1 week, 6 days Overdue, Looks Like Induction.....

Helloo :)

I cant actually believe i am writing this post, as i REALLY thought i would be a proper mummy by now, especially seeing as the midwife said i was 2cm dilated on Tuesday when she did my membrane sweep (and i was starting having contractions ect)
Since then, things haven't really changed, i have had a LOT more of the mucus plug come away (or the show) which shocked me, as i didn't expect there to be so much more of it (i had a lot come away in the early hours of this morning, at about 3.40am and more this afternoon, at around 6pm, and little bits since) and i have continued to have contractions, at irregular intervals, some a lot stronger than others, with some actually painful enough to wake me up every hour or so last night, before easing off into nothing.

Start Time	End Time	Duration	Frequency
3:40:26 AM	----	4:26	----
3:33:38 AM	3:34:32 AM	0:53	10 m, 29 s
3:23:10 AM	3:24:14 AM	1:3	5 m, 23 s
3:17:47 AM	3:18:38 AM	0:50	6 m, 47 s
3:11:00 AM	3:11:51 AM	0:50	4 m, 19 s
3:06:40 AM	3:07:30 AM	0:49	9 m, 16 s
2:57:24 AM	2:58:19 AM	0:54	6 m, 54 s
2:50:31 AM	2:51:22 AM	0:50	----

  

This is an example of how random my contractions are, whilst being strong enough to wake me up and keep me awake, then fade away :/ (this graph was done on Contraction Master Online, (click for link) and i added it in the early hours of Friday morning, a few hours after first writing this post, as yep, i was up having more contractions, and yet more of my show)

I seem to have more contractions on an evening and at nighttime, (maybe because I'm less active then?) and they seem to be in my lower back spreading across my tummy. they last anything from 40 seconds to a minute, seem to get fairly regular for a while (last night i had a really strong contraction that woke me up, then i timed the contractions for an hour or so, and each one (a lot less painful than the initial one) came about every six minutes, and lasted around 40 -60 seconds, before again, tailing off to nothing).
That is soooo frustrating :(

To take our minds off it and to get us out of the house, (and with a small secret hope that it would start proper labour off) Simon, my 2 year old niece Olivia and I went swimming today (thursday) my first time in about 10 years!) and it was a great distraction :)
The feeling of weightlessness was lovely, and i only really appreciated it once i stepped out of the pool, as the full weight of my bump hit me like a ton of bricks, and i could have cried!
It made absoultely no difference to my labour status though, and while I think that any exercise when overdue is good (within reason!),  the baby is only going to come when it is ready, regardless what mum-to-be does!
So sadly, Induction looks likely :(

My friends sis-in-law happens to be a midwife, and my friend quizzed her on my behalf in regards to my induction which is booked in for tomorrow, and she thinks that i will probably be able to skip the gel/pessary step in the induction, as i am dilated enough to have my waters broken already (the midwife on Tuesday told me this), so they will only need to break my waters once a bed becomes free on the labour ward, so i SHOULD skip the long wait for my cervix to open as it already is 2cm dilated :)

I have all my bags packed, the car seat is ready to go, and we are a little apprehensive, excited, and looking forward to things finally happening, but it just feels a little bit deflating to not have the panic/excitement of natural labour starting :(
BUT, on the VERY big plus side, we should have our son this weekend, yay!

Last at-home pregnant Bump pics, at 42 weeks exactly, and total weight gain in my pregnancy from 4 weeks gestation to 42 weeks is: 2st 11 lb :/

(this post was written on Thursday night around 10pm, and updated early Friday Morning, so bump pics are of me at two full weeks overdue :)

1 week 1 day overdue & Midwife appointment update :)

helloo :)

And welcome to my follower! :)

I really thought last time that my next post would be full of pics of my newborn, but nope, I'm STILL pregnant, and now one full week and one day overdue (and feeling it) :(

I saw my usual midwife on Tuesday, who told me that I'm measuring two weeks under at 38 weeks (!) and the baby is not quite engaged -WTF? For the last five or so weeks, i have been measuring spot on (measuring a week or so over before) and have been told by different midwives that the baby's head was fully engaged (and i was led to believe that with a first baby they cannot come 'out' of being engaged?)
Maybe she was having an 'off' day, as she also said i would be due to be induced on Sunday the 29th, making me 42weeks and 2 days overdue :/
After panicking and correcting her, we finally have our (correct) induction date booked in for Friday 27th April 2012, and I'm having a 'stretch and sweep' at my midwife appointment next week, so we should DEFINITELY have a baby by the beginning of May!

Its awful being overdue (in a way), as every little pain or twinge has me thinking 'this is it!' especially as i have started getting occasional backache coupled with Braxton Hicks (usually at nighttime or during the night), that fool me into thinking its labour starting as it comes regularly 5-6 times - before stopping completely -Arrrggghhh!
I just want labour to either start properly, or stop with pretending!
I am feeling generally uncomfortable, more tired and achy now, and since Monday, walking any sort of decent distance is bordering on painful, with my groin area and legs feeling like they need to 'click' (is this normal?) but this only feels this way when I'm walking, so maybe pressure from the baby?

Having tried everything i can think of to induce labour (see previous post's) i have given up and I'm just trying to keep myself active (IE, walking as much as i can) and busy, as i think i would drive myself insane doing nothing, just sat around waiting (and also a small part of me thinks that I'm bound to go into labour if I'm at my Grandads birthday tea (yesterday), the Wacky Warehouse having lunch with a friend and her little boy (Thursday) or at an appointment then shopping in town with Simon (Tuesday), but no. Nothing.

For some reason, since i was around 30 weeks pregnant, i have had it in my head that the baby is going to arrive on the 24th April (next Tuesday) and Simon now thinks it will be the 28th, so it will be interesting to see if he does come on either date! We have also been trying to guess what the baby's weight will be (dodgy midwife's estimate is 8lb), my guess is 8lb 4oz and Simon's guess is 8lb 7oz, so we all think he will be a chunky baby!

Latest Pregnant pics, taken today (41 weeks and one day)

Hopefully my last ones!

3 Days OVERDUE!

Helloo :)

As you can probably tell from the title, i have yet to give birth to my little bundle of joy, and am currently 3 days overdue :(
Although i am not in any pain or discomfort (at all, unless i am walking a fair distance, and even that only started today, is that weird?) i am beginning to think he will never come out, and I'm getting fed up of people constantly ringing me to see if i have gone in labour, and although i dont actually believe they will work, i HAVE been trying the old wives remedies for inducing labour, and so far these have included:

* A full Pineapple (who knows why eating this fruit is said to work??)
* Raspberry Leaf Tea
* Sex
*Walking (or rather, a few hours clothes shopping on my due date, and a 20 minute waddle to my mums and 20 minutes back today!)
*Nipple Stimulation (with the electric breast pump)
*Essential Oils (Juniper Berry, Lavender, and Clary Sage) both mixed with a carrier oil and applied to my back and bump, and also 6 drops of each added to my bath water
*Evening Primrose Oil capsules
*Spicy Curry
*Horror Film

None of it has worked (so far!) and I cant think of anything else to try (except Castor oil, which i will NOT be trying!) but i will keep you posted if i discover any more!

I know i was going to do a 'whats in my labour bag' post as i love that sort of thing, but hadn't yet gotten round to it, (but i have since decided i will do this after i have had the baby, as i can then tell you what i actually used out of the bags).
Instead, I have been cleaning the house from top to bottom on a daily basis (more keeping on top of it really), as the baby could come anytime, and supervising Simon putting up the new shelves in the baby's room/nursery (don't they look cute with his little keepsake/bits and bobs on?!) and generally just pottering around at home.

Oh, another thing i didn't realise, (I was told this by a friend who has recently given birth), was that when you have your baby, the hospital take the maternity notes you have had throughout your pregnancy (along with everything that happens to be in them, including scan pics, heartbeat printouts, everything) and you don't get it back! that was a shock to hear, as i assumed that i would get to keep it, so i have been busy photocopying/scanning the lot and im keeping it (for the time being) in one of the free Bounty folders, as i want to keep everything that i can from my pregnancy as a keepsake, and also so i can show my son it when he is older, so if you want to keep a record of your pregnancy, like me, i would advise everybody to scan or copy it well before your due date, (just in case!) as any notes that get added afterwards can always be copied at the time.

As this may (hopefully!) be my last pregnant update, this is me and my bump, at 40 weeks and 3 days gestation:

Massive, but i will miss it :)