Weeks 39 and 40 and. . .Still Pregnant
Every time I read this post, I think I should delete it all and just have happy smiling pregnancy photos of myself. But I just can’t bring myself to do it. So, probably you should just skip this and go read something about kittens and baby polar bears. Consider yourself warned. Â
It is really hard not to get grumpy about having an overdue baby.
Not because you are mentally thinking you should already have a baby (I was somewhat prepared for a late baby after Ella’s birth, eight days after her due date), although it’s not exactly pleasant to still be pregnant in a month you were truly hoping you would NOT be pregnant in.
But because your entire life becomes about the fact that you HAVE NOT HAD THE BABY YET. Every text message is asking where your baby is (safely inside my apparently way-too-hospitable womb). Every conversation is about how if I’d just take a long walk, I’d go immediately into labor (no. I will not. I went for a four-mile brisk walk yesterday with a couple of friends and didn’t have a single solitary contraction). Everyone is asking why my doctor won’t just induce me on my due date (because a due date is not like a stone marker of when your baby is ready to be born).
And, look, I know, logically, everyone means well and is just excited, blah, blah, blah, and not trying to make me tear out my hair with their “helpful” suggestions about how to put yourself into labor (my strong medical opinion is that you cannot put yourself into labor. If your body is ready to have a baby, you can do things that might move things along, but you cannot just force your body to go from “totally not ready” to “grab the bags and let’s head to the hospital” by virtue of spicy food/pineapple/castor oil/sex/walking/running-up-stairs). Logically, I recognize that everyone’s questions and comments about this baby and her late arrival are well-meaning. But it’s pretty hard for me to feel logical about this when the barrage is never-freaking-ending.
Are you feeling so incredibly sorry for Bart who has to live with me ranting endlessly about this? You should be.
The moral of the story is, I will clearly never be one of those women with a 40 week picture where I’m holding a newborn.
On Friday, when I hit 41 weeks, this baby will be induced.
And then I shall have a little tattoo done on my arm to remind me to never ever speak to an overdue woman unless it is to suggest we go out to lunch.
you rant all you want! i've never been pregnant, but i can just imagine how bothersome it is. and by imagine, i mean i've had enough pregnant women tell me how annoying it is. well, fingers crossed that no one else asks you and that all goes well then the birth actually comes!
I only made it to 35 weeks, so I can only imagine how frustrating the "have you tried this" gets. On the bright side, you are the most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever seen. You look AMAZING.
I'm still banking on tomorrow. And for your sake I hope your uterus evicts the baby on its own rather than having to be induced. The difference for me was night and day. Best of luck to you.
One on time and two late. Very late. Like 12 days late. When women who are 38 weeks look at me and say "I'm so done!" I just grin through gritted teeth. You haven't been pregnant until you've been 42 weeks pregnant and spent the last four of those with a baby-sized foot jammed under your rib cage night and day until the nerves are so overstimulated in that spot it is constant pins and needles . . .
Thanks for reminding me of at least one reason why I don't want to do this again.
As for the above rant–I'm not referencing women with twins or more. You are the really tough mommas.
Everyday I when I look at the blogs I think, "maybe Janssen will have had her baby." Sorry you are still waiting. I wish I could take you to lunch to distract you.
And PS
My one friend who did castor oil DID go into labor. And spent the whole time with violent diarrhea. So, yeah, don't do that.
Well if you're gonna give us a grumpy post at least give us a grumpy picture to go with it. Seeing you all smiley in that 40 weeks pic makes me want to suggest you try jumping jacks. Feel free to think about flipping me off right now…
I can imagine that would get annoying fast. No advice here, just best wishes. 🙂
Oh how I adore you and your overdue rant. I totally sympathize except for me, last time, people were mad I wasn't being induced even though I was contracting. There's really no pleasing anyone. So with that, I'd say just take your last days as a mama of one and give Ella lots of kisses and try to take naps whenever you can. She'll come when she's good and ready and you can rant and rave all you want until she's here.
Be grumpy. You probably don't feel good, either, which you did not specifically mention. Being 10 months pregnant is. not. fun. (Thanksgiving due baby was born by c-section the day after Christmas, so I'm empathizing. Is that a word? lol) Will be keeping you in my prayers.
Hi Janssen. Wanna go grab lunch?
… I wish.
jj
You look amazing for 40 weeks! Let's do lunch. Like..over Skype or something.
well, you look cute. 🙂
good luck when she finally does show up!
…or unless it is to suggest that she walk (briskly, or otherwise) to the hospital to read Llama Llama Red Pajama as soon as possible.
(pretty please?)
Oh do I feel your pain!!! Both of my girls were induced within a day or two of 42 weeks!!! It was excruciating. I won't say much else because I know it won't help. I'll just wish for you that the baby decides to come TONIGHT! How about that??? Good luck to you.
OH MY GOD I REMEMBER THIS AND IT WAS SO TERRIBLE.
I had false labor for three weeks and at every non stress test they'd tell me "any minute now!" because they'd see all these contractions and NOTHING. Erik would call people up and tell them to get ready and then NOTHING. Eventually I stopped even telling him because I couldn't take it. At one point someone who shall remain nameless (my MIL) called me and asked if I thought I knew when I'd have the baby!!! because "she needed to make plans." And then I killed her. And then I was induced at 40.5 weeks and it was fine.
This sounds SO FAMILIAR. I stopped answering my phone because my mother-in-law kept asking me when the baby was coming EVERY DAY – and CB came 3 days early! My stupid doctor told me he thought she'd come a week early (because I dilated super early and then did NOTHING), and I made the stupid mistake of telling other people that, and then suddenly she was late even though she wasn't. I just about burst into tears whenever I saw someone giving birth on a TV show, because everyone was having a baby but me, and then there was oh FOR THE LOVE WILL YOU STOP ASKING WHEN SHE WILL BE HERE THE DUE DATE ISN'T A DEADLINE and YES I AM WALKING AND IT DOESN'T MATTER SHUT UP I HATE SPICY FOOD, and Eric had a business trip planned for 3 days after my due date and I was about to have a panic attack. Anyway. I don't think anyone can truly understand how awful the last few weeks of pregnancy are except those who are pregnant or those who have recently been pregnant, but you have every right to be grumpy until this baby comes out.
You do look fabulous though! My first was 12 days late. My second induced 9 days late. I wised up and asked for an induction at 39 weeks with my third. Also got an epidural that time. Best. Decision. Ever. Best of luck to you!
I'm so sorry. Hang in there!
And we missed you the other night!! 😉
Hahahahaha. This post is hilarious. Callum was six days late so I have been there. However, I didn't get as much of the constant obsession with where the baby was as I was expecting. I am thinking maybe this is because I wanted Callum to be late, I decided that he would be late, I told everyone that he was going to be late, and as a result I think I actually managed to get most people out of the mindset of expecting him to arrive on his due date.
Or maybe I just got lucky or was too menacingly pregnant for anyone to dare ask me anything. Impossible to know for sure.