I'm about to leave for my appt w/ the midwife in a few minutes. I am 39w4d pregnant. I didn't have any crampiness last night....well, a few stronger than usual BH contractions, but that's all. Wednesday night I had some real doozies and almost started timing them, but they eventually fizzled out. They felt similar to the BH contractions, but tighter, more intense, slightly painful, and they seemed to start low and overtake my whole uterus slowly with each breath.

Overall, I feel really good - physically, emotionally, and mentally. My house is a mess, I have tons of laundry to do, and my refrigerator needs cleaned out badly......but I feel strangely calm and just plain ready. I guess it helps to know that my mom and grandma will arrive tomorrow morning, eager and willing to help out with the housework. But honestly, if I would go into labor this moment and have the baby in the next few hours (unrealistic, I know), and if there were no prospect of having help with getting the house clean and organized.....I would still feel perfectly at peace with it. It wouldn't be the end of the world to bring our new family member home to a less than tidy house. All he/she needs is to snuggle with DH and I.....I'm sure the dirty clothes in the hallway will not bother him/her a bit. (Gosh! I can't wait to find out if this little one is a boy or a girl!!!!!! That's what I'm most impatient about.)

I haven't been taking any labor-inducing herbs or anything yet. We've been having sex now and then, I drink 3 strong cups of red raspberry leaf tea every day (I guess most people would consider that to be a labor-inducing herb, but my midwife has had me drinking it through the entire pregnancy. She insists that it does not start labor, but just tones the uterus.....and I believe her because even when I drink a lot of it, I don't notice any increased contractions), I squat and do pelvic rocking frequently, and I've been walking for about an hour every day. Every now and then I pinch my nipples, because I've heard that nipple stimulation is good for jump-starting a stalled out labor....so I figure it wouldn't hurt to try and see if it helps get things going. I'm going to wait for my midwife to give me the green light on castor oil before I try it. I hope it doesn't come down to that (because I've heard it can cause bad diarrhea, and the last thing I want to do is get all weak and dehydrated during labor)....but if I get desperate, I'll do it. It's better than going to the hospital and getting Pitocin, IMO. Right now, I am thinking I'll have the baby on the 18th. A friend of ours, who has a knack for predicting dates said I'd have the baby on the 18th. That would be fine with me. Honestly, any time would be fine with me, even if it's a week and a half past my due date, as long as the baby is healthy. (I admit that I hope it doesn't come to that.) I just believe that some babies take longer to come out. I really don't agree with forcing them out with drugs if mom and baby are not in any danger. I would rather not go past 2 weeks, though, because I would legally have to have the baby in a hospital and my midwife would not be the one delivering the baby at that point. Although my wonderful back-up doctor would be attending the birth if that happened, I still want to avoid a hospital birth any way I can.

Labels: prenatal appointment