Now that I am 39 weeks, the baby is completely fine to come at any time. I know that 37 weeks means you are full-term, but they want you to be at least 39 weeks before you give birth (at least the March of Dimes does). Anyway, I will admit that the past week, I have been stepping up the labor-inducing game. I am very much ready for baby to be born and get out of my belly. I don't think I am getting any bigger, but when I compare pictures, it seems like I still am. Anyway, Dan had his last test on Thursday for a week and a half, so it would be ideal if our little boy came sooner rather than later. Here are a few things we have been doing to try and induce labor (and yes, even old wives' tales are credible at this point):
- Walking. I walk a mile every morning on the treadmill, and the past few days we've been walking at the mall at night. This actually is proven to help, so we pretty much walk until I can't move at night.
- Red raspberry leaf tea. I am drinking 1-2 cups a day. It is an herbal tea that is supposed to help strengthen your uterus so that when the time comes, labor won't be as hard. I've also heard it can help induce labor, so duh, I'm on board.
- Pressure points. Massaging or rubbing some parts of the body is supposed to help induce labor. There's a spot in the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger, two spots on your ankles, and another on your neck/back that are supposed to help you have contractions when they are held or massaged.
- Baths. Not hot ones, but nice warm soaks in the bath are supposed to help you progress. I've had a few, and if nothing else, they are at least nice and relaxing!
- Spicy food! On Friday for date night, Dan and I went to a delicious little Mongolian barbecue called HuHot. I got two plates of pretty spicy food, and it was SUPER GOOD. My lips were burning and I had heartburn. It was really yummy, but unfortunately, it did not do anything for me the next day, except make me want to go back again for dinner.
- Pineapple. Today Dan bought an entire pineapple for me to eat. Apparently, canned pineapple does not work the same way. But there's some chemical in the pineapple (that's also in kiwis, that we also bought) that is supposed to help with labor. So he cut up an entire pineapple and told me to go to work. I got about halfway through this plate. The rest is in the fridge for tomorrow :)
Of course there are a few other things like evening primrose oil and castor oil, but I think the risks outweigh the benefits so those are not happening. So now we are just waiting for our little guy to come. Hopefully he comes in the next week, because I do not really want to go anything over than that. Most first-time moms go over the expected 40 weeks, but I am trying not to think about that. Hopefully I won't have a 40 weeks picture, but if I am still pregnant in a week I'll be sure to snap a picture so we can officially document how large and in charge my belly has gotten. Because for real, it's huge. Get this baby out of me!!!
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