Extra Time

So the eagerly anticipated due date came and went. Honestly, after all my problems around week 21 (when I thought I was going into premature labour), and all my talk of our family history of early births, it's just typical that I'm overdue. Not just slightly overdue either, but 8 whole days overdue. This pregnancy is now seriously into extra time. In fact it looks like it's going all the way to the penalty shoot-out, since there's no signs of any action - which typically in the days leading up to labour could include:

• Opening and softening of the cervix (nope - more tightly closed than a Yorkshire man's purse strings).
• Increased bowel movements/diarrhoea (No, but if I keep on the curry who knows...)
• Loss of the rather vile sounding "mucous plug". (The closest I got to losing a plug was unblocking the bathroom sink this week)
• A pink discharge - or "bloody show". (Well, in an effort to keep myself entertained I have been to see 3 bloody shows at the gold class cinema in recent weeks).
• Frantic nesting - i.e. a sudden desire to clean out all the cupboards and organize everything alphabetically. (Yes, I have experienced this, but mainly since our maid started and I was so embarrassed to discover dust an inch thick inside all our wardrobes!)

So, every day I wake up eagerly looking for a sign. Any sign. And every day it's just like groundhog day; I'm still pregnant and there's no sign. Meanwhile, all around me, the entire pregnant population seems to be popping out their babies (congratulations to Gunilla and Paola who had theirs on their due dates!). Even Sam Cam (the British PM's wife) had her baby - and that was 3 weeks early!

Naturally, I couldn't resist Googling 'world's longest ever pregnancy', which brought up the not terribly inspiring answer of 46 years. Yes, seriously! Apparently this lady got pregnant and the baby died in-utero. Then, 46 years later, the calcified remains were removed from her body. Granted, perhaps it's not a typical case. Most babies are born by 42 weeks, so technically you are not really overdue until then. I should also take comfort in the fact that apparently only 7% of babies arrive on the due date - and for first time mothers, the average pregnancy runs to 41+3 days. (So theoretically, just 2 days to go then!).

If you go past 42 weeks (god forbid!), then you are into "post-term" territory, when you can start to run into problems (not least of which the baby can get so big that it's hard to get it out!). Most doctors don't allow this anyway, and will push for an induction at 42 weeks, if not sooner. Thankfully my doc is pretty relaxed about things and says as long as everything looks good, he prefers not to induce. Let's hope he still feels the same way when I go for my appointment tomorrow. I don't want him to blow the final whistle just yet!

Bump Watch: Week 39. Bring it on!

The Book Club. From L-R: Me, Cynthia, Regina, Paola, Gunilla

One great thing about having a baby in Singapore is the ease of meeting partners in crime. A group of us who met through childbirth classes at ParentLink recently started meeting up for afternoon tea in town. We take over the cafe and get quite a few stares, what with our row of hugely pregnant bellies. In a recent spin-off, some of us formed a book club. Well, we figured that we need to find more intellectual stimulation than talk of baby poo alone can provide.

Here's a picture from the first book club meeting - incredibly, four of us are due to give birth within days of each other. In fact, three of us could be locked in a "battle of the doulas" as we race to the finish line. Cynthia, who is due 2 days after me, shares my doula (Jennie) and back-up doula (Di). Meanwhile, Gunilla, who due on the same day as Cynthia, also has Jennie as her back-up doula. I'm sure it will all work out in the wash, although I can't shake the image in my head of poor Jennie running up and down the corridors of the maternity ward juggling three babies!

Anyway, we all met up for coffee yesterday (coincidentally my due date), and there's no sign of any babies appearing just yet! Understandably, talk in the group has now turned to the many myths and urban legends surrounding bringing on labour. Turns out that between us, we have tried the following:

• Eating pineapple
• Having sex
• Eating spicy food
• Nipple stimulation
• Drinking raspberry leaf tea
• Reflexology
• Going for a long walk

And the conclusions of our (not very scientific) survey: it's all a load of rubbish. Looks like these babies will only come out when they are good and ready...

Waiting Game

With only six days to go, I feel like a ticking time bomb - only without an accurate countdown timer. I can tell everyone else is thinking the same, as every day I receive messages like "how are you?" I guess it's a polite of saying "have you popped yet?". Although Di at Parentlink tells me I can communicate with my unborn child to agree the timing, I'm not convinced I'll have much say in the matter. However, if you're listening Pob, please wait until Daddy's exams have finished on Monday. So shall we say Tuesday morning? Preferably not until the rush hour is over. Kick off at 10:30, say? Give us a chance to have our breakfast and all that. Great - let's mark our calendars!

Seriously though, given the uncertainty ahead, I have started to have strange thoughts that I can't shake. Like what happens if my waters break and I'm in the middle of Orchard Road surrounded by fifty thousand shoppers and no taxis? Hence I am currently avoiding any trips to Orchard Road - or other densely populated areas - like the plague! Instead, I have taken to hanging around the swimming pool, only to find myself wondering if my waters break in the swimming pool, how will I know that they have broken?

Come to think of it, I have developed a slight obsession with my waters breaking. I rushed out to Ikea to buy a mattress protector the other day and I won't sit on the sofa without having the old green travel rug (a freebie from the petrol station several years ago) underneath me. To some extent these fears are slightly ridiculous because the first sign of labour is rarely broken waters. On the other hand, I have been warned about the amazing rotting powers of amniotic fluid, which can apparently inflict damage to your mattress on a par with sulphuric acid.

One thing which makes me feel slightly more in control of the situation is having the hospital bag packed. So, what's in the bag? Well, first I must confess it's actually 2 bags, not because I'm going on a 2-week break or anything, but to try and split the stuff into what I need during labour and what can wait until later. I have also attached a list to the bag for all those items which can't be packed until the last minute. So here goes:

Labour essentials

Dreamgenii pillow - can't live without it!

• Hospital documents (I'm pre-registered already so this part should be quite smooth)
• Several copies of my birth plan
• MP3 player (loaded with labour playlist) and small speakers
• Hypnobirthing book (with birth companion's 'to do' list earmarked!)
• Lavender eye mask (for blanking out the world if it all gets too much)
• Lavender and peppermint essential oils (lavender to instill calm, peppermint to ward off nausea)
• Rice sock (great for any aches and pains - just heat for 2 minutes in the microwave)
• Tennis ball (apparently good for giving a firm massage to an aching back)
• An old t-shirt dress (for giving birth in - don't bother taking anything too precious apparently!)
• Couple of flannels (so hubby can mop my fevered brow)
• Facial spray and fan (ditto)
  
• Socks and slippers (apparently it's quite common to alternate between feeling overheated and chilly during labour!)
• Dressing gown (in case I want to walk around without shocking the other patients!)
• Dreamgenii pillow http://www.dreamgenii.com (My very own comfort blanket - I've been using this to help me get comfortable in bed these last few months. After giving birth you can use it as a breast feeding pillow).
• Digital camera (issued with strict instructions for no 'below-the-waist' shots!)
  

After (Baby Stuff)

The ultimate in neutral baby fashion:
Mothercare unisex starter set

• Starter pack of baby clothes (Mothercare) - 3 long sleeved and 3 short sleeved body suits, bootees, hat and scratch mits.
• Receiving blanket (to wrap up baby)
• Muslin cloths (essential for wiping up baby sick etc).
• Baby manicure kit (apparently baby's nails sometimes reach right round the fingertips by birth. Given our 'Frank Spencer' tendencies, I'd rather do baby's first manicure in a setting where we have emergency medical help on standby!)

After (Mummy's Stuff)

No, they are not eye patches!

• Nursing bras
• Comfy pyjamas
• Breast pads, super-sized sanitary towels and a pack of disposable knickers (the bit nobody wants to talk about - leaking body fluids galore. Enough said...)
  
• Wash bag with nice toiletries, toothbrush & paste. (Stuff the confinement tradition of not bathing for a month - I'll be taking a nice long shower thank you very much!)
• Make-up bag and hair brush
  
• Going home outfit

The Final Countdown

All wired up: CTG Scan at the hospital

With less than two weeks to go before the due date we are definitely on the final countdown. I'm torn between relishing the final few days of freedom and enjoying the strange movements in my belly - and at the same time, wishing it was all over so I can walk more than two yards without needing the toilet. So anyway, the doula is now on call 24/7. The nursery is overflowing with nappies, wipes and bum cream. And my belly is absolutely enormous - although strangely my belly button hasn't popped!

After the electrocution incident, my regular check-up with the Prof was brought forward. "It's a very good sized baby" Prof frowned as he laid his measuring tape over my enormous bump. As if sensing my horror at the thought of giving birth to a ten-pound monster child, Prof hastily countered with "Then again, you've got huge fibroids so it's difficult to be exact". Cheers then, that's a relief!

At today's check-up I had to do a CTG scan, which is basically monitoring the baby's heartbeat, movements and any contractions. Two large pads were strapped to my belly and I was hooked up to the machine. It was quite a surreal experience in the CTG room as two other ladies were having scans at the same time, so all we could hear was the rapid 'whoomp, whoomp, whoomp' of little baby heartbeats. It was a bit like being inside a gigantic womb, although the effect was slightly spoiled by the lady in the corner snoring loudly behind her curtain!