Past 41 weeks

lunarmagic · #1 June 1st, 2012, 06:55 PM

Well this is a situation I did not expect to be in. My last birth was at 39w4d, took a few days of on/off labor before it really got started overnight. Kate was born pretty quickly, barely made it to the hospital. So here I am pregnant again, planning another natural birth, not really stressing, not doing much to prepare myself, just happy to chill out and be excited about labor. I wasn't surprized when I hit my due date. But then I hit 41 weeks and still felt "fine" - no real contractions, no real discomforts, nada. Now I'm perplexed. I realize that baby will come when she comes, but at the same time my midwives are not really comfortable with me going past 42 weeks, and quite frankly neither am I (my first baby was stillborn, though not for being postdates). I just don't want to get to my appointment and have to deal with a scheduled induction. I never expected to have to even get to this point!

So the last couple days I have been having little twingy/crampy feelings down at my cervix. I take this as a good thing. I did ask them to check me, I'm 1cm, 50% effaced; last week I was not very much of anything, still long and closed internally. I do have contractions now and again, today I had another hour-long episode of them coming every 10 minutes or so - but they are minor contractions that I can't really pick out from strong movements sometimes. In some ways I feel like I'm getting close. But in other ways I feel like I am so far away!

Someone mentioned to me HypnoBirthing. I have two tracks, but I'm looking for more. I can't find them anywhere online! It seems weird to me that they don't have them available for purchase as MP3s. Anyone know of a place I could do that? I don't have time to order a CD and wait.

I'm a pretty laid-back, non-intervention person so I hadn't really been doing much, but this week we've been DTD, sitting on my birth ball, etc. I'm not willing to do things like castor oil. Really I just want labor to start on its own. I start to worry that something about me is holding it back, is that even possible? I do have a toddler, I'm actually *more* active now that I was the last two pregnancies.

So any suggestions or even just support. Or heck even stories. Were you past 41 weeks? What did you do? How/when did labor start? I'm getting really frustrated with every day that I get closer to 42 weeks.

MissusF · #2 June 2nd, 2012, 11:34 PM

I just typed a huge response to this and my computer just ate it

I'm sorry you're going this far past date. I had my daughter at 42 weeks and the last week of my pregnancy was so stressful with all the appointments and ultrasounds. Keep in mind that the average length of second pregnancy is 40 weeks 4 days so you are certainly still in the realm of normal.

I ended up being naturally induced by my midwife at 42 weeks for a number of reasons. I had nearly failed a biophysical profile at 41+4, my cervix was still completely long and closed and baby was at -3. I had my biophysical profile on a friday and if she hadn't been born by monday my midwife wanted me to contact my ob to have a formal non-stress test to be sure it was safe to continue. I was not at all comfortable talking to him. I had a feeling he would not want me to go past 42 weeks (I would have been 42 weeks exactly) and try to talk me into an induction. Emotionally I was not in any shape to handle being preached at and I was terrified of risking out of home birth so I asked her to try some natural methods to start my labor over the weekend. She had me use a breast pump, walk, and gave me castor oil and cohosh. It took two days but I did wake up in labor at Midnight on monday morning and Claire was born at 6:01 am.

I do feel cheated out of spontaneous labor but overall I'm very glad I went through the natural induction process. I really feel that I would not have passed any further biophysical profiles or non stress tests and then I would have ended up in the hospital with a medical induction. Since my cervix had been completely closed I would probably have ended up with a c section too. Claire was born in a compound presentation and it took me an hour to push her out. My midwife thinks that her bad position is what kept her from dropping into my pelvis and that's what stalled my body from going into labor on its own.

My situation is certainly not the norm and lots of women go well past 42 weeks and go on to have completely normal, natural labors and births so please don't get discouraged! I know you posted this yesterday and I'm hoping your little one is already here by now. Keep us posted on how you're doing!

underhermantle · #3 June 4th, 2012, 06:34 AM

Hypnobabies does have a lot of their tracks for sale online as MP3's. They have one called "come out baby". Here's the link. http://http://www.hypnobabies.com/mylink.php?id=4058

Oops, here's the link specifically for the come out baby track, http://http://www.hypnobabies.com/my...d=4058#comeout

Jannell · #4 June 4th, 2012, 10:32 AM

I don't have any advice but was wondering how you are doing since it has been a few days since you posted.

lunarmagic · #5 June 8th, 2012, 06:04 AM

Thanks girls! I bought that HypnoBabies track and listened to it, DTD a few times, and I was getting some more BH and twinges. I woke up on 6/4 feeling like the contractions I was having were a little different. I had a very lovely labor! 8 hours total, got to the hospital at 6cm, labored for a few more hours at the hospital using a birth ball, quick and pretty easy birth! My midwife and hospital nurse were fantastic. To our surprise she was 8lb 13oz! (My older daughter was 7lb at birth)

Unfortunately she's had some breathing difficulties - fluid still in her lungs and some apnea-like episodes when she's sleeping. So she's still in the NICU.

We don't know when she'll get to come home but really hope it's soon. I really wonder if her lung/breathing issue is why she stayed inside so long.... that my body knew she wasn't quite ready yet.