It's the holy grail question of pregnancy; when will labour start? Unless your baby came early (like my first) you'll have probably wondered at some point when your
contractions will start, what they feel like and whether your
waters will break every time you bend down! OK, I admit, it's driving me mad... that and the 'helpful' advice from anyone I know who has had a baby (for your information I am eating curry every night, drinking raspberry leaf tea and chomping on pineapple at every opportunity).
Because I have had a
'problem' pregnancy before I have to have regular checks at the maternity day centre every two days. I feel like I know the staff by name and I can see them sighing as I walk in and thinking, 'so you're not in labour yet - poor you!' More disconcerting is the waiting room we have to wait in at every appointment, which is pretty much in the labour ward. This means we have to sit and wait whilst hearing other women in labour. There is nothing worse than hearing someone in pain, but if you know you will also be experiencing the pain in the near future, it's even scarier. The best thing to do is make no eye contact with anyone and ignore the staff rushing in and out of the delivery room... Sudoku helps...
Because I have had a previous
C-section, my consultant has said that I cannot go over my due date which is Saturday 17th May (this Saturday). This means if I don't go into labour naturally by Saturday, I will probably end up having a
Ceasarean very soon. I don't mind about this because I have had a C-section before and I just want my baby (and me) to be safe. What is scary is thinking we will have a baby this time next week... I'll keep you posted!