I can have a sweep. With 3 nights to go I'm not feeling hopeful!

Hello all, room for one more? I'm 40+5 today and am possibly being induced on Monday (well, consultant booked it, I'll be 40+7 but he never actually explained why I'd be induced that early so going in for a chat with another consultant who will decide if I have to stay or not). Dd arrived on her own at 40+2 so I'm getting impatient now!

Chin up Pizdets theres still time! And if not i guess its nice to have an end date..every cloud and all that! Keep losing my plug but that's about as exciting as it's getting! Fingers crossed our little bundles surprise us with an appearance sharpish!

Also welcome annatha I know the feeling well! Hope all goes well with the consultant and you get the answers you're looking for! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you in the meantime! !

Congrats aquiesence! Glad your little one is safely in the world and I hope you're healing ok. I absolutely know what you mean about interventions--I had been extremely wary of them, but mine were very well managed by the midwives etc. It took so long to get from 3cm to 4cm that without the drip it could have taken another day to dilate fully. And while forceps and episiotomy were at the top of my 'do not want' list when making a birth plan, DS's reaction to being pushed out was such that if forceps didn't work, an emergency section was imminent. So things worked out ok, but I appreciate that everyone's best worse case scenario is different.

eisymummy annatha and pizdets I'm thinking of you. And lots of luck to you Dimples!

That's really nice to hear austen. Glaf you had a positive experience with intervention! Although I'm dead set on a natural delivery I don't think LO is! Que sara sara and all that.