Breaking Point
The nurse practicioner (the one who gives the painful pelvic exams) was of course the person scheduled to perform The Sweep yesterday. And of course in an effort to balance the universe by making up for all those times I didn't want her fingers in me, she was OF COURSE out sick yesterday, the one time I was actually *gulp* looking forward to her "magical" touch. This would all have been all well and good had my actual doctor stepped in to perform the procedure herself, but guess what? She must have skipped class that day they taught membrane stripping in med school, and the fact that she wasn't comfortable just giving it a whirl, just this once, just for me, pleeeease, ended up being a real pisser of a double whammy because (a) my ladybits are still exactly as they were yesterday (and as they were last MONTH, if you can believe that bullshit) and (b) if my doctor doesn't dare fumble through a stripping, that means I probably shouldn't have Simon attempt it either. Harrumph.
So naturally the topic of an honest-to-goodness inducement came up again, but, as I wrote about at Work It, Mom, yesterday, I'm still all squirrelly and oogy about having a "convenience inducement" myself. I have reasons, and lots of them, for why it would be a good choice for me, but the catch is that I still think they're mostly stupid reasons. And yet, as Simon put it to me yesterday, do enough stupid reasons eventually add up to one good reason? Or at least to just cause?
Obviously there are risk factors involved (as there are with medically neccessitated inducements, planned C-sections, emergency C-sections, natural labors and births, and, hell, pregnancy and reproductive sex itself), but there are pros and cons on both sides, and at this point I'm so torn and conflicted about what's right for ME that I'm begging any and all dieties to please smite me with labor pains RIGHT NOW just so I don't have to make any decisions.
Today while Simon is breaking his back transferring the sedan-sized pile of free mulch from our driveway to the backyard, I'll be inside breaking a sweat making Pro/Con lists and wringing my hands and trying to shake the baby out. And the baby's job? Is to break the water. Come on, little guy, let's make some waves.
I remember how long the waiting feels. It's something you never forget and then, well, then you go to NY for the weekend to visit your youngest child and he's over thirty years old and you become so acutely aware of the passage of time and how much fun it would be to once again revisit that profound joy and excitement of welcoming your brand new infant to this world.
Email me your address when you have time so I can scoot a little baby gift your way.
May it all go quickly when it does happen.
xoxo L
The waiting game is terrible...I was at 1 centimeter until the day of my induction (6 days overdue) when I spontaneously went into labor on my own. I would try and wait it out a little bit longer, because the experience is worth it. Hang in there...hopefully only another couple of hours!!
duuuude. two words: castor. oil.
not as scary as it sounds. you can't do it until you're ready, and you sound ready. email me for details if you're interested.
xo
maybe do some jumping jacks?
Hey Wombat! It's time to come out NOW, mister!
I would get out there and do the mulch with Simon. I am telling you that a little back breaking work is what has helped a number of friends/sister get going on labor. Or just try some castor oil (but be prepared for some serious cleansing out of you... I took castor oil to induce labor the 2nd time around I had a baby about four hours after taking it.)
Warning: I am about to say something gross.
My best friend/ob-gyn np says that castor oil does nothing but make you poop all over yourself. If you do then happen to deliver shortly after taking it, you poop all over yourself AND the delivery table. CASTOR OIL POOP, not to be confused with the REGULAR POOP which apparently frequently appears anyway.
Then again, I have no personal experience either way and I like squishy babies and grandparents getting to see their grandchildren, so is CASTOR OIL POOP really all that bad?
I was hoping to meet a Wombat today!
Though, I guess, you are probably wanting that more than I am ;)
Get out there and haul mulch I say. I mowed our giant lawn and did miscellaneous yardwork on my due date (August, Sacramento).
Your body will work they way it's designed to when it's time. Don't rush. If you're two weeks late, okay time for pitocin, but you do not want that crap unless you absolutely have to. Have Simon give you lots of foot rubs, there is a magical spot near the achilles tendon that will get things working. And just enjoy this time.
So much love all over you!
Two words (as I dandle a fractious 5-week-old): nipple stimulation. Worked for me.
As frustrating as it is to wait and wait and then wait some more, if there are no medical reason for an induction, I say let nature take it's course. If Wombat's not ready to come out, don't force him. Contrary to what you might believe, he WILL come out. Soon.
Hang in there!
If your new fancy health insurance covers it-acupuncture.
come on little guy the internet wants to meet you!
I don't think my excitement can be overstated every time I see an update in Google Reader from you. I keep thinking, now? Is it NOW? WHEN WILL HE BE HERE?
I can only imagine how you must feel. AIEEEE, it's so exciting! Except for you it really isn't, it probably feels ANNOYING!
Castor oil scares me. Mostly because it doesn't always work and I really don't want to go through all of THAT for no good reason. Also, my doctor, who seems to be fairly induction-happy, says, "Oh, honey, you don't want to try castor oil, trust me," which seems like a pretty strong case against it.
Honestly, the main reason I'm even considering an induction is because my mom is only in town until the 24th, and if I wait until I HAVE to be induced, that means there's a chance she'll have spent ten days here without ever having met the baby. How much would that suck? (A: A lot.) If there weren't family scheduling issues, I don't think I'd be thinking about induction at all (I'm seriously not that uncomfortable or impatient), but because there ARE family issues and because my cervix has been stuck at the same stage for an entire month with no signs of progressing, my reasoning at this point is "Well, if there's a possibility I'm going to have to be induced anyway, at 41.5 weeks, when my mom is about to go home, why not just do it now, when it will make so many things so much easier?" You see the dilemma.
Oh, and nipple stimulation? HA. Sex? HAHAHAHAHA. Pulling weeds while Simon spreads mulch? Maybe...
Come on, baby! (Like, the actual baby, not you. That would be weird.)
Both of my boys were induced - first was because i was just about 11 mos preg and the second because he did not want to cooperate with moving around. So...there just might be a point in time where you have to induce - like he wont have any more room to do the twist and you wont have any room to breath...either way...relax as much as you can, because he has to come out one way or the other.
I know how hard the waiting is. I decided to wait it out until I was 2 weeks overdue, then was induced. I see your scheduling quandary with mom being in town though!
Good luck, Leah! I was going to suggest acupuncture but see that someone already did. So I second it. Since you asked for input, I would like to offer that I think it is best to wait and let nature take its course rather than use pictocin. Unless, there is a medical reason to induce labor, I think you should trust your body to do what it knows to do. I seem to remember being told or reading somewhere when pregnant with my son that a labor is more likely to stall when given pictocin and then a stalled labor is more likely to lead to a c-section. Of course I live in Manhattan and gave birth in the most c-section happy hospital in the world and had a c-section myself, so who knows. If you choose to wait, and then the baby doesnt come/or you arent induced until your actual due date, maybe you can look at the time you spend with your mom as your last opportunity to do so before you are a mother yourself. My mom passed away when I was 23 and I would have loved to have had her around my last few weeks on modified bedrest-if only to bitch at. A theme of your blog in my opinion has often been how impatient you are to get the things you want-and then you always get them-Simon, house, etc. and then you write other posts that are reflect about trying to be in the moment, etc. Rushing to get this all out and realize I am grossly generalizing. Maybe this is similar. Try not to rush these last few days. Again--super-excited to see pics and learn your baby's name! You and Simon seem like the most prepared parents to be ever. Best wishes!
Aww, I hope he comes soon! Good luck making the decision - you can only do what's best for you!
What about waiting some period of time, but not the full two weeks? My OB said today that first babies are, on average, 9 days late. How about wait 9 days, then go for it? That way, you won't feel like you are totally pushing it, but will also have some time with your mom there.
Either way, good luck. I went 42 weeks (and then was induced), and those last two weeks SUCKED. But honestly, now being pregnant with a second, I will totally do the 42 weeks again if I need to. I'm a lot less tied to a specific date this time.
I am thinking about you lots right now, its a tough time. I remember the pros/cons inducement list that my husband and I had to write when I got to 41 weeks with no cervical action at all. In the end we decided to wait until I was 42 weeks before going into hospital for the pitocin pessaries. In the UK they will let you go past 42 weeks so long as you go in everyday to be assessed and that just sounded miserable to me. We tried everything to get labour going, everything except castor oil and I mean everything - acupuncture, reflexology, sex, nipple stimulation, blue cohosh extract, pineapple, hot curries and I never even had a contraction. The fact that you have had so many contractions indicates your baby (not your cervix) knows what it is doing so another few days and the wombat will get working on your cervix and you are in business! I second all the advice to get out into the garden and shift that mulch, some good old fashioned work on your knees will help manoevre wombat into position to get your cervix softening!
PS I had two cervical sweeps and nothing, not even a hint of a mucous plug! Amy was a damned stubborn little mite! But, even after being 16 days overdue and induced, I still managed a vaginal delivery so there is hope!
I came into this world exactly on my due date thanks to a skunk. My parents like animals and tried to have a descented skunk as a pet. It had a bad attitude and was kept in the bathroom with its food and litter box. My mother went to use the bathroom one night and the skunk started nipping at her ankles. My mom got scared and ran, and then her water broke. Four hours later I was born.
The skunk ended up going to a good home, where it was happy. Just in case you were wondering. . .
I hope that you are doing well and that your son will make his grand entrance soon.