Happy Due Date to me!

So the big day is here and our little guy isn't! Of course, I always knew that there was a good chance he wasn't going to arrive before now, but there's always hope! And so many of my IRL and blogging first time Mums have had their babies a little bit early that I thought I might join that club. And don't get me wrong... I am happy for him to stay in there as long as he needs to be fully ready, but I am also incredibly impatient to meet him.

And how am I progressing physically? Any closer to his arrival? Well, my clinic is very natural-oriented and doesn't do internal exams unless necessary and not before 41-42 weeks usually, so I have no idea what my uterus is doing from that respect. I do know that I've been having more obvious practice surges (Braxton Hicks contractions... but in Hypnobirthing we don't call them that!). At first I think I wasn't able to identify them, but now I can recognise the tightening, sometimes closely followed by baby wriggling like crazy. I tend to get these in the evening when I'm making dinner or around that time if I've lost all motivation to cook ;) A few nights I've woken to cramps in my lower belly - very similar to mild menstrual cramps. They don't last long and changing position and relaxed breathing usually helps. My Doula says these are also 'practice surges'. But I've had no 'show' or evidence of real progress, so all is just conjecture at the moment.

One weird thing is that I've felt overly emotional for the last day or two, just on and off. For example, Thursday was a busy day for me and I couldn't face cooking by the time I got home, but I'd pretty much not cooked all week so was feeling guilty. I called my Bloke to see whether he minded sandwiches again and, of course he didn't (he'd be a fool to demand a cooked meal when I'm big enough to sit on his head and suffocate him if he complained). I got off the phone and felt so relieved that I actually cried... real tears! I was so happy that I could sit on the couch and rest rather than having to stand in the kitchen and cook something! Now this could just be the relief of a large, tired pregnant woman, but I'm hoping it means my hormones are changing and 'things are happening'....

This weekend is a holiday for the Lunar New Year so my Bloke is off work until Wednesday and we are both hoping that baby makes the most of those days and arrives soon. If not, I have another OB check-up on Thursday with the now-usual NST and scan to check amniotic fluid. If all is fine, then I'm pretty sure they'll let me go another week before any intervention. I am really hoping that isn't necessary...

And to try and encourage this little guy along, I am now:

• having acupuncture and taking herbs - I started the acupuncture to help with my back (which it has) and my Dr is known for easing and inducing labour through his techniques, so I'm currently seeing him 3 times a week
  
• eating spicy food, though we do pretty often anyway, so not sure how much difference it will make
  
• nipple stimulation - just started this so we'll see how it goes
• walking as much as possible - my OB recommends up to 3 hours a day, but that's never going to happen with my sore pubic bone and shooting nerve twinges into my lady parts. I feel I've made the effort if I get the bus/metro to my various Drs appointments, rather than taxis!
• attempting sex as much as possible (which so far isn't that often, but we do our best!)

The rest of my time is occupied with practicing my hypnobirthing relaxation techniques and spending time with friends and their newborns, so I can pick up some tips on what the heck to do with this little guy once he finally makes his much-anticipated appearance :)