40 weeks and beyond... « Back to Group Discussions

[itsajenism]

I hit 40 weeks yesterday and am in surprisingly good spirits despite the fact that this is new territory for me. I'm actually kind of glad baby hasn't come yet because we're on day 4 of the flu in our house and I wouldn't mind him waiting to show up for at least another day or two when everyone is on the mend and the fevers are gone. DH and DS2 are on the mend, but DS1 is only on day 2 and still has a fever. Ugh. 

This winter has been a rough one so far. We usually don't get sick often in our house, but we're on our third virus in 3-ish weeks which DH and my two littles have shared with each other. Luckily I have escaped unaffected and I get the feeling that my body is holding onto this babe until this last bout of sick leaves our house. 

Physically, my back hurts and just want to sleep. 

Anyone else lurking out there hit 40+ weeks yet? How are you holding up? 

[MamaBookworm]

I'm only at 37 weeks, but went to 42 with my first pregnancy and I'm sort of mentally preparing myself for that possibility. It can be hard to wait, but I hope that everyone heals up in your house quickly! 

The hardest thing was keeping curious relatives at bay. Stop asking! We're not going to NOT tell you when the baby is born. :)

Yesterday, DH yelled at me though, because I called him at work on his cell phone and he thought it was a labor call, so interrupted his boss and ran out of the room to take the call. He says only texts or emails until my uterus is doing something interesting! LOL!

[Beltane]

I also went to 42 weeks with my first.  I'm currently at 39+3, and I was really hoping that I would have this baby sooner than last time.  Who knows though.....

[seaheroine]

Yes, I hope your household is on the mend soon!  A newborn and the flu would be incredibly stressful!

I'll be 40 weeks on Sunday.  I've been patient -- this one has been a lot less "pressure-intensive" than my second, but she came at 41 weeks, and I am really hoping to not be pregnant at that point.  I'm just tired of trying to keep up on the house, lol.  Tired of being generally uncomfortable, too...I want to be able to bend over, and sleep (when I get to) comfortably.  Plus the not-knowing is always sort of stressful on DH, who wants to be here and not away at work.  So...I hope she arrives within the next week.  Not holding my breath, though.

So...we wait.
 

[sapientia]

I'm 40+4 and losing my mind, haha! I keep getting all sorts of convincing action, but nada. I'm so ready. 

Hope you guys feel better, soon!

[2sweetgrrls]

Oh no, I hope everyone in your house is feeling better soon!

40+2 here, just kind of waiting. I had about ten hours of contractions with pelvic pressure last night and felt a little hopeful, but they were gone by the time my alarm went off this morning, so nothing yet. The longest I've ever gone was 40+3, so I guess we'll see! Physically I don't feel too bad and going another week or two wouldn't be horrible, but my midwife is required to send me for a BPP at 41 weeks, so I do hope he decides to come out very soon. :)

[Anilia]

oh- we have the flu too.  sending prayers your way.  I so hope not to get it...

[hotsauce]

40 plus 3 here.  Everything is done and ready to roll.  I have nothing to do but nap and eat and wait for something to happen.  My DP thinks baby won't make his arrival until the eleventh, which is our three year anniversary.  I'm ok with that, but if he waits much longer I'll go nuts!  My first was five days late, so maybe this is just how long it takes me to make a baby?  It's funny, though, because I was a lurker in the December group for a long time because I had a feeling I might go early this time.  Can't believe it's the ninth of January!  Seems like very few of the December mamas went over forty weeks so I'm grateful that I appear to be in good company. :)  Stubborn little Capricorn babes!

[itsajenism]

Thanks for all of the good thoughts, everyone! 

MamaBookWorm ~ My DH yelled at me for the same reason. Ha. He's also all paranoid that my water is going to break while I'm out of the house. Every time I leave he's like "but what if your water breaks?!?". Uhm... then I'll come home. 

Hotsauce ~ I keep saying this baby is going to be my most mellow but most stubborn of the three. :) I lurked in December assuming I'd go early, too, and actually had some convincing contractions off and on that I thought would turn into something. Nope. This baby #3 has certainly been a wild card. 

Sending healing vibes to those who need it... and labor vibes to the 40+ weekers! 

[broodymama]

I'm hitting 40 tomorrow, not really too surprised though.  3 of mine came before 40 weeks but #4 decided to hang tight until 41.5 weeks.  I don't quite have that "I'm $&%*ing done!" feeling yet that I usually get, so this one may decide to hang tight for a while too.  With DS2 I'm pretty sure it's because his position was a bit weird, his head was wedged into my right hip.  I'm just not feeling birthy yet this time around.  

[birthjunkiemom]

I'm only 38 + 2, but I have that I am DONE with this pregnancy feeling, & have for a couple of weeks now. I keep having contractions keep me up at night. I finally went ahead & called in my maternity sub yesterday, because I can't teach with no sleep.

[tiqa]

I've never been this pregnant before.  My worry was keeping it IN to the 36/37 weeks I had the others at, but right now I'm past that and I don't feel a darned thing happening now.  Not to mention the doctor was already taking about inducing and gently pressuring me for a pelvic check because "most women are curious to see how their cervix is doing" etc.  This was NOT a fight I was prepared to have, I've never even had to consider the whole not going into labor "on time" or end of pregnancy OB protocols.  Gah.

Not to mention I'm measuring large too so they might want to step up the induction process "to be on the safe side" and... again, my only reaction is, gah.

[tiqa]

I'm actually somewhat borderline worrying now that my placenta isn't as healthy as it could be...  I just don't feel very "pregnant" anymore - I mean yeah the huge stomach thing yes, and some water retention, but I just am not feeling that state.  I don't know how to describe it.  The nausea, fatigue, contractions, peeing a lot, etc... all that happened already weeks ago and when the contractions about stopped, the other symptoms all went away too.  Not completely but mostly.  I'm not sleeping very well but that's pretty normal for me.  I'm not nesting like crazy anymore, I'm not starving/food aversive.  I wake up in the morning and I don't even realize I'm pregnant until I try to roll out of bed and realize I'm like the wolf with stones sewn into his stomach.  Then I think, "oh, still pregnant... didn't go into labor AGAIN last night."  And then I get grumpy but hey, let's face it, I'm stir crazy and am stuck on the couch due to hurting my ankles and the kids are driving me up the wall... but it's not "pregnancy grumpy", it's just, "gah, need to get out of the house and do something fun" grumpy.  Baby's moving around fine and looks good on testing but I am just confused as to what's going on.  Yep, Baby #3 sure is turning out to be the wild card.

[Clarasmama]

Ugh, I'm 40+5 today, I was wondering how many other 40+ mamas there were already!  It wouldn't really be "Ugh" except for the horrid chest cold turned sinus something (not infection yet I don't think, but it's trying to go that direction) that I've had since Monday.  I went 42 full weeks with DD, so I expected to still be pregnant at this point...just didn't expect to be pregnant, sick, and unable to sleep all at the same time. 

DH has been so amazing this whole week, he's taken care of DD completely, cooked meals for all of us including multiple meals when I needed chicken soup (which he made from scratch) instead of what they were having...I haven't been able to sleep at all in our bed because of this cold, and I really miss him and DD actually :(  Being a sick mama really sucks.  Luckily neither of them has gotten sick with me, so that is a blessing.

I want this baby to come out, but I also want to be able to sleep for a couple of days first...we'll see what happens I guess.

[itsajenism]

Alright... I've had some pretty convincing contractions for the past hour. Averaging 7 minutes apart and 45-60 seconds long.

*crossing fingers*

[hotsauce]

Jen- hopefully this is the real deal for you!  keep us posted. ;)  

I'm 40+5 today as well and beginning to feel like this baby will never come out!  Today is my three year anniversary with DP so we're planning to run to the grocery after he gets off work today to completely stock up the kitchen and buy a few last minute things I forgot, like witch hazel and cotton balls, as well as some yummy fruit and expensive cheese and wine so we can celebrate in front of the computer while we watch romantic movies. ;)  DS will be with his dad all weekend, so we figure that having a few days to DTD, walk, massage, and chill together without the normal hustle-bustle of the work week just might get things going.  In retrospect it might have been a good thing baby's waited this long since last Monday was the first day of DP's new job working for the Institute of Health.  They know we're due any time but I think he'll feel better taking a few days off now that he's at least gotten acquainted with everyone.  Also, it seems like having 'plans' for the baby to interrupt might be a good strategy for getting him out?  All I know is at this point I feel like my mom and doula are constantly on edge and I feel under this pressure to perform soon along with the normal anxieties of having a homebirth/ UCAC.  Today I am going to try to actively let go of fear and try to get excited.  It's crossed my mind a few times that my own psychological blockages might be the thing standing in the way of labor.  No matter how it goes, it will be a rebirth of some sort.  I need to start looking at this journey as a gift and a chance to experience something new, with the hope of reclaiming some belief/trust in the wisdom of my body.  Two nights ago I was up a lot of the night with the sensation that baby was painfully nestling into my pelvis and then all day yesterday I could feel his skull really low.  It was almost unbearable to sit on the toilet or walk at times.  I feel prepared for the contractions but less prepared for actually pushing a baby out.  Last time I dilated completely and pushed for hours to no avail.  I think therein lies my big fear;  that this birth will be like the last.   Any other mamas experiencing anything similar?  What are your feelings about being 'overdue', and what are your feelings about the impending labor?  

[seaheroine]

Originally Posted by tiqa 

I'm not nesting like crazy anymore, I'm not starving/food aversive.  I wake up in the morning and I don't even realize I'm pregnant until I try to roll out of bed and realize I'm like the wolf with stones sewn into his stomach.  Then I think, "oh, still pregnant... didn't go into labor AGAIN last night."  And then I get grumpy but hey, let's face it, I'm stir crazy and am stuck on the couch due to hurting my ankles and the kids are driving me up the wall... but it's not "pregnancy grumpy", it's just, "gah, need to get out of the house and do something fun" grumpy. 

Oh I hope it happens for you soon!

That's how I'm feeling, too.  Every morning, thinking, "Welp, still pregnant!  What to do today?"  Even though my last went "late", I still feel surprised waking up pregnant. 

I just feel like lying around, too.  I feel like Mom of the Year with the kids watching movies and playing on the pc.  They've come down with colds, though, so at least I don't feel too guilty staying home all day with too much screen time.  Daily -- do laundry, do dishes, make meals, clean toilet.  Just in case I have a houseful of people showing up later.  :D

[seaheroine]

Originally Posted by itsajenism 

Alright... I've had some pretty convincing contractions for the past hour. Averaging 7 minutes apart and 45-60 seconds long.

*crossing fingers*

I hope this is it for you, mama!  Keep us posted!

[aruss]

Well all my labors have been water breaking, contractions 3 min apart, baby here in 3 hours. Buuuuut, was up most of the night with short ctx 15 mon apart. They are starting to get intense but have no idea what it means. Should I call hub from work?

Hot sauce, I hear ya. I was having intense fear of labour. Hypno babies, EFT and a long evening of prayer have really helped me. Thinking of and praying for you.

[aruss]

Definitely in labour. Mw here. Trying to fill pool but its going fast. Prayers.