I’m wondering when the excitement of diapers will wear off. Probably after about twelve poopy diapers, huh? 🙂
Well… regardless… until the excitement wears into drudgery (may it never be!) or at least habit, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my newly ordered diapers & diaper covers. I have 14 Proraps diaper covers on the way along with two dozen more (for I already have a couple dozen) prefolds. I’m super thrilled at this point. 🙂
And I have a baby shower tomorrow!! I can hardly believe it. In fact, my bridal shower was just 51 Saturdays ago at the same family’s home. Isn’t that fascinating? (not like I actually counted the weekends… hehe)
And this might sound strange… but have any of you ever tried “natural induction” methods?
You know: ye olde wives’ tales about evening primrose, castor oil, sex, spicy food, exercise, on & on… I have this feeling I’ll end up carrying The Boy to 42 weeks, and around my due date I will probably start getting antsy… so I want to know if any of those things actually work for anyone.
In the end, God has it planned anyway. I do trust in His sovereignty and wisdom.
And He will probably just give me an extra exercise in patience in the meanwhile. 🙂
Also: since I am planning to give birth in a hospital, any tips on things (besides the obvious “norm”) to bring along??
Yes, I am starting that nesting thing. Not like I am not a natural nester anyway, so I don’t think it’s new for me. 😉
Blessings on all you mommies and preggies! I know there’s gotta be something in the water…
I can assure you that some of the joyous novelty of diapers will wear off. Especially with those delightful (and sadly frequent) blowouts sure to accompany every child’s infancy. Dear yes, the excitement will wear off. Thankfully love covers a multitude of sins and blowouts and mother love is especially covering.
As for natural inductions…I don’t have first hand knowledge because I was hauled into the hospital at 38+weeks for an induction (which blessedly did not have to include pitocin). However, my mother-in-law swears by strenuous walking (stairs if possible). I am quite sure sex is a good option (and I know more about the scientific aspect of it which I’m happy to share over email
), castor oil seems to have very spotty success. Rasberry leaf tea is also supposed to be good and I think blue cohosh is supposed to work as well (caution!!! talk to a midwife or doctor – but an MD will probably not approve of herbal remedies). A good midwife would be able to tell you about all of this. 
For the hospital…I really wish I’d been able to wear my own clothes during delivery – a night gown or just my own camisole instead of that ghastly gown. Some hospitals are more easy going about that than others, but it would have been more comfortable for me. Other than that, the basics seemed to be enough (socks, camera, hairclips or ties). Are you planning on doing epidural or drug-free? Either way – so excited you’re getting so close!
You’re in my prayers!
As to the “natural” induction methods…1)skip the castor oil as all is really does is clean your intestines out and give you a huge stomach ache 2)walking helps the baby to engage more due to gravity, but don’t get too tired as you need to save your strength for the delivery 3)sex is fine but it doesn’t technically induce labor: it helps soften the cervix to aid in dilation when you do go into labor 3)spicey food doesn’t do a thing but usually give you heartburn.
If you are interested in it, ask if the hospital has a birthing ball…if they don’t, you can get one at Walmart for $10. You can deliver in your own clothes as long as the top has short or no sleeves, and that you don’t mind that it may get ruined. Also, if you like showers (or baths when available at your hospital) make sure you have your husband bring a pair of swim shorts so that he can help you and not get his clothes all wet. If you want music, make sure you bring a cd player/iPod that doesn’t need to be plugged in: most hospitals won’t allow you to plug anything in the wall sockets. A great website that gives you a lot of information is babycenter.com
Hope all is going well for you and your baby boy! Take care!
these are all so fun to read! brought back great memories.
I tend to think your baby will come when he wants to come and nothing will bring him sooner. Its a God thing. 🙂 But, I guess you can “force” them out. I’ve never wanted to or become desperate enough, but if I were 42 weeks pregnant and the Dr’s were talking about induction, believe me, I’d try! With Rachel, the night before my due date, we rented a very funny movie (Spaceballs) and I (just to try it out) drank 1 TBL. of Castor Oil with a full glass of orange juice. I read online that for induction you need to drink practically the whole bottle, but then I read a TON of stuff that was very negative about doing so; much like what Holly said – people having severe diarrhea, throwing up, stomach cramps and dehydration. So we decided it would be more “fun” to see what a tiny bit did. We watched the movie and went to bed at 11:30pm. At exactly 3:10am I woke up with one STRONG contraction and Rachel was born 5 hours later! I do think the Castor Oil played a big part in that and the nurses all agreed. They told us they wish people would always just take a tiny bit, because if your body is already pretty much ready, that tiny bit will do the trick. I love walking before labor, but in my ever so humble (and not very experienced) opinion, I think relaxing does the trick. I’ve never gone into labor while doing a strenuous workout. With Ethan it was during a very lazy day at home – Jason was working from home, so the two of us had some fun 😉 and then we were each on the couch reading and I was guzzling glasses of water. Labor hit within the first hour of me laying on the couch. With Rachel, middle of the night while sleeping.You never know though! Everyone is different and every baby is very different. My recommendation would be, try all the safe home “tricks” before you allow the hospital to induce you. We’re praying for you and very excited for you!!
Yes, I have heard from a couple different people the same thing about castor oil. They took it, and it “worked” but it mainly just worked because it so messed with your digestive tract and made that contract that with your body going through so much upheaval it sent them into labor. But, they said it was horribly painful to have that going on PLUS labor contractions. So they wouldn’t recommend it.
I had the spiciest food I have ever had in my life and it did nothing, even though I was overdue. I mean, I had a dish towel next to me while I was eating to wipe away the tears. I jumped on a trampoline multiple times… nothing. I had sex… nothing. (Well, maybe it helped with the effacement? But definitely did not induce labor). He didn’t want to come out no matter what I did. But I will say it helped to pass the time to try anyway!! And it was fun spending lots of time together going on hikes and such. So I don’t have any complaints and I would say try as many as you want! Really most of them just keep you relaxed and your muscles ready, so I think they are good to do whether they “work” or not. 🙂