- acupuncture - I've had a session a week for the last month which supposedly prepares my body for labour and the last session was supposed to actually bring on labour. In fact the acupuncturist was so certain that my last session last Tuesday night would be so successful that she refused to make another appointment - she reluctantly made another one today. But even if it hasn't achieved the intended purpose I have been feeling so much better after each session with less aches and pains and more energy, so I guess it has achieved something.
- massage - I've had a pregnancy massage, and have been making my husband massage my lower back (where the pressure points are) with a clary sage and jasmine oil mix. Even if that hasn't worked it's been nice anyway!
- extreme housework - I haven't had the nesting urge too strongly this time, but our two year old dishwasher had other plans when it's waters broke all over the kitchen floor. So after mopping up the floor I then had to track down the receipt and warranty papers which meant a search through nearly every part of our house, so I had a major cull and clean as I went. Plus with my husband at work during the day I've used the opportunity to chuck out a lot of his junk - he is such a hoarder!
- eating curries and fresh pineapple as often as I can stand it.
- exercise - I've been walking waddling around a fair bit, and I even got out the Nintendo Wii the other day and did some virtual hula hooping hooping. Lucky no one was home because I probably looked ridiculous!
- gettin' bizzy - according to Dr.Google, the only thing guaranteed to bring on labour apart from chemicals is to have *ahem* adult cuddles and squeeze one's nipples (sorry mum and anyone else if that's too much information!). Hasn't worked, and in fact I now think it's a conspiracy theory spread by male doctors to keep husbands happy.....
- herbal tea - I've been drinking raspberry leaf tea by the gallon every day, which again hasn't achieved anything but has added to my exercise levels going to and from the toilet frequently.
- tempting fate - in an effort to invoke Murphy's Law I've left a lot of things to the last minute. Hospital bag? Not packed yet. Second child seat purchased but not installed. A pregnancy massage booked in for next Monday, a haircut on Tuesday and another acupuncture session on Wednesday. Surely that's enough forward plans to be ruined by a spontaneous labour?
So as you can all imagine when you get this hugely pregnant wardrobe options shrink rapidly, even if you have been sewing a lot of things. Luckily I have a jersey knit dress I made using New Look 6429 (now OOP) which is not even a maternity pattern and I made it before I even got pregnant because it just keeps stretching and stretching. Sure the seams are starting to stretch, but no popped stitches so far and since I overlocked it I'm somewhat confident it's not going to fall apart whilst I'm wearing it. This is what the pattern looks like:
It's has loads of positive reviews on pattern review and blogs, but I never particularly liked it. The gathers across the stomach created a bit of a saggy pouch effect on my previously flat stomach in an unflattering way, and the v seaming at the back where the skirt attaches to the bodice seemed to accentuate my rather wide derriere. I made this dress long before I started blogging (maybe 5 or 6 years ago now) but never really wore this dress at all until I got pregnant - because then the gathers across the stomach created a much needed pouch for a growing belly and I started to care less about the rear view anyway!
Here's how it looked at 18 weeks:
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And here's how it looked today at 40 weeks +1 day:
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I'm not particularly a fan of knit dresses - they are too clingy for me and I like structured pieces more, but I have to admit that it's ideal for a body shape of extremes! Hopefully it's next wear will be a rapidly deflating belly....
Hi!I've really enjoyed reading your posts this morning! good luck on an easy delivery (relatively speaking!). I love the little girl dress you sewed for your daughter in your last post.
ReplyDeleteJulia in North Carolina
The latest my doctor ever let me go past my due date was 8 days. And ALL of my babies have had to be induced. I know your frustration about that!
ReplyDeleteWow Kristy that dress is amazingly stretchable!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd you look so ready!
(I love acupuncture & massage too!)
Sending you all sorts of happy vibes!!
Ooohhh that really is a stretchy dress ... I'm impressed that at such a late stage the hem still looks even. I really like it. I think you have booked just about everything to induce Murphy's law so good luck. I hope you have a smooth, quick and quickly forgotten labour.
ReplyDeleteMix 2 tablespoons of castor oil with 1teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Drink it while it is fuzzing. It is more palatable. Good luck and have a nice baby.
ReplyDeleteA little more than 24 hours before I gave birth to my daughter, a lady in Costco told me to go for a walk on the beach and that it would start labor soon after that. So, we left Costco and went for a walk on the beach and 24(ish) hours later...with a 6 hour labor, my daughter was born! It was pretty crazy...but it could just be a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteWhat worked for me was along walk with my toddler, and carrying him back, labor started the next morning. Even tho the doc said I had at lest a week. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE your knit dress on you. I can imagine it looked to poochie if it fits you so well now at the end of your pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteI just had my first baby 2 days ago and he was 9 days late. What worked for me was my doctor doing a "membrane sweep" during my check-up on Tuesday. She basically ran her finger along the top of the cervix between the bag of waters. Nothing gets broken but it's supposed to release hormones to get things started. I started feeling crampy after the appointment, and went into labor the next night about 30 hours later. I also wanted to avoid a chemical induction. Good luck!! I was also getting really sick of wearing the same clothes all the time. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, it's 1 April, April Fool's Day, you can now take out the pillow - just kidding. Hope it comes soon and keep well. Maybe an Easter baby when your husband is home and doesn't have to come rushing home.
ReplyDeleteI walked and walked and walked… It was the middle of the hot summer and we'd go to the local ice rink and i would walk for an hour or so, then laps around the large box stores, anywhere large and airconditioned. Good luck! You look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGet your midwife/doc to do a membrane sweep and stretch - a little uncomfortable at the time but my labour with 2nd bub started within hours of this and I had baby cuddles 12 hours later. Avoid the castor oil .. seriously you don't need nasty diarrhoea in labour
ReplyDeleteYou look fabulous, although from past experience I know how tiring it is near the end of the pregnancy and I also carried all out the front like you are. Not good for the back!!
ReplyDeleteWith my 2nd pregnancy my daughter was very large, she was going to be an eye-watering 11lb on her due date so I was booked in for an elective c-section. 3 weeks before this I had had enough and when I was up at my normal 2am I knelt on the floor with my elbows on the couch and rocked my hips as far as I could to each side (so that it was putting pressure on my belly if that makes sense). I had been doing this for about 30mins when I felt a small pop and my waters started trickling. Contractions started about and hour and half later. She was then born by c-section at 7am that same morning weighing a respectable 9lb 11oz with slightly low blood-sugars but no ill-effects from being a bit early. I'm convinced that I started the labour with the rocking.
I've heard horror stories about caster oil where women do go into labour because they have such bad diarrhea and then continue to poop themselves through their whole labour and delivery because they don't know if its a contraction or a poop coming!
I'm tellin' ya, jump off a wagon tongue! I didn't drink the red raspberry tea until after labor started -- no after pains.
ReplyDeleteTry doing some weeding in the garden. Worked for both of mine, and I have heard it work for others as well. You can also involve your other little one, and if it doesn't work, you have a nice weeded garden anyway!!
ReplyDeleteMembrane sweep didn't work for me. Pizza did. I've heard pizza and bowling, but I wasn't that brave. Or co-ordinated.
ReplyDeleteNo tips from me; my first came on her due date, the second 9 days late and the third arrived a week early! Good luck, hope everything goes smoothly for you.
ReplyDeleteThey come when they are good and ready!!! I must say, your dress is pretty... check out the hem.... notice that the farther along you get... the higher the hem!
ReplyDeleteAt least your getting some good stuff done! Attention, massages, etc... maybe you need to schedule a pedicure? Just thinking along those lines!
My first came early I believe due to me walking a LOT the day before which included climbing many steps. I was still at work and had to go in and out of the office several times during the day and that meant two flights of steps a time.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI'm a midwife so apologies if some of this is TMI!
Castor oil will more than likely give you a nasty case of diarrhoea rather than a baby but 'adult cuddles' will help as will a 'stretch and sweep'. Acupuncture will also likely help.
There are prostaglandins in semen which help to ripen your cervix if it's ready. It's similar to the gel which is inserted to ripen a cervix prior to induction.
Best of luck!
14 years ago as I write this, I was just starting to get going with labour pains with my son after a session of "adult cuddles". I was 7 days overdue, and nothing else seems to budge him. Labour finally started in fits and starts at 1.30pm on April 1 and he was delivered 10.22pm April 2 after the medicos threw just about every trick in the book at him (and me, of course).
ReplyDeleteAll the best, I hope everything goes smoothly when it finally goes.
Evening primrose oil, black and blue cohosh, nipple stimulation. But really, baby won't come until he/she's ready. I went 17 days over last time NOT induced.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful dress! I hope your little one arrives soon!
ReplyDeleteIf the baby isn't here yet, talk to a chiropractor about help to start labor. Some of them will do that.
ReplyDeleteUm, just because no one else had mentioned it ;) semen contains the same hormone they use in the induction goo stuff ;) ... Worked for me (although mine were not late, either)
ReplyDeleteI think the dress is lovely, in both photos!
... And I just realized that was on your list at the beginning. D'oh. Now I'm double-blushing! :P
ReplyDeleteI tried everything too. Even the castor oil. Nothing worked. I had to be induced.
ReplyDeleteListen to the midwife, don't take the castor oil. Horrible side effects and it didn't work.
I am hoping that all goes well and soon. Please let us all know when the new one arrives!
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful at 40 weeks like you did before. Love the dress
ReplyDeleteOne of my pregnancy books suggested a glass of champagne. I'm not sure it did anything for me - Kitty was 15 days late and induced but it tasted wonderful so good for morale if nothing else.
ReplyDeleteIf you look for cohosh, make sure it's the right one. The black is too strong and is definitely not advised. I could not find blue in my home city. I'd try accupressure. It worked with my first, and I was in established labour within six hours. I was 40 + 1.
ReplyDeleteBtw stretch and sweep worked for me for the second child when I was 40 + 9. This works for something like 1 in 8 women.
ReplyDeleteAll my children were late, over a week. I never ever let the doctor induce. After I had confirmed that all was ok, I strongly maintained my right that my body would do its thing when ready. Said body of course did not care about me per say as being pregnant is well and truly something to be over with when at the end. No matter, I had a lot of sex and this always started labour, especially after I had had a show. I had a trusty midwife tell me this trick once. It worked every time, within hours to be exact. Good luck
ReplyDeleteYou look so pretty.. As for ah, accelerating labor, the only thing that worked for me last time was forgetting I was pregnant. Yes of course it sounds ridiculous, but I was getting desperate after two weeks over and the midwife making every other day visits to tell me my baby was getting larger (he weighed over ten pounds) and it seemed the entire apartment complex was eyeing me. So I did pretty much what you've already done- booked appointments, kept busy at home and made up walks and errands. The very best of luck to you, and congratulations Anna!
ReplyDeleteI chuckled at the mention of the dishwasher breaking its waters. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you don't need to be induced this time around (I was induced, and had an extreme reaction). Very best of luck to you, and sending lots of good thoughts!
You look amazing!!
You look so hopelessly cute in this knit dress. And I do remember feeling so HUGELY and FOREVER pregnant by the same time you are now! One of my girlfriends tried to cheer me up by telling me ELEPHANTS were pregnant for 2 years-- which is about how I felt @ the time! Somehow it didn't do the elation of spirits - but I do look back on that time and laugh! It just took many years!
ReplyDeleteYour blog cheers me up and I know so many of us in sewing blogophere have you in our hearts! Hang in there!
I'm sure the baby is born by now, but if not good luck and good health to mother and babe.
ReplyDelete