Bringing on labour and pink or blue bump?

I'm 38+5 days with my first baby and am dying to get things moving! I'm on the raspberry leaf tablets, eating pineapple, going for long walks, using a birthing ball, having sex etc the only thing I'm not doing is having curry!! Has anyone got any more advice on how I can get things moving? I had my 38 week midwife appointment this week and she said if baby wasn't here by my next one in 2 weeks time then they'll give me a sweep but I'd really like to try and start off naturally. What actually happens when you have a sweep? We are so excited about meeting our baby we are starting to get impatient! Any advice much appreciated!!!

We don't know what we're having but everyone thinks it's a boy because I'm carrying out front and look like I've swallowed a beach ball lol! But the baby's heartbeat has always averaged from 136 up to 156 (but typically in the 140's). What's everyones experience when it comes to heart rate, what's normally a boy and what's a girl or is it luck of the draw?

xxx

hey hun

i bet you can't wait now. i know when i got to that stage with my babies, i was dying for it just hurry up and happen.

well, with my first, i had no signs whatsoever. i was walking a lot, eating bucketloads of pineapple and sitting on a birthing ball for a couple of hours a day while watching tv or whatever.

i was due on a friday and on the monday i had a m/w appt. baby not engaged at all, altho head down. i was gutted and convinced i was going to go overdue and have to have a sweep. on the morning of my due date, at 4.15am i got up to have a wee and my waters broke! no warning signs before hand, nothing. just 'pop' and they went. contractions started immediately at 10 mins apart, i left for hospital at 8am when they were 5 mins apart, got there about 9 (rush hour traffic, what a nightmare!) and my son was born naturally and with no pain relief at all at 13.15.

on the basis that pregnancies are meant to get shorter each time and my son having arrived on his due date, i was convinced that my daughter was going to be early. this time i was due on a saturday. thursday evening i started getting niggly pains randomly, didnt think anything of it, but did let labour ward know, just in case. went to bed, woke up again at 10.30 with baaaad contractions, coming at least 3 in every 10 mins. left for hospital, got there by 11.15, took me 25 mins to walk to delivery as i had to keep stopping with each contraction, examined by midwife at 11.55 and my daughter was born whilst i was walking from the loo back to my bed (!!!!) at 00:15. no pain relief this time either.

the day i went into labour with my little girl i had been for a 2 hour walk with the buggy in an effort to make her hurry up. i really do think though that baby will come when baby is ready and not a lot you do makes any difference. believe me, you need to enjoy the peace and quiet whilst you still have some!!

with regard to blue bump/pink bump. i say go with your instincts! i just knew the first time i was having a boy and i knew the second time i was having a girl!! however, my bump was exactly the same both times. just like a football. i put on no weight anywhere else, just my baby bump and you couldnt even tell i was pregnant iwth my daughter until about 33 or 34 weeks. people didnt notice and im only a size 10/12. i carried them both the same tho. i think its jsut luck of the draw!!

anyway! good luck
love kelly, oliver 17 months and emilie 14 weeks
xxx

Hi.....

I was exactly the same as you and tried everything to get things moving early, but nothing really worked for me! I did have have a sweep though, well i had 2 and it got things moving

Basically they try and stretch your cervix and release some of the hormones to try and bring on labour, but as said before it only really works if your cervix is 'ripe' and ready for labour. Even though i had the sweep i still went 9 days over my due date, it took about 48hrs after the sweep for my contractions to start. As annoying as this sounds babies come when they're ready and there really isnt much you can do about it!

With regards to what you're carrying i knew i was having a boy and was carrying all at the front....but someone else told me if its all at the front then its a girl I'd say its pretty much luck of the draw!

Good luck with it all and i hope your wee one doesnt keep you waiting too long

Kate and Euan 2 weeks+4 xx

Hello

From my experience, I think no matter what you try to bring on labour, babies arrive just when they decide to. The last few weeks are often very long because we are just so excited about meeting our little ones, but I'm afraid you'll just have to be patient. You might be among the lucky few who actually give birth before their due date.
If you go over, like most first time mums, you will be offered a sweep. It's when the midwife try to stretch your cervix a little bit to get things going. But she usually does it only if your cervix is already soft, ie if it's showing signs that baby will be rady to come out soon. Otherwise, they usually wait a few days before trying again. I think there is a 50% chance of getting labour started with a sweep. But I had two with my first baby, and none of them worked. I ended up being induced at 41+6wk because my little boy was way too comfy in there . I really hope you don't get that far because we do get very impatient at the end and things just seem to be dragging, especially when you have people around you constantly asking you why you haven't popped yet!!!!
As for the boy/girl thing, well, I had a boy first time round and I was all bump and all front, but this time round I'm expecting a girl and I'm also all bump and all front, you can hardly tell I'm pregnant from behind. I think it's more to do with your pre-pregnancy shape, but this is just my opinion. I don't know about heat beats, so can't help you on that one, sorry.
Good luck anyway and hope you have your baby soon,
xxx
Flo, Etienne 17months, and 37+3 wk pink bump.