Overdue, fed up and anxious!

[Ismo456]

4th baby

currently 4 days overdue, one failed sweep already, baby is back to back, high risk pregnancy so will be induced on Friday if it’s not budging by itself.

after my previous pregnancies all kicking off after their due date sweeps and babies being correctly positioned throughout this one seems to be throwing me all the last minute curveballs and I’m feeling totally miserable about how the rest of the week will unfold.

im bouncing on the ball constantly, doing 45 min walks a couple of times a day which often bring tears to my eyes as the pain and weight in the pelvis is just so much. Not sure what I’m looking for here, just some positivity from anyone who’s been in a similar position and it’s all panned out ok! Have this terrible feeling that something is about to go wrong

The last hurdle is truly miserable isn’t it😓

Aw I feel for you. I'm 5 days over with my second (first arrived 1 day over) and feeling very similar. It's so uncomfortable at this stage and I just have this constant feeling of being in limbo, trying to keep the house ready for a newborn but also living in it. Bored of having to tell people they've not arrived yet and somehow feeling like I'm disappointing people even though it's not remotely in my control.

It will all be okay though, even if you have to be induced (I suspect I'll end up the same). We will both have our babies in our arms within a week. That's what I'm trying to focus on ❤️.

Hi OP,

Whilst I don’t really buy into the whole “breathe your baby out” side of hypnobirthing, it was really useful for me in my first pregnancy to learn about mindset and how that combined with hormones really does help start labour! I love all the science behind pregnancy and birth and find it fascinating. I went overdue with my first baby but was able to avoid induction. At my sweet at 40 weeks the midwife said she could just about reach my cervix but it was still very thick, quite far back and that she didn’t hold out much hope for an imminent birth. I went into latent labour two days later and then delivered by baby another two days later using all of the techniques I learnt from hypnobirthing. And just to be clear, I did have pain relief, breathing alone didn’t help
me get through labour, pethidine did! But I think lots of hypnobirthing is about being informed about how our bodies work and I found being informed/educated on how birth starts really helpful.

Firstly, if walking is causing you so much pain, stop. Rest. Sit on a ball, google UFO positions that you can do static or swaying. These will all help baby to descend.

Now, hormones! There’s a happy hormone called oxytocin, the more you have of it the more likely labour is to start. If your brain and body is flooded with cortisol (the stress hormone) your body won’t be as willing to go into labour. If you can, spend lots of time in a room with dimmed lights, calm music or a watching a funny/feel good film. Anything that will make you feel relaxed, safe and happy will help. We are mammals at the end of the day, most animals will seek a quiet, dark place to give birth and we’re not much different! Spend time cuddling with your OH, looking at photos of happy memories and eating your favourite food. Think anything you would do on a Friday after a hard week at work to lift your mood (apart from a glass of wine!) and that will give you ideas.

It’s so hard not to be drawn into the anxious mindset and thinking eurgh I give up. But to give yourself the best possible chance of going into labour naturally you need to make yourself feel good.

And finally, oxytocin is also increased by sex, which is why it’s often recommended. I however absolutely did not feel like doing that! So, instead I ran a bath, and did nipple stimulation (another way of getting oxytocin released in the body) and it was during that that I had my first contraction, so I really do believe it works!

Not currently in your position, but I was with DS1, he was 11 days late and it felt like a lifetime. I second all the chat about oxytocin, stop the walks if they are causing you pain and concentrate on your ball and keeping yourself relaxed, best of luck!

Try looking at Spinning Babies for exercises/positions to try to help turn baby into a more favourable position. It may help labour come on sooner, and if you are induced a better position will help things too. I managed to move my second baby out of back to back and think SB really helped. Good luck!

I had problems with a back to back baby.

I was told absolutely not to bounce on the ball as baby is not in optimum position. This is likely why labour hasn’t started yet. Instead try sitting on the ball and gently rocking your pelvis backwards and forwards, or in circles/figure of 8 if comfortable.

Spend time on hands and knees if you can, doing happy cat/angry cat. I put a duvet on the floor to pad it for my hands and knees.

Also, try not to sit on sofa/slouch at all. When you need/want to rest lie down on your left hand side instead.

all of this really helped me.

Express some colostrum!! It’s good to have some available plus it stimulates the uterus. I swear this is what happened for me in March. I started expressing and the cramps got stronger and stronger- by an hour they turned into contractions and baby was born 4 hours later. I think it only kicks things off if your body is ready though :-)

Edit: baby was also not in ideal position but turned at last minute! (Baby #3)

Yes, I feel your pain and I am not even at my due date yet!

I had a growth scan at 39+2 yesterday and she is already estimated at 9ib 7oz, and her stomach is so big it isn’t on the graph anymore (can they be at 100% percentile?). I have had a big baby before, but I am hoping that she comes before the due date and she wont get any bigger! I am past the point they test for gestational diabetes, but they think it might be the reason.

I am so miserable and finding it hard to walk more than 10 minutes without a really bad stitch around the bump, hard to sleep (sitting up), constantly hungry and craving things I shouldn’t eat (I could kill for a donut or cake), and on top of that I am thinking at the back of my mind that when I get to my due date I can’t go to the lovely birth centre.

I have had 4 back to back births, and it is looking like this will be another one. I have been going on all fours every day for an hour, but this baby is so far down and comfortable she wont budge now. I am trying lots of stuff to get the birth going (intimacy, walking, prunes, bouncing on the sofa as no ball), but not working so far! Trying to get hold of community midwives to try for a sweep (if I am courageous enough!).

Good luck OP! Let us know if anything changes, I am here twiddling my thumbs and watching awful tv probably like the rest of you.

Thanks all, nice to hear so many positive stories from similar situations!

really sympathise with the rest of you that are still pregnant and feeling the same.

pains in my hip have gotten even worse today, starting to think it could be PGP as I’m struggling to put weight on my hip on one side as it feels like it’s broken! But feeling grateful that it’s only just got this bad now I’m on the home stretch, don’t know how people can carry on like this when it starts in earlier pregnancy.

i have some colostrum syringes so will look into the method of expressing this tonight and see if I can manage it and it gets anything moving x

The expressing is a lot more straight forward than it sounds (it was my first time expressing colostrum too). It starts off expressing the tiniest drops and then a few more start coming consistently.

Keep us posted!