The Push Before the Pushing.

Well today is my due date and for the last two weeks I've been trying to gently nudge my body and Baby into action. Like all preggos at the end of the journey I'm exhausted, sore and completely ready to get this show on the road. At 36 weeks I had many pre-labour symptoms and I thought for sure that I would deliver early. But everything stalled and nothing has changed in weeks.

I'm not ready yet to take any drastic measures to jump-start labour but I have been trying a few things this past couple weeks to get my body "ripe" for action.

Walking

The beautiful Minoru Chapel on a fall afternoon

I have been on the big side through this entire pregnancy. I guess because I had a small frame and torso to begin with there was nowhere for Baby to go except straight out in front. So exercise really slowed down for me early on because the extra weight out front put so much pressure on the ligaments in my abdomen and pelvis. Even walking a couple blocks back at 15 weeks was too much some days.

But since my due date has been approaching (and is now here) I have been trying to walk for a little while each day. Some days I feel fine and other days I get a block from home and the pain is so bad I have to sit on the curb until it subsides and I can walk back.

Since we moved we are close to Minoru Park and it's nice to walk over there on the good days.

Pressure Points

J has been pressing some pressure points in my feet and ankles that are supposed to help prepare the cervix for labour, help the baby drop into position and induce labour. If you're interested in trying these techniques get the OK from your doctor. We watched some videos on YouTube to learn where the right spots are. Click here to see one of the videos we watched. However it certainly hasn't induced labour and my lady bits didn't change much from one week to the next so either we haven't actually found the right spots or it doesn't always work.

Lemon Verbena Tea

A couple weeks ago my midwife gave me some verbena oil and a recipe for a cervical-ripening tea in the hopes that it would speed things up a bit. Again I don't really know if it works but I'm still trying (got a cup of the brew beside me right now). The recipe calls for a stick of cinnamon, cloves, ginger root and the verbena oil. You brew the tea and then add a couple drops of the oil afterwards. My midwife said to drink it at most only every other day so make sure you find out how much is too much before you start downing it every night before bed.

Acupuncture

After finding out today that there is still little sign that Baby is on the way my midwife suggested I try some acupuncture. I used to go to a great acupuncturist in West Vancouver because I hate needles and he was/is well-known for getting them in without the patient feeling it. But treatments are really expensive so J and I couldn't afford to splurge on this method of labour-induction.

But my midwife told me about a place in Vancouver called Poke which calls itself community acupuncture. It's a really cool little place at Kingsway and Main St. where you sit in a room filled with comfy recliners and other patients and one acupuncturist treats everyone. The atmosphere is super quite and chill just like a spa and everyone was so relaxed they were sleeping.

The best part is that the price works on a sliding scale so you pay between $20 and $40 per session -- whatever you can afford. Poke makes acupuncture available to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford the treatments so it's a great service to the community. But...

I hate needles. I don't find acupuncture relaxing at all. While everyone else lay peacefully in their recliners with eyes closed and blissful smiles on their faces I sat upright, frozen, with eyes as big as saucers scanning the room for a distraction. I had flashbacks to my past acupuncturist in who was so irritated with my inability to relax during his treatments that more than once he threatened to not allow me to return. I remember he used to leave the room and I would spend the half-hour of "relaxation time" laying perfectly still so as not to shake the needles and counting all the right angles in the room. There were a lot because the neon ceiling lights were covered with those grates with all the little squares. Pathetic, I know. But his treatment did work and so I have hope that the lady at Poke made some progress today.

My eyes still feel a little crossed from spending twenty minutes staring at the needle jutting out of my forehead. When she put it in she said that most people get one in that spot because "it feels so good". Uh huh. It freaked me out so much I finally took it out and then at the end of the session I lied and said it fell out. Of course by then I had pricked my fingers several times because I was nervously playing with it while I waited for my 20 minutes to be up.

FYI: If you're one of those freaks that find having needles stuck in your body enjoyable, Poke allows you to stay for as long as you'd like. Apparently many patients doze off for an hour or so. I did not. But I do have another appointment in a couple days.