What To Do When You Are Overdue?

(photo credit: Blush Baby Las Vegas)

The Due Date.

Supposedly it is the Day on the calendar that the baby is Due to be born.

Have you ever heard of any baby that was actually born on it’s Due Date?!

Giving pregnant moms a day on the calendar when her baby is supposed to be born can be quite torturous. Especially if the baby is overdue!

At 37 weeks pregnant with baby #4, I was already in extreme nesting mode. The fridge was stocked, the toilets sparkling, and my suitcase packed. I got a pedicure and made tons of freezer meals. Yes I was dreading (natural) labor, but I knew it had to happen eventually. I couldn’t be pregnant forever, right?

At 38 weeks, I had now entered the “due date range,” which includes both two weeks before after after my Due Date. My kids had eaten through most of our stocked pantry, the toilets all needed to be cleaned again (as well as the rest of the house, of course), and I really needed my toothbrush and stretch pants that I had packed in my hospital bag, so now it was totally unpacked.  It could be any day now.

Thirty-nine weeks came and went. My mom came to stay with us so she could watch the kids if we had to run to the hospital in the middle of the night. Another trip to Costco, I re-cleaned the house, and washed the three items of clothing that I had worn, since that was all that still fit. I repacked my bags and kissed my kids good-bye when they went to bed. We all had a feeling it would be that night. I mean, the baby felt so low, it could be any day now.

Forty weeks. Happy due date! We celebrated with a date-night at the Olive Garden…we hardly ever eat at Olive Garden, but those breadsticks were calling my name. Plus this would surely be my last calorie-laden meal of pregnancy. We had no plans for the week. We walked the Mall, walked at Ikea, walked the neighborhood, and I took lots of hot baths. We even started a few house projects, but surely we wouldn’t finish them, because it could be any day now. Right?!

Forty-one weeks. Gosh, am I really still pregnant? I never dreamed I would go this far past my Due Date. The non-stress test and talk of scheduling an induction (the non-stress test isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds). Is there really a baby in there?! I started to freak out. I lost all perspective of what day of the week, or month, it was. All I could think about was how to get this baby out! All of the “natural” methods of induction failed…and I mean, I tried all of them! Feeling sorry for myself, a good cry and a 1/2-glass of (midwife-approved) wine in the bathtub made me feel the teeniest bit better. It really should have been any day now! Oh and I got another pedicure.

Forty-one weeks and two days. We finished all of our house projects. And I would really do anything to get this baby out! Go through (natural) labor? Ha! I’m looking forward to it!

Forty-one weeks and three days. Another high-calorie, last-pregnancy meal of (spicy) Thai take-out. A few donuts here and there, who’s counting now? It really has to be any day now, I only have 4 days left before I have to get induced.

Forty-one weeks and four days. Meet Carter John Lanzen. He’s perfect. Cute. He was totally worth the wait, a whopping 11 days past my Due Date!

photo credit: Photography By Nealy

What to do when you are overdue?

1. Make plans. The worst thing ever is to have a totally empty schedule and no baby yet. Even though you may not feel like going out in public, you will feel better if you do. Attend all of your normal weekly commitments, and plan a few girls nights or time with friends.

2. Don’t expect a late baby, an early baby, a baby born on it’s due date, or the same as your last baby. Because chances are, this baby’s timing will be different than what you expect. So try really hard not to expect anything in particular.

3. Relax. Enjoy your time with your husband, your kids, your family. Because life will change forever very soon, and you will never has this time back.

4. Eat a donut! Order take-out! Don’t worry about losing the baby weight until you have actually had the baby.

5. Have your mom (or mother-in-law, sister, etc.) come to help out, but not too early! My mom ended up being at our house for over 2 weeks, and she only got to see the baby for two days before she had to leave!

6. Date night. Your choice!

7. Never say “I have a feeling it will be tonight.”

8. All of the natural forms of inducing labor? They are worth a shot – and at least it gives you something to do! Castor oil worked for one of my babies, but not for this one.

9. Start a (small) house project. It will probably be year before you have time to start it if you wait until after baby is born.

10. Prank your husband. I mean, when else will he take all of your calls immediately when he is at work?! (see link to video if you need a good laugh!)

11. Know that baby will come any day now…he really will!

(photo credit: Brianna Gray/Photography By Nealy)