Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Anne,
    
    Remember, no baby has ever come out with a highschool diploma in hand. 
    My first was 2 weeks late, the second *only* 4 days, but I was climbing
    the walls waiting for her.  How about stashing the oldest with a sitter
    and taking an evening out with your partner?  Even if the two of you
    just stay home and cuddle without the added distraction of the other
    little around.
    
    Meg

    My baby was late too--it is frustrating!  Can you ask a friend to come
    to your house for lunch (and ask them to bring the lunch)?
    
    I talked on the phone to other pregnant friends, cooked food in batch
    and put it in the freezer, and napped.  Errands and the like weren't 
    fun, cause it was too hard to get in and out of the car!
    
    I don't know where you are, but if the weather is nice, try to get
    out in the sun.  The sun always makes me feel better about 
    everything!  (And it is great here on the East coast today.)
    
    Good luck!  You already know that the baby can't stay in there forever,
    so you are ahead on that count!
    
    judy

    I made a deal with my doctor on my due date - let's set up a date to
    induce the baby if it has not arrived.  We settled on a week after
    the due date.  Made that overdue week go a lot faster when I had
    a "target" date.  I was induced, GREAT experience, a lot faster
    than the 22 hours of labor with my first!

    
    Try to get outside and take short walks... who knows, maybe it'll help
    get things started!
    
    Good luck!!!
    
    
    jean

    My first was only four days late, but in our house, "pregnant" is
    an 8-letter word that is synonymous with b****.  I was absolutely
    HORRID to be around, so kept to myself as much as possible.  I did
    take a lot of walks, in the (vain) hope that it would help me sleep
    better at night.  I did make sure I had a routine.  I would get up
    at 6 a.m. with my husband, see him off to work, then have breakfast,
    do some chores (ever try vacuuming a living room rug with a Dust
    Buster?), eat a snack, run an errand, etc., etc.  This gave some
    structure to my days and made the time pass a little faster.  I
    also got some of those "word search" crossword puzzles, which I
    like to do, and went to the library.  I was not a ball of fire every
    day, but I forced myself to get up, get dressed, put on some makeup,
    and *leave the house* for an hour a day, even if all I did was
    walk across the street to chat with my neighbors.
    
    Also, if #2's little clothes, etc., aren't quite ready, this is the
    time to do it!  I washed and organized everything, arranged for the
    diaper service, made sure I had enough disposables in case I ran
    out of cloth ones, packed my hospital bag, etc., etc.  Like I said,
    I tried to find one little chore to do every single day.  I am so
    used to working outside the home and having a regular (if hectic)
    rhythm to my day that having a lot of time on my hands drives me
    nuts.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Kate (20 weeks and [not really] counting)

    Thanks for all the suggestions!!
    
    To .3
    
    I have set up with my doctor a date to be induced - next Wednesday -
    the 13th (my son's birthday by the way !!) and this is something to
    look forward to if she's not born before then.  The bad part is I am
    having so many contractions I never know what to expect so I am always
    "ready" to go to the hospital.
    
    Anne

    Can I suggest that you try to insure that the birthdays are NOT the
    same day??  It would seem to me that your son is certainly going to
    feel miffed this year, and the prospect of having to share birthdays
    will likely be a sore spot for years...
    
    Hey, if you're going to plan anyways...
    
    Cheers,
    jeff
    

    RE .6 Good luck! I found out that I had so much fluid in the amniotic
    sac that every time a had a contraction the baby would move down and
    then bounce back up again - also a lot of unproductive contractions
    in that last week.
    
    RE .7 My second was due on my first's birthday, turned out to be 5 days 
    later but my kids think that having birthdays so close to gether is no big
    deal.  Their parties are different, with different kids at different
    places and the day itself is very low key at our house except for
    family presents. With 2 on the same day it might be kind of like
    Christmas!

    
    I can sympathize with what you're going through.  My due date was Nov.
    1, 1990 and I was praying that I wouldn't come early because I had to
    get the nursery ready and have my garage sale.  Then after the date
    passed I was soooooo tired of being pregnant that I begged my doctor to
    induce.
    
    He told me on Monday to make an appt. for Tues and if I "looked ready"
    (whatever that meant) he would induce on Friday.  Then Tuesday he
    called to see if I could come a few hours early - apparently he had one
    in labor for the first time and anticipated being there all afternoon
    and evening, so he might induce me too.  I showed up at noon (my appt.
    was for 4PM) and he gave me my exam.  "Girl, you're 5-6cm dialated and
    your bag of water is about to burst!  Get down stairs to L&D!"
    
    By the time I walked 3 floors down I was almost 8cm.  I had her at
    1:45PM that day.  Never would have made it to 4PM for my appt!!!
    
    Like you, I had had contractions on and off for some time, and was
    determined not to go to the hospital and be told to go back home. 
    That's why I didn't know when it was the "real thing."
    
    Good luck, and post a note asap after the big date!!!
    
    Kristen::

    Not that I think this is for everyone...but when I was late and had
    *everything* ready (if you know me, you know this isn't an exaggeration
    at all) I decided to go to the local court house and do a deed search
    of our house.
    
    The house was built in 1789 and I wanted to get as complete a history
    as I could.  So there I was, *HUGE* on this hot day in a dark room
    lugging around those huge books.  So many people would see me and ask
    me, when are you due that it got to be quite funny to say I was late
    and hoping to bring on labor.
    
    I only managed to get back to 1820 or so, before I was totally
    exhausted and the place was going to close. 
    
    Of course, 9 months later, I haven't been back there and I certainly
    don't expect to get the time anytime soon.
    
    Maybe I'll go there again if I'm late for another baby and start a 
    very strange tradition!
    
    judy

    I had my baby on Feb. 12 - water broke at 3 AM and I didn't have to be
    induced--healthy baby girl born at 7:47 AM - 8 lbs.  Name is Jillian
    Elizabeth Fleming!!!! Whew!! Glad it's over!
    
    Anne

re: .11

<<    ... Elizabeth Fleming!!!! Whew!! Glad it's over!
                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   
   Over?!  Its just beginning!!!  :-)  :-)   But I think you knew
   that!!  :-)  :-)
   
   Congrats!
   
   - Tom

    Congratulations, first of all!!  

    I know what you mean about "glad it's over" I kept saying that myself
    and every one was telling me that it's just beginning.

    They were right! If this is your first child, you are in for quite a
    surprise!! I found after birth to be worse than the birth itself!! The
    birth only took a few hours... Healing afterwards takes weeks!!

    Give yourself healing time. Pamper yourself. The dishes can wait, a
    frozen dinner can take place of your home cooking for a while, etc.

    Of course, I really lucked out, as my husband was laid off from work,
    so he was home until the baby was about 6 weeks old. He cleaned,
    cooked, diapered, in other words, I was spoiled! When he got called
    back to work, I realized that I had to get off my duff and do things. I
    didn't mind, as I had enough time to recover from the birth. Besides, I
    enjoyed having time to myself with my little baby before I went back to
    work myself.

    Enjoy!! 
    Norma

    To .13
    
    Thanks for your note.  This is my second child. The first one is a boy
    and he is 3 and in day-care.  I am pampering myself but I really am
    enjoying being home more this time with the baby.  She is so sweet and
    is letting me sleep in 4 hour stretches at night already!
    
    Anne

    Congratulations, Anne!
    
    -Tracy
    
    (And I'm glad to see Jillian has her own birthday and doesn't have to
    share with her brother!)

    
    well dont feel to bad my first one was 3 weeks over due and I was told
    that because he was not large at all the I might just carry a little
    bit long then the average woman.  # 2 is due in August and if I have to
    three weeks with this one.  My husband and son will most likely pack
    and move out untill I go into labor all I did for the last two weeks
    was cry.  
    
    
    Della