So sick of being pregnant... now my fiancé will probably miss the birth too :(

[mamaki]

I'll be 41 weeks tomorrow and I'm so sick of waiting. I feel like my body is never going to go into labour.  This is my third baby and the first two times my body had no trouble, I don't understand why it is being so difficult this time.  My DD was born at 39+6 weeks and my DS was born at 37+4 weeks.  I've had a ton of "practice labour"... how can it need this much practice when it barely even practised the first two times and it should know very well what it's doing this time.  

My fiancé came up for the birth over 2 weeks ago and we've been waiting and trying to get me into labour the whole time... we've tried everything... even castor oil (NEVER NEVER NEVER doing THAT again... ugh!).  Now my fiancé has to go home tomorrow for the last 2 weeks of classes and a week of exams.  It absolutely sucks because now I'm fairly sure he'll miss the birth. But we can't risk him staying because we can't afford for him to fail any of his exams (this is the final semester of his degree).

My fiancé is going to come back next Friday and go back on Monday next weekend.  If I haven't had the baby by then I'm thinking of getting induced on Saturday or Sunday because I'd have to be a couple of days after that anyway and at least then he'd be here for the birth.  I'm really not a fan of induction but I may be left with no other choice and at least my cervix seems to be ready so hopefully the labour would still be fast.  Of course my home birth plans would be out the window but I think it would be worth the sacrifice at that point.

Thanks for letting me rant.

[bleumoose]

Sorry about your fiance not being there :( That's got to be so hard. Do you have other support people who can be with you?

I feel ya. I'm in the exact same boat (minus the fiance part). First two times, labor started and I had a baby soon after. This time, I've got random ctx, an hour or three of regular ctx here and there, menstrual-like crampiness, back cramps.... and it's all leading nowhere fast. *sigh* it was super hard the first day or two to wrap my brain around the fact that all this wasn't labor. I kept expecting it to kick up any minute. Now I've settled into a rather pessimistic attitude about labor... maybe more cynical... surely not helping the whole situation :P

[MomtoJunebugs]

I'm here with you on the overdue part, anyway. I'm 41 weeks tomorrow also. I've become sort of pessimistic about it, trying not to think any amount of contractions (and I've had a lot) are labor. I've decided the baby wants a May birthday. It's helping me cope with being late anyway. 

Sorry about your fiance. I hope everything turns out the way you want.

[mamaki]

Sorry you ladies are in the same situation as me being overdue and IKWYM about the pessimistic part - totally there with you.  It sucks because I feel like I'm bringing the mood of everyone else in my household down too.

Yes, I'm lucky enough to have my parents here staying from New Zealand for 4 weeks and my sister in law is also staying until bub arrives.  Our house is very busy and full at present but at least I have help and also friends supporting me.

I feel like I should have had this baby ages ago, I was expecting an early delivery based on my previous pregnancies.   I keep having indications of impending labour, painful contractions, mucus plug, loose stools… but nothing ever comes of it.  I can make painful contractions happen pretty easily with sex/nipple stimulation/pumping/walking but that's been the case for over two weeks now and it still cause actual labour to start.  The contractions, while painful are not that bad, and just never get stronger.  I feel like I'm never going to have this baby.  I have a whole new appreciation for women who go overdue now, that's for sure.

[mamaki]

Originally Posted by bleumoose 

Sorry about your fiance not being there :( That's got to be so hard. Do you have other support people who can be with you?

I feel ya. I'm in the exact same boat (minus the fiance part). First two times, labor started and I had a baby soon after. This time, I've got random ctx, an hour or three of regular ctx here and there, menstrual-like crampiness, back cramps.... and it's all leading nowhere fast. *sigh* it was super hard the first day or two to wrap my brain around the fact that all this wasn't labor. I kept expecting it to kick up any minute. Now I've settled into a rather pessimistic attitude about labor... maybe more cynical... surely not helping the whole situation :P

That is me, EXACTLY.... for over 2 weeks now.  I never had any false labours the last two... especially the most recent - which was 3 hours from start to finish.

[bleumoose]

how's the positioning of your baby? Do you have a sense for whether he's in an optimal position or posterior? A posterior baby during labor can cause the labor to be slow to progress if any progression happens at all, not to mention very painful. I have to imagine that it could effect the early labor /start of labor similarly. Maybe check spinningbabies.com if you aren't sure about baby's position.

[mamaki]

Baby is still moving around a lot, I'm tall so he has a lot of space.  He seems to mostly be sideways but he flips back and forth.  He is definitely head down but his head is floating until I get a contraction and then his head engages quite well according to my midwife.  I'm 50% effaced and 2-3 cm dilated, 4-5 stretched.  I've had 4-5 stretch and sweeps now.  My midwife said my cervix is very soft so labour should go fairly quickly when it does finally happen (if ever!).