Wishing Good Thoughts

I'm thinking positively as I head to my midwife this morning for a check-up.  I don't know exactly what will happen besides being checked and getting a non-stress test.  She may order an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level and the placenta.  I will also talk with her about possibly stripping my membranes to see if that will naturally get things going.  I've read up on it and it seems that if your body is ready, stripping the membranes can just send you into labor, but if your body isn't ready, nothing happens.  I figure it might be worth a try!

I have faith that everything is still going well with both me and baby.  I will just be relieved when they assure me of that so that I can continue to wait for this little one to come on her own.  On the off chance that something doesn't seem quite right, they will likely schedule an induction in the next couple days.  Obviously, with wanting to go natural and labor at home as long as possible, an induction is not appealing to me.

Last night, I made a very strong cup of red raspberry leaf tea (3 bags to 1 cup), and then tried black cohosh tinxture that my doula gave me yesterday when she came to visit me.  I had lots of contractions, but I normally have lots of contractions at night so it didn't seem abnormal.  They came more frequently than they normally do, but the intensity was right about how they normally are.

My doula calmed me down a bit yesterday.  She reminded me that if all women went naturally, that we would see most 1st time moms go about this far past their due dates.  But so many OBs are now inducing once a woman hits 40 weeks, regardless of whether there is a medical necessity.  Or women are getting anxious and opting to be induced.  This reminder helped me calm down a little bit.  I'm letting my body and baby decide when the timing is right.  I'm hoping that the timing is soon!