Labor Speculations

With about 8 weeks left to go, I'm starting to think more and more about my upcoming labor. Like many pregnant women, a lot of my free time is spent online, reading pregnancy and mother forums. I've realized how much I didn't experience in my pregnancy with Oliver. I hear from mothers regarding their babies dropping or losing their mucous plugs or having bloody show. Oliver arrived at almost exactly 41 weeks (induced), and I had none of that.

I hope I get to go into labor by myself this time around. I'd like to be at home when those first contractions arrive, and I'd like to know that my body is ready and getting geared up for delivery. My midwife says that she lets women go two weeks past their due date before induction. I'm wondering if that's enough time to get my body rolling. My mom told me that my sister was nearly three weeks late. Sigh. Further, the due date I was given based off of my cycle was November 13. Based on ultrasound measurements, they corrected my dude date to November 8. That gives me even less time to go into labor myself.

I also worry about what size our baby girl will be if she goes multiple weeks past her due date. Will I be able to deliver her? Will our health be at risk?

Once I hit week 38 (assuming I hit week 38), I'm going to talk to my midwife about safe remedies that might help get labor going. While pregnant with Oliver, I tried drinking a lot of raspberry tea near the end. It didn't help. I read that some mothers take capsules of primrose oil, as it is supposed to thin the cervix. I think I'll talk to my midwife about that, too.

As for my body, I've been noticing a few changes. I haven't dropped yet, but I'm noticing that things seem to be settling in somewhat. My baby bump appears slightly (but not significantly) lower. I've gotten a few Braxton-Hicks contractions, which I'd never experienced in my last pregnancy. I've also had some menstrual-like cramping, although it hasn't been too painful or frequent. I'm hoping these are signs that my body is slowly prepping for labor and will be ready to go when November arrives.

Now that I'm entering into week 32, I feel happy and confident knowing that we don't have to worry about delivering too prematurely. Although I'm still at risk for my water breaking early, I no longer feel like it's going to drastically effect the outcome of this pregnancy. Every day and week does make a difference at this point, but delivering at 8 months pregnant would be a lot better than delivering at 6 months pregnant! I feel like I can relax and start happily speculating about the future. Andrew and I both think it would be cool to have our baby on 11/11/11, but I can't help but think it will be later. If I was to guess, I'd pick November 20 as our little girl's arrival date.