Progress

I saw the doctor yesterday and I am 90% effaced and a good 2 centimeters dilated. I also lost my mucus plug over the weekend, so things are moving in the right direction, but I am starting to get impatient again. I thought that working part time would be the answer, the compromise, but I am still not sleeping well and unable to nap during the day.

I have been walking like crazy and eating pineapple and spicy food, but nothing is kicking off labor. So, I called my midwife friend and asked her thoughts on taking caster oil. She told me that anything, natural or medical, that induces labor is not really natural. My daughter has a birthday, all ready set aside for her and if I push to get things started sooner than she is ready, it could result in a really long, really hard labor and might even end with other medical interventions like IV fluids, drugs and the like.

She suggested that I wait until the doctor starts talking about medical induction and then have my membranes swept and have sex. She says that this has been the best way of inducing labor that she has found. Regardless, it won't work unless the baby is ready. She also suggested that I stop working, get myself into the mindset of labor and delivery and let go of all the control factors. This is going to be very hard for me, but I have a feeling that she is right. If I have not gone into labor by Friday, I think that I will have Friday be my last day. I need to rest and get centered and simply focus on delivering my daughter and not on how money is tight, or if I don't work on Tuesday I don't get paid the holiday pay for Monday, stuff like that.

I am such a control freak that it is hard for me not to have a list or a formula or something to follow to make happen what I want to happen. I need to focus on letting go and letting my body relax into labor land. I need to concentrate on getting enough rest, eating good food, and visualizing my labor and baby. A watched pot never boils, so I have to let go and just go with the flow.