Hi everyone!
This is my first pregnancy. The time seemed to have been going by pretty quickly until recently. Now it just seems to drag by. My hands are so numb that I can’t knit for very long any more.
Did anyone else find that the last few weeks seem to go by really slow?
Ready for Baby,
Jen
All 3 of my pregnancies were the same way. Just sped along until the last 5 weeks, and then it just lagged on…and on…and on… each day seemed like it should have been a week. Just do your best to keep occupied, go for waddles…err…walks, play games, I know it’s hard but rest and cherish the alone time. Nap whenever you want…i miss being able to do that.LOL
HEE, yes, I think it’s always like that. The first trimester drags, the second flies, then the third can feel endless, especially when you get to the uncomfortably-huge part. :roflhard:
Hang in there…go to the movies, go yarn shopping, all that good stuff that will be a little more complex once the baby arrives. 
And congratulations!
Yes! I thought the last three weeks were horrible! Suddenly none of my clothes fit. Luckily, our little bean arrived a week early.
Candice
I was 2 weeks late with my first son. I worked until the week before my due date- thinking that a week off would be nice to do things around the house, nest a little, rest a little, etc- I didn’t think about the fact that the one week could end up being 3 weeks!! I felt as though he would never get here. I gained 50 lbs, and my hands were so swollen that my fingers looked like sausages. So worth it in the end, though!! 
On a personal note, I can totally relate. Plus, my second baby was overdue (by 3 weeks!) and I ended up moving things along with castor oil. (#1 was right on time.) I know it can seem endless.
On a professional note, I can also relate. Most of my clients have commented on how endless the last couple of weeks seem. Up to and including all of my friends who are doulas, midwives and childbirth educators. You’d think, what with doing this for a living, that we would be chilled out about the whole thing. Not.
Be careful not to let your impatience or exhaustion dictate your care, i.e. inducing the baby just to end the pregnancy (which can introduce a whole host of problems neither of you need) . Babies generally cook as long as they need to, and there’s lots of neurological growth going on inside that we’re not privy to.
Take some long walks, write in a journal, talk to supportive women who won’t tell you labor horror stories (I can’t stand it when women do that), perhaps create something. Spend these last few alone days with your hubby/partner.
In just a short time, you’ll begin to feel contractions. And then, shortly, you’ll enter the most special of all clubs. Being a mother will change your whole life - nothing else in my life compares to my accomplishments as a wife and mother, as old fashioned as that sounds.
Feel free to PM me if you would like to commiserate more or get a heads up over what to expect once the baby is born. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. Hey, have you thought of hiring a doula to help you and your husband/partner/SO during the birth? (I just have to put in a plug for doulas whereever I go! 
)
Best of luck,
Alison
This was me with my second. I was due in July and had enough of no air conditioning and the swollen legs and varicose veins. But those little ones will make their grand entrances when they are good and ready. Hang in there 
and before you know it you will be holding you own ‘Little One’. Good luck and I wish for you a quick and speedy labor and delivery!!
Hang in there! Yes, that baby will get here!
One indicator also is your mom’s and even grandma’s history, as in to how on-time they were with their babies. If the women in your family tend to go overdue, then you might too, but if they are usually right on time, chances are good you will be also. Doesn’t always work that way though, but can be a general guideline.
I was born on my due date (and my mom’s first!), and she said the most she was every overdue was 34 minutes with one of my brothers, and each of my own four were born either 5 days before or on their respective due dates.
Yep. By the end of my pregnancies, I was SO miserable and SO ready to just get on with it! A friend of mine says she thinks it’s God’s (or the Goddess or whatever diety you believe in … or even the cosmos) way of preparing you for the baby, making you so miserable at the end of the pregnancy. Otherwise, none of us would ever actually choose to go into labor. :lol:
I absolutely second (or third) the idea of resting, relaxing and enjoying your last few weeks of “you” time!!! Once the baby arrives, you’ll forget what it was like to go shopping without spending an hour and 45 minutes loading up the diaper bag with diapers and three changes of clothes (for you and the baby ;)) and a couple of small toys and some water and snacks, warming up the car, dressing the baby, redressing the baby after s/he urps all over whatever beautiful outfit you had them in, undressing the baby and changing yet another diaper and then redressing the baby AGAIN, attempting to shower and dress yourself while the baby suddenly decides s/he needs your EVERY ATTENTION RIGHT THIS MINUTE … and you haven’t even left the driveway yet. AND SLEEP IN NOW, cause one thing everyone forgets to tell you is that you’ll probably not have another chance for at least five years or so, as kids are awake when they’re awake, and so are you!
Hope the end of your pregnancy and your delivery are smooth and joyful for you, mama! 
I was so consumed with how miserable I felt it never occured to me to think the pregnancy was taking a long time lol
Hang in there! Try a nice soak in a warm tub with epsom salts. Really helps those swollen parts!
But ya know - this is where pregnancy is most awe inspiring too. My son was a frank breech. He never turned. One night I woke up and my hand was on my stomach - and I could feel his hand under mine. I could feel 4 of his tiny fingers. I think thats when he really became real for me.
Bless you both!
:roflhard: :roflhard: Oh the flashbacks!!
LOL to all! Yes, the last weeks seemed endless! You are NOT alone!
Bwahahahahahaha!! And how!! Not only did the last month before my son’s birth seem to drag on forever, he was almost 3 weeks late. I didn’t think he was ever going to make his appearance!
I didn’t face the “last few weeks problem” as my daughter was 3 weeks early (weighing 9 lbs!) but I was in labor for 23.5 hours AFTER my water broke. I was pitching a fit to do it naturally and they were trying to wheel me away to have a C-section b/c I was beginning to run a fever and all…at the absolute last minute my doc came in putting on a gown–ready to wheel me away–and I convinced them to check one more time…and she was a done bun. Fortunately delivery only took about 40 minutes.
Then she didn’t sleep through the night until she was 20 months old…I thought I was going to die…LOL!
Good luck and I hope your little one comes soon and is very healthy and happy.
I so remember dragging around those last weeks, wishing for a baby. Then when she came (two weeks late) I remembered fondly how easy it was to bring her along when she was still inside. :rofling:
[color=indigo]oh lawd don’t even remind me… i’monly 3.5 months!!! its not fair. thought the first 2 went fastcause i didn’t know i was…but this is #5 for me and the 4th one isn’t even 1 yet…so you got it easy!! enjoy your alone time while you can![/color]
[color=red]my 3rd was induced because i had low fluid. 4th was induced because i was so miserable and could barely walk and i had 3 others to keep up with so my doc asked if i wanted to be induced… you know he didn’t have to aske twice! knittingdoula…what kind of problems can being induced cause? [/color]
This has nothing to do with the rest of the thread, but I just read this sentence and i wanted to say amen sister. As a leftwing, liberal feminist girl who is studying her ass off to go to medical school, it is SO NICE to hear motherhood given it’s due. Maybe it’s my circle, but my liberal, carrer minded girlfriends couldn’t give a hoot about motherhood and don’t have a clue why I’m so eager to procreate.
I want to be a doctor and help people and to change the world, but I know the the greatest acomplishment of my life will be the children I someday have the honor of raising.
Glad you asked. Here’s an outstanding article about elective induction, written by Henci Goer, a childbirth educator, doula, medical writer and well-respected author. Her book, The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth, should be, IMO, required reading for every pregnant woman. She was an expert at Parentsplace.com and is now on staff at lamaze.com. I’ve spoken to her on the phone a couple of times, and she’s a wonderful lady.
Instead, they hand out What To Expect When You’re Expecting to everyone. Blah. Not a big fan of that book, simply because they treat their opinions as medical fact without stating so, which bugs me big time. Their opinions on direct entry and professional midwives was particularly awful in the editions I remember reading.
Anyway, here’s the link:
http://hencigoer.com/articles/elective_induction/
Enjoy. She’s very approachable, so if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail her.
Alison
Thanks for all the encouragement! Your words and stories have really helped!
I didn’t expect to get such a big reponse!
I definitely think if I was able to knit more I would be more content to wait:
I definitely don’t want my little bean to come before he is ready, but I am so ready! I guess God is teaching me patience.
I went to my doc yesterday and my BP was up. I am hoping it will lower itself out by next week. It wasn’t too high but higher than it has been for the rest of the pregnancy.
KnittingDoula: I definitely want to have as natural of a birth as possible (just finished our birth plan). My husband and I went to an awesome childbirth class geared towards natural labor. They talked about doulas, and we did think about it. However, we decided that we wantr it to be just the two (well, three) of us in the delivery room. But I think doulas are awesome!
-Jennifer
When I was in early labor with my son (my second child) I was asked if it was OK for the nursing class to watch the birth, since they had been there all week and hadn’t been able to witness one. I demurred, citing that I wanted my privacy and intimacy.
By the time I was ready to push, I didn’t care if the whole d*mned hospital was there to watch me! I just wanted that baby out (no drugs, back labor, big baby). The nurses-to-be got to witness a birth, and you know what? I bet they remember it as well as I do.