Day Ten Overdue: Pizza in Bed

Today my priority was to rest and relax (since baby has been faking a break out for the last three nights leaving Brett and me with little to no sleep).

The greatest thing I accomplished today was eating pizza in bed without spilling ranch dressing on the duvet.

Congratulations to me. 

Day Nine Overdue: The Fake Out Continues...

I woke up at 3:00 am on Sunday with contractions every 8-10 minutes apart.

This time they stayed all day long.

By 5:30pm they were 6 minutes apart.

By 8:30pm they were 5 minutes apart.

At 1:00am they were 3-4 minutes apart, lasting 60-75 seconds and very strong.

At 3:00am this morning we went to our birth place to check things out. My midwife checked my vitals, checked the cervix, checked the baby's heart rate. Everything looked beautiful. Baby is low, 0 station. Cervix is 80% effaced. But I wasn't dilated far enough. My midwife was very positive and supportive and reminded me that everything my body has been doing the last few days hasn't been for nothing.

"Do you think you can go home and sleep? Getting some rest will be the best thing for you right now so you have the energy you need during active labor."

I said yes, but I wasn't sure I could.

I got home, showered, drank some chamomile tea, got into a few labor positions that help slow things down, showered (again), and prayed... a lot.  Finally the contractions spaced out enough that I could rest well between and during them.

So sleep and deep relaxation is on my to do list for today. I would like to add having a baby to that list but, as I am reminded daily, that's truly for her to decide.

Day Eight Overdue: Birthday Baby Fake Out

On the evening of July 8th, Brett and I went to hang out with a couple of our friends. We watched the new movie How Do You Know? and ate ice-cream crepes. Through the evening I had some good strong contractions that were about 20 minutes apart. For the most part I just tried to ignore them and not get too excited. We got home late and went straight to bed. By 3:00 am I couldn't sleep through them and I started timing them. They were between 8-10 minutes apart lasting about 45 seconds each. At about 5 am I lost my mucus plug (I wish there were a more delicate way to say it. The term 'mucus plug' is definitely one of the most disgusting terms in the English language). Anyway, I was really excited because that meant I was dilating. The contractions started getting more intense as the evening went on. When my contractions started getting closer together (6-8 minutes) I reached over and whispered to Brett excitedly, "I think we're going to have this baby today!" I couldn't think of anything I wanted more for my birthday than to have the baby.

The contractions kept on coming like clock work but I forced myself to stay in bed till 8:30am and not get my hopes up too much. I called my Mom to tell her what was going on but to keep things hush hush in case things didn't continue to progress. I got up, showered, went over to my sister-in-law's house so she could give me "labor hair" (gorgeous french braids gathered and pinned to my head in an elegant mess). My mother-in-law made us breakfast. My mom dropped by a birthday cake and Jamba Juice for Brett and me.

At around 10:30 am, twelve hours after they had started, the contractions stalled. I still felt little pangs through the day, but nothing regular that I even felt the need to time. I went for a walk, bounced around on my birthing ball, took my homeopathics. Nothing.

Brett jokes that we got "Jimmered by the baby." It's true, it was the ultimate fake out. By the evening I realized it was my birthday and I didn't have anything planned because I was planning to be in labor. We went over to my mom's house to decide what to do. My mom and Brett suggested all sorts of activities: a drive-in movie, chocolate fondue, going to the park, swimming, a barbecue, an outdoor concert. Each suggestion fell flat. Nothing sounded fun.

This is when I told Brett, while smiling, "Do you think I can just cry? I think I just need to cry."

He smiled and said, "I think that would be good. Do you want me to hold you?"

"Yes." I curled up with Brett on the couch and just like that the tears came.

"I woke up this morning thinking I was going to have a baby. How can I plan any activity for my birthday that can remotely compare to that?"

He agreed. So I cried for a good five minutes.

Finally, my Mom said, "It's true, nothing will compare. But lets just go and do something."

So we went and got frozen yogurt at Top It.

Just as we were scraping the bottom of our cups from Top It, my brother called and invited us to go get a dole whip (whipped pineapple frozen yogurt) from Farr's. We figured we may as well go for round two.

I ended up having a really enjoyable evening visiting with my family. After our double course of dessert we decided it would be a good idea to eat dinner. We ate at Outback Steakhouse and told stories and laughed. And at the end of the night they brought me a birthday dessert.

Three rounds of dessert can't make up for not having a baby. But it certainly didn't hurt.

Day Seven: Natural Labor Stimulation Massage

Today I went to Salt Lake Prenatal Massage for a natural labor stimulation massage (thanks Brett for the early birthday gift!) It was incredible and absolutely worth it. I was lucky to have the owner, Rebecca Overson, as my massage therapist. Rebecca spent a lot of time working pressure points and relieving the tension in my body. She used an amazing blend of aromatherapy oils that she created herself.


I loved being able to relax and focus on my body and baby during the massage. Oh and being able to lay on my stomach was pure bliss!

Rebecca was a joy to visit with because we have very similar views on pregnancy and childbirth. Besides being a LMT she is also a trained birth doula. She knew exactly how to make a pregnant girl feel supported, empowered, and beautiful.

Rebecca went two weeks overdue with her first baby, so she could definitely empathize with me and also encourage me. Like me, Rebecca didn't want to be induced and wanted to let the baby come on his own. It was so refreshing that when I walked in the door and she asked how far along I was that she didn't say "Oh you poor thing!" Instead she said, "That's normal!"

After the massage my Mom took me out to lunch at The Other Place (yes that is actually the name of the restaurant). They serve amazing Greek food and they have a wicked breakfast menu to boot. We split the special Greek salad and their famous rice pudding. The rice pudding is literally what I would consider heaven in a cup.

It was fun to visit with my Mom and chat about the fact that 24 years ago today, she went into labor with me. It's crazy how being pregnant with my own daughter makes me feel connected to my mother in a completely new way.

Day Six: Homeopathics and Herbs

Today was my 41 week appointment. Becky, my midwife, checked my cervix, did a stress test on the baby, and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid volume. We found out that her head is about as engaged as it can get (I give the credit to my dance moves). She was incredibly low, so low in fact my midwife was surprised I hadn't gone into labor yet. I spent a good amount of time kicked back in a lazy boy sipping apple juice and listening to my daughter's heartbeat dance from 118 to 150 when she moved or when I had a contraction. Baby passed the stress test with flying colors. The ultrasound showed that baby has plenty of fluid in there, so my placenta is still doing its job and there is no rush to induce.


During the cervical exam Becky found that part of the reason I'm not in labor yet is because my cervix is posterior at the moment. No need to stress out about it, but she did give me a few exercises that should help swing it forward so our baby's head can help dilate the cervix.

Becky also gave me a five day homeopathic regimen to follow to help encourage baby along. We went to Dave's Health and Nutrition to pick up the herbs and homeopathic medicines. Brett and I loved being greeted at the door with the scent of essential oils and herbs.  I love places like this. Becky has a  plan that she swears by, so hopefully it works for us. Each day I'll take different homeopathic pellets varying from caulophyllum to cimicifuga to pulsatilla. I'm also taking evening primrose oil daily. Becky is an incredible CNM. I interviewed a lot of midwifes who were either too new age or too intervention happy. Becky is the perfect balance. She isn't anti-medicine, but she doesn't turn to medicine/interventions as her first/only option.

My next appointment is on Tuesday. Becky said that if I haven't delivered by then we'll start talking about an "eviction plan" (love her word choice!) if I get to 42 weeks without any action.

In Becky's words "We hope she'll move out on her own, but if not we'll make her."

Day Five: Postive Birth Affirmations, Birth Stories, and Favorite Songs

I decided to use today to prepare a bit more for the birth. I woke up early and went for another nice long walk through my new neighborhood. I spent some time in the silence of the morning going through all the positive thoughts about how I want the birth to go. I also spent a bit of time thinking through the less desirable birth scenarios that may arise and took some time to think through those scenarios and face those fears and uncertainties instead of ignoring them. I had a little mental conversation with the baby and I told her all my desires for her. I told her about my hopes for the birth, for her health, for her future.

When I got home I browsed a few websites with wonderful positive birth stories and read about a dozen or so. The stories are beautiful and empowering, leaving me feeling positive and excited for the birth.

Then I went through my "birth mixes" (my iTunes playlists dedicated to the birth) and added a few songs. I have three different birth playlists: Baby Day Calming Music, Baby Day Relaxing Music, and Baby Day Upbeat Music. (Yes, calming and relaxing are two different mixes).

I've had a lot of fun over the last few months creating my playlists for the big day. I loved showing it off to my birth instructor when she came over for our labor rehearsal a few weeks ago. Between the three different playlists I selected around 100 songs.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A la Claire Fontaine - Les Petits Minous
Lo How a Rose E're Blooming - Jon Schmidt
Lullaby - Dixie Chicks
Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) - Dixie Chicks
Northern Sky - Nick Drake
Blue in Green - Miles Davis
Peace - Felicia Wolfe
Dream - Priscilla Ahn

This morning I added one last song to all three mixes because it is just that lovely. I first found this YouTube video last summer. This woman's name is Temple. This video is of her singing just before the home birth of her 10 lb son Koa. She sang through her contractions to comfort her during labor.  I stumbled onto it again today and I'm so glad that I did. It is beautiful.

Click Here to Download Temple's Song from iTunes

Day Four Overdue: Walking, Grilling, Relaxing, and Lightning

This morning I woke up at 6:40 and went for a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood.

After Brett got home from teaching we went to the ZOO and enjoyed looking at all the exhibits. Did you know an elephant weighs around 250 lbs at birth? Boy am I relieved my baby won't that big, no matter how late she is.

This evening Brett and I grilled steaks and I relaxed in a hot tub at pool temperature (87 degrees) for about an hour.

My best friend Chelsey called me this evening ask if I was in labor yet (I've been getting a lot of those calls lately). She had reason to suspect, however. There is quite the summer storm tonight and apparently lightning storms are known to induce labor (her sister-in-law is in labor at this moment). Maybe Mother Nature is planning to help me out. If not, I'll be posting again tomorrow.

In other news, who do you think this baby is going to look like? 

HIM

HER

  

Day Three Overdue: Birthday Party

Last night around midnight we decided to bake the baby a birthday cake and invite her to her birthday party. Sadly she was a no show. Oh well, the cake was delicious.

The acupressure from yesterday really did help get things going a bit, I had some good strong contractions but they fizzled through the night. At least I know I'm making some progress!

Brett and I have also been taking long evening walks. To help move things along I walk/ gallop with one foot on the road and one foot on the curb like the lady below... Yeah, I know. It's the hottest thing ever.

Day Two Overdue: Acupressure Points

My friend who is due today suggested that I try stimulating some acupressure points. It's worth a shot! So Brett and I will be trying that tonight. My feet are so swollen, I hope we can still find the right spots.

Keep the suggestions coming! 



I'm really excited to have this baby, but I'm not miserable or feeling discouraged yet. My midwife gave me great advice back when I was 36 weeks pregnant. She said to take out my calendar and schedule something each day from then to two weeks past my due date. That way if I wake up in the morning and I'm not in labor I can say to myself, "Well, I may not be having a baby today but... I get to go swimming" or "Brett and I are going to have a picnic." It's been fun to schedule something fun for each day and these next two weeks I've scheduled the best for last. The calendar idea is one of the best bits of pregnancy advice I've received. It's really helped me stay positive.

Today, my calendar event was to go swimming. 

Day One Overdue: Dancing This Baby Out

So as of today I am "overdue". This isn't shocking to me considering that the average first-time mom delivers eight days past her due date. Because of this, I've purposely been counting down to two weeks beyond my due date. Still, that doesn't mean that when July 1st came and went without a baby I wasn't a little bummed. 

A lot of family members and friends have been suggesting tricks to help encourage baby along. So for fun, I'm going to post daily videos / photos of me doing things each day that she is "late". 

Today, I'm dancing this baby out. Tomorrow? Who knows! 

Post in the comments section with suggestions for how to coax this little girl along and I just may do it tomorrow.