- I should not be making this update.
I can't believe that I'm filming
my 41 week pregnancy update.
I have never made it to 41 weeks before
in my two other pregnancies.
But this boy is being a little bit lazy. (laughs)
Might possibly be some of my fault because obviously
I so wanted a September baby so I kind of
did everything I could to keep him in.
I didn't do the long walks or the bouncing on
the birth ball or raspberry leaf tea or any of that,
whereas with my previous boys I probably
started all of that at like 38 weeks,
but because I wanted to keep him in
til September for the school year thing,
maybe he is now not as ready
as they were at the same stage.
I dunno. So hot.
I feel like my hair is just not doing anything right
and I have just been really struggling to sleep.
It's really muggy today and I'm really struggling.
My pregnancy app says that only 5% of women
actually deliver on their due date so
that makes me feel a little bit better,
and my due date was the 30th of August
but I never really took it into account
because my others were exactly six days late.
I just added six days on and was like that's the date,
but now that that date has come and gone,
I'm feeling a bit fed up and big.
So he should be looking like this now,
completely formed, obviously, ready to go.
He might come out a little bit wrinkly
and overcooked 'cause he's been in there for so long,
and my app also said that he will probably
need a manicure and pedicure because his nails will
probably be longer than his fingers now
because he's been in there for so long.
So yesterday, at the hospital, I had my 41 week
check with the midwife so they did all of the normal
checks, like my blood pressure, and that kind of thing.
They checked the baby's heart rate and she said
he sounds really happy in there and lovely.
And then she asked me if I wanted to have a stretch
and sweep now that I was a week overdue.
And I've actually never had to have a sweep before
because the boys just came and I really was
not looking forward to it but I thought, you know what,
if it gets things moving I need to do this.
So she did it.
Really wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be,
and I dunno if that's because I am so ready
or what but basically what they do is, TMI,
but say this is your cervix.
If your cervix is open, like that,
they will stretch around in the cervix.
If it's still closed, they will kinda stretch,
try and stretch around it, like that.
So she said that I was already two centimeters dilated,
which I was like woohoo, but apparently
that's really normal for a subsequent birth
so 'cause it's my third I'm a bit more ready to go,
which is good, I guess.
She said it was all very soft in there.
She said she could feel the baby's head.
And that he's really, really low so she said when things
do kick off she said I think you'll have a good labor.
So that was all positive.
And she did what she had to do, and she counts
to 10 and then when she finished, she was like,
oh well done, most women don't make it to ten.
And I was like, I really did not know
that I had a choice in stopping you.
I just thought I had to do what you were doing
so I was kinda like breathing through it but anyway,
she did it, and I was so hopeful,
I had it yesterday at mid-day, and I was
really hoping that last night things
would kick off but I had nothing.
But this morning I had a show, so
I'm really hoping that maybe in a few hours or tonight
or even tomorrow that something starts,
because after we had the sweep,
we then had to talk about induction and she booked me
in for an induction, which I was really sad about,
but you have to plan for the worst.
And she was like, we need to get this baby out
kind of thing, so we booked my induction
at the hospital if nothing happens.
So it would be a real shame because obviously
I've been planning a home birth, but if I need to be
induced I'll have to go into the hospital.
She said she has put me as an outpatient induction,
so I could go in, have the pessary or whatever it is,
not the drug part of it, have a softer induction
and then be sent home and hope that I can do it at home,
but then obviously if I need to have an induction
with drugs, I need to be in the hospital because
it's an unnatural thing and I may want
more pain relief than gas and air,
because all you can have at home is gas and air.
So, I don't know, but this is why it's so important
to be flexible with your birth plan.
Every birth is different,
we never know what's gonna happen,
and if I have to be induced to get this little guy out,
then my main priority is that he's happy,
healthy, and here, and not that oh, I dreamed about
having a home birth and all that stuff.
The reality of it is, though, we may have to go
to hospital and have him unnaturally
evicted from my tummy with drugs.
In the last week I have been experiencing some
Braxton-Hicks, so some tightenings and things
like that, but there's absolutely no pattern
and they don't really hurt enough.
It's weird because as soon as I start to feel
real pain, when this actually does start,
I think I'll be so excited to feel the pain.
So in the last few days as well, we have tried
all of the things that you can try to try
and get this baby out.
I have been taking Raspberry Leaf Tea tablets.
Today if nothing happens, I'm going to go and buy
some clary sage tablets, or evening primrose tablets,
'cause lots of people have said that that had
brought on their labors, that you can either
have them orally or put them up that way.
I think I'm gonna try them as well.
We've done a walk, we've done a bumpy car ride,
we've done all the stuff that you can do to bring on a baby.
We've had pineapple, bouncing on my birthing ball,
I've been doing that a lot in the last few days.
Also had acupuncture to try and bring the baby down
so he just stuck needles in a few relaxing places
and a few descending places, he said.
I've been nesting like crazy still,
my mom is over from Canada.
Since my last video as well I have decided to
have a placenta smoothie after the birth
so my mom is gonna help with that.
We've got a baggie frozen in the freezer
of a frozen banana and frozen raspberries,
and we're gonna add almond milk and almond butter,
I think, and then a 50p piece of placenta.
And so I'm gonna have that after the birth
to help with all the benefits that that gives you,
which I talked about in my last video,
and then I might have another one the next day.
I've decided not to encapsulate the placenta
into tablets because I was thinking about it,
and someone commented on one of my videos,
if you think about what animals do in the wild,
they just have a bit after they've given birth
and then they don't have any more.
They don't keep it for three months
and then take it and save it in their freezer
for menopause and all of this stuff.
So that kind of made sense to me
and it's quite pricey to have the tablets made.
My last pregnancies as well, I've been really lucky
with milk flow and stuff like that,
so it's not like I really feel like I need it.
I just feel like if there's benefits to it then
that would be great, so that's what I've decided on that.
If you watched my latest vlog as well, you'll see
we went shopping the other night, and I wanted
to show you I got some H & M nursing vests,
which look really cute and nice.
So I just got a set of two,
a white one and a black one as well.
Really simple, they have some support
already in them and the little top bits
come down for nursing so I got those,
and I got a couple new tops for breastfeeding.
Yeah, I got this cute shirt from Primark,
which I thought would be ideal for breastfeeding,
and I also got this cute bomber jacket from H & M,
'cause it obviously zips and easy access and stuff,
and it's quite long so it will cover up,
if I just wear leggings this will cover up my bum and stuff,
so I thought it would give me a bit of grace
because although I have got a big bump,
I have also put on weight in other places.
So I thought that was really nice colors
and quite cool as well.
'Cause you know when you hold a baby they're like
a little radiator; make you really, really hot.
And then I got this top from ASOS.
It's got two layers and then you pull it back
and there's a hole and you can feed either side,
yeah, you can see it right there.
You can feed either side really easily in that.
There's one other product that I ended up getting
that I really wanted to show you.
I finally decided to get a Sleepyhead.
I'm really excited about this, I've never had one
for either of the other two boys, but with
my other two boys, when I put them down to sleep,
I would roll a blanket and put it
over their head so they had that feeling
of they were still in the womb.
So that is what this is supposed to do,
but it's really tight and cozy for them to sleep in.
It was quite expensive, it was 110 pounds,
so the way I justified it was that it's my third baby
and we've literally bought him nothing,
so I got him this and also, I noticed that they resell
on eBay for 60 or 70 pounds, so I was like,
if he uses it for a few months and then I
resell it, well, that would be good.
And the best thing about it is that you can put it in
between you in bed and he's a bit more cushioned,
or you could bring it downstairs and he could
have a nap in it, and stuff like that,
so I'm quite excited to try this out
and I will definitely update you on how we get on with it.
Alright, so I think that's everything
that I wanted to update on.
If you are also watching this because
you are overdue and you're 41 weeks pregnant,
I know it's so disheartening and you're trying
everything and there's no movement and there's no pain
and you're like come on, we're all ready for you.
Whether he comes naturally or you have to be induced,
the main thing is that they just get here
and they're safe and they're in your arms, isn't it.
So, whatever happens, I'm just gonna go with the flow.
I'm gonna try to be as flexible as I can be,
and yes, hopefully I will introduce him to you very
soon in a birth vlog or a here's-my-baby vlog.
But yes, thank you so much, as always, for watching,
and I will see you very soon, I hope, with a baby.
Bye.
This is my 41 week bump.
You will notice that I've got some stretch marks,
just in this final week so that was really nice. (laughs)
Really big now and also really very low.