Overdue and getting discouraged... (also intro!)
jmcgra06
member
Hi guys,
I've been lurking here for a while, and as this pregnancy draws to an end, it seemed like a good time to actually post 
I'm a 28 year old FTM living near Washington, DC and hoping for a natural birth.
I was a fingertip dilated and 50% effaced starting at 36 weeks, 4 days. I have had no contractions that I'm sure of (I thought I had something the last few days in the morning, but once I got up, it kind of fizzled...) and nothing seems to be happening. My mucous plug is still happily in place. I occasionally feel BH contractions, but maybe once a day at the most. At 40+1, I was a "solid centimeter," and the OB said he could touch the baby's head, but when I asked him how much a fingertip actually was, he said "almost a centimeter."
The OB started talking about induction next week, and thinks next Tuesday (41+2) would be a good day to give it a try. I've tried bouncing on the exercise ball daily, walking an hour a day, meditating, acupuncture, EPO, pineapple, spicy food, and sex. I know things will happen in their own time, but if I'm not making any progress on Monday (41+1) he recommends spending the night in LD and getting the cervadil to start the induction. I asked him about nipple stimulation and he says he doesn't recommend it, though he didn't get into why and I honestly didn't press it. I'm considering calling and asking to get membranes stripped Thursday or Friday of this week, just to give it a last effort.
I'm trying to relax and go with the flow, but... nothing is flowing. 
Re: Overdue and getting discouraged... (also intro!)
I got cervadil when I was 41+1 in the morning, was sent home and went into labor that night. I had my baby roughly 24 hours after my first dose and I never had to have any other drugs. I know it's not common to have cervadil in the morning or be sent home (from what I hear) but my midwife said it was my best chance to still go natural. You do still have time though so hopefully baby decides to come on his/her own!
Doesn't recommend nipple stimulation but wants to induce at 41+1?
I'm sideeying your doctor.
This.
had to change my sn
Miracle Baby #1 - March 2012
So you are currently 40+2? A lot can change in the next week
Are you comfortable with your doctor's timeline? If you want to wait longer, you can always ask about the possibility of a NST- not that you need to, because just waiting until you go into labor on your own or until you are ready to schedule an induction is also a possibility.
I like the BRAIN acronym- does that get talked about on here a lot? It's questions to ask before making a decision. So, in this case, agreeing to the induction timeline.
B- Benefits. What are the benefits of inducing?
R- Risks. What are the risks of inducing?
A- Alternatives. What are the alternatives to medical induction? (Sounds like you've got this one covered!
)
I- Intuition. What does your intuition tell you?
N- Next or No. If you choose to be induced with cervadil, what happens next? What if it doesn't work? What if it does? What is next if you say no to the induction?
Anyway, I find that useful. GL! I had my LO at 40+5 and had an appointment for a NST the next morning and my midwife was talking induction the next week. So, you really still have time!
Thanks everyone
We had the biophysical profile and NST yesterday so he said I'm okay for another week. He's not forcing the induction at 41+1, but he set it up with the hospital "just in case" and I guess it's making me feel like I have a real deadline. It doesn't help that most of my patients and coworkers have scheduled c-sections at 39 weeks so that they know exactly when the baby is coming - I'm not getting a lot of support for waiting it out until 42! I know anything can happen and it's not that late yet, but after camping out at 1cm dilated for weeks, it just doesn't feel like anything is going to change.
Maybe it's worth a call to him to see what his concerns are with nipple stimulation tomorrow. I do trust him and I don't want to agree to something and then go behind his back, but I read all the time how it can help and it seems a lot easier than pitocin!
Get your SO to rub the inside of your leg right above your ankle (likely where you had needles in during acupuncture) really firmly (it should hurt) in a downward motion for as long as you can stand it every night until the baby comes. The ankle massage should not feel like a "massage", it should make your toes curl (but try to relax and keep your toes uncurled).
Also, are you still getting acupuncture? It worked for me but I didn't go just one time. I kept going every day until the baby came. Did you say you've tried a chiropractor? Sometimes getting aligned does the trick, but going frequently is key to induction as well. Whatever you choose to do you need to keep at it until you have a baby in your arms.
Also, being on your hands and knees helps (head higher than tush) to induce labor, that's why there is that old wives tale about scrubbing floors!
GL
I went into labor with DD at 40+6. I felt really overdue because DS had come at 38+3, so I felt like I was 3 weeks over. My midwife gave me some great advice to stop worrying about when baby was going to come. She said cooking a baby is like making a cake. The recipe will say to bake in the oven between 13-18 minutes depending on the temperature of the oven because the temperature may vary. Same with your baby, it's still cooking and will come when it's done baking.