Anyone else waiting for their baby? 39+2 and looking for some company...

[Danani]

That's it really...
I'm 39+2, bouncing on my birthing ball, eating dates, drinking raspberry leaf tea, going on daily walks, eating spicy foods.....you name it! But no signs of baby coming or imminent labour, and getting slightly impatient now.
If anyone else is (im)patiently waiting on their little one's imminent arrival, this is the place to keep each other company. :)

40 weeks today, still nothing. Cervix is high but 1cm dilated. The midwife prodded my cervix hard and I had a few aches afterwards and then nothing - gutted. Baby is obviously very comfortable.

@Coco9910 thank you, you are right, Dr Google isn’t always your friend! 😅 sorry to hear you’ve had reduced movements, it’s such a worry isn’t it. Wow, you’ll be holding your lovely little baby very soon, that’s great 🥰 wishing you lots of luck for your induction and I hope all goes smoothly for you, I look forward to your update!

Same here @W00p, 40 weeks today and nothing. Had some blood stained discharge earlier, wondered if it was the start of my bloody show, but Dr Google says it’s normal after having a cervical check, so not getting my hopes up. Our babies are definitely very comfortable in there!

41+2 here and still absolutely nothing. Sweep today and cervix still closed.

Feel like a prisoner in my own body. In quite a lot of pain due to size. Swelling. Carpal tunnel. Hips. Can’t sleep. Heartburn. Mood very low.

@W00p i know what you mean about feeling gutted. Also find the ‘advice’ increasingly annoying as it suggests I’m doing something wrong. If only I sniffed my Clary Sage oil more frequently, I wouldn’t be in this predicament or somesuch bollocks.

Feeling quite resentful about the whole thing now, which is quite worrying.

God knows how I’m going to get through the next four days - at which point I’ve been booked in for an induction. Dreading it.

@SantiagoSister I suppose one positive is that the longer you go overdue, you will be so desperate to get the baby out that literally anything will be better than continued pregnancy.

Hello ladies, sorry to hear you're all suffering. If it makes anyone feel better in the group, I had absolutely zero signs of labour. Nothing at all. No twinges. No back pain. Then randomly one morning my water broke and it went from 0-100. Not everyone has a build up and just because you're going overdue doesn't mean baby won't be coming very soon. It may be abrupt like mine was. A friend went exactly to 42 weeks and the day before induction went into a very spontaneous labour. I know it's easier said than done and the wait is the absolute worst but don't lose hope. And worse comes to worst you can always have an induction and get your healthy baby x

Absolutely and I don't want to come across as ungrateful @greenerfingers, baby is healthy, everything good with placenta, I am so grateful to have got to this point. If an induction means getting her into my arms then so be it, but I've had an induction before and it wasn't pleasant. I didn't really want to go over 40 weeks either as my last baby was 10lb 4oz so with a history of big babies I didn't want to make it more uncomfortable for me, but hospital isn't concerned and won't induce for a non health specific reason. 😣 God I sound miserable ! 😂

Don't even get me started @MidnightPatrol I've got the "why haven't you been eating dates?" gang on top of me. I dunno, because I dislike them?! And just like you I'm in pain, I wake up in the morning and my sides hurt, my back hurts, my wrists hurt, my pelvis cracks for some inexplicable reason, I keep peeing when I cough or sneeze, slept for 4 hours yesterday because I can't get comfortable and on top of that I'm taking nightly shots of Gaviscon.

Can't wait to update the thread once she's vacated the premises 😅 Good luck to you xx

@W00p I was busily doing all the ball bouncing, date eating, long walks, pineapple eating, colostrum harvesting, reflexology etc etc until a couple of days ago.

It has now reached the point where all of the above just feels ridiculous as it’s so obviously not having any effect.

I also feel absolutely ridiculous for having a house full of baby things. It feels completely stupid that I’ve got this room full of nappies and clothes and so on.

When will you be induced if so? Yes I agree can’t wait to get them out…!

@W00p ive been eating dates for weeks and my cervix is still only 1cm and long at 41 weeks so I would go as far as saying they didn’t work for me, so ignore the people saying that!

@SantiagoSister ive found it really stressful since hitting my due date trying to keep an eye on movements so I think it’s best for me to start the process to get her out. They have said it may be a long wait to get my waters broken and be prepared to be here for up to a week..I’m hoping it won’t take this long but we’ll see!

@Coco9910 Ive been on the dates for weeks and it’s done nothing for my cervix either.

I have also reached the ‘well I have to get them out somehow’ stage of acceptance. And they’ve booked the induction so… well that’s it really isn’t it.

It feels a bit of a shock to have a ‘plan’ all in place, and then have to abandon it because… you just never go into labour. I hadn’t considered that outcome.

I’d prepared myself for being in hospital and something going wrong, or being told there was a health issue - hadn’t thought the baby would just decide to permanently lodge in my body and so have to be evicted.

I am now trying to rewrite my plan to make me feel more in control - and I suppose to help me accept what is going to be a very medicalised process vs what I was expecting.

Feel like a bit of an idiot with my oils, music, birth pool plans, hypnobirthing books and so on!

@MidnightPatrol i feel completely the same! I really wanted to avoid an induction and haven’t written anything about an induction on my birth plan, but I felt that I was going to end up with an induction whether I accepted it now or next week, so thought probably best to start the process now. I had a panic about not being on the birthing centre and not having a pool as that is what has kinda got me through. But I’m now just handling the cards I’ve been dealt and at the end of the day, as long as the baby arrives safely that’s what’s the most important. I’ve still got my clary sage oil with me and my tea lights which I plan to still use :)

@MidnightPatrol I make you right, by the end of next week I will probably just be happy to be starting the process of meeting baby, no matter how that’s going to have to happen. It’s just horrible how the complete lack of labour can totally change your mindset about everything. It sounds like you really have tried absolutely everything to start things off spontaneously.

@Coco9910 I think you’ve made the right decision, it really can be so stressful trying to keep a constant eye on movements, I worry about it a lot too and I keep myself up at night wondering if I’ve felt him, and I can’t fall back to sleep until I’ve felt some movements after my constant visits to the toilet. As you say, you felt it likely that you would probably have to accept an induction at some point, so may as well get the process started now. Especially if they’re saying you could be there up to a week! I really hope it won’t take that long for you.

Thank you @greenerfingers, that’s encouraging to hear you didn’t have any build up. A lot of things I read lead me to believe there will be a slow build up, and when you’re feeling absolutely fine with no signs of labour it can be disheartening. I hope we can follow a similar path to you and just go into spontaneous labour completely out the blue, that would be amazing!

@Coco9910 I’m not sure any of these induction methods can possibly work… it’s got to be causation. Otherwise we wouldn’t be in our current predicaments!

I’ve had eleven messages so far today asking the whereabouts of the baby.

Might go and have a look in the shops to cheer me up / do some walking around.

@SantiagoSister Yes I have tried everything - although, saw my midwife and she was suggesting all of the above.

I’ve had to stop most because it was making me go a bit crazy. It’s coming up
to a month since I thought I might be going into labour any minute, only so much time you can devote to it.

I possibly just need to stop thinking about birth or babies at all. For my sanity.

@MidnightPatrol 11 messages! Wow, as well meaning as everyone is, that would drive me mental. It’s not what you need when you’re feeling so despondent already, constant reminders that baby isn’t here yet 🙄

I agree that the natural induction methods can’t really work, it is likely just coincidence that someone did ‘X’ and then labour happened. There was no harm in trying, as we all did, but there comes a point when it all feels like a waste of your time as it’s clearly not doing anything. The only things I’m carrying on with are sitting on my birth ball (as that’s quite comfortable) and going for daily walks if it’s not too hot, figured the exercise would do me good even if it doesn’t put me into labour!

I think trying to find a way to give yourself a break from thinking about birth/baby would be ideal if you can manage it, though it’s easier said than done. Hope you can find some decent distractions and maybe just have an evening where you try not to focus on things if possible, it would be nice to give your mind a break!

Hope if anyone is still waiting their baby will be here soon. My baby girl arrived on her 'due date' 7th august at 12.29am weighing 7lb 14oz. In a total baby bubble! My waters went when cleaning my oven at 10am on the 6th and things went from there! X

Anyone given birth yet? Tomorrow I'm at 41 weeks and resigning myself to a possible induction - gutted.

@W00p I had my baby girl last Saturday 6th August after being induced 2 days before. The induction wasn’t nearly as bad as I was imagining. I had a really pleasant labour, but I did end up having to have the hormone drip as I wasn’t progressing as quickly as they would have liked and it did end up with failed forceps and a category 1 emergency c section, but I’d do it all over again for my baby. Hope you go into labour naturally though! Keep us updated!

Thanks @Coco9910 ... Still waiting! Getting nervous and impatient. Will be back 😁