Avril trying to coax the baby out with sweet words and a kiss.
Yes we are actually officially “overdue”! None of my other 3 pregnancies have gone this long. It certainly seems odd that the one that could potentially have ended in the shortest amount of time has now gone overdue. I know all the jargon about how a due date is just an estimate and how really anything between 37-42 weeks gestation is considered normal, but seriously. I have been dilated to 3 for about 8 weeks now and the baby’s head is so low they couldn’t even get a good shot of it on the ultrasound when I went in the hospital way back on the 10th of September. The midwives have been telling me that they don’t often see women walking around dilated to 3 with the head completely engaged (they estimated around station 2 with 5 being completely out).
So a week ago Saturday I started seriously trying to encourage this baby to make its appearance. Here are some of the things I tried.
1. rubbed castor oil on my belly
2. external massage to stimulate contractions
3. visualization and meditation
4. Evening Primrose OIl capsules 3 times a day for 7 days
5. One glass of basil root tea a day for 7 days (remedy from my mother-in-law).
6. On the 16th I drank 2 oz of castor oil mixed with 2 oz of orange juice every hour for 3 hours. Supposedly labor was supposed to start within 3-5 hours of the last dose. It didn’t I just had a really really miserable night.
7. This Eggplant Parmesan Recipe that claims to have helped 300 babies come into the world within 48 hours.
And of course we have tried the good old fashioned #1 labor inducing activity but to no avail.
Last night I was saying something about when the baby comes and Two said, “Who? Mavis?” When I said “No the new baby.” He said, “Oh I forgot we were having a baby.”
Seriously after 40 weeks of pregnancy and thinking the baby could literally come “any day now” for 8 weeks it is really easy to wonder, “Is there really a baby in there?” and “Will it ever come out?” It will right? Eventually? I must be close by now.