frustration nation

Sung to the tune of "She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain":

She'll be comin' down the birth canal when she comes
She'll be comin' down the birth canal when she comes
She'll be comin' down the birth canal, she'll be comin' down the birth canal
She'll be comin' down the birth canal when she comes.....

But when will that be? We'll surely all go out to meet her when she comes... that is, if we're all still around when she comes. My mother, mother-in-law, and step daughter are all here this week for the momentous event that was to have happened about 4 days ago. Though we've kind of agreed to only talk about "it" if "something" happens, the nobaby is hovering over everyone's head. It's so thick you can almost feel it when you walk in. Where is this child?? Luciya, or the lack thereof, has become the elephant in the room.

Though I know our baby will choose the day and the time of her birth, and that she knows better than anyone when and where and how it will all happen, I have been diligently observing some of the following suggestions for natural induction. I just really don't want to have to birth a 19 pound baby. These have been passed on from friends and family, found on the internet, and even backed up by my doctor and doula.

raspberry leaf tea..................CHECK. I literally drank an entire pot last night.
spicy food.................................CHECK.
long walks ...............................CHECK. Almost daily. I've been favoring the Olinda forest, where I've gone to talk with baby since I was about 2 months pregnant.
bumpy car rides....................CHECK. Easy to do in our neighborhood.
nipple stimulation..............CHECK. Yes, per doctor's recommendation, and my doula's, I spent one hour total yesterday with my nipples in my breast pump. More today. Yippee!
sex...............................................CHECK. Wasn't sure I'd include this one, but c'mon, we all know how I got in this situation in the first place.
castor oil.......................................NOT YET. Not sure how I feel about this one. This was one of the doctor's recommendations. My doula backs is up, but warns that the cervix has to be ripe for it to take effect properly. Otherwise you may just get a bad case of the runs. But how do I know if my cervix is ripe? Ton Ton suggested that we all play a round of "How Ripe is Shemmy's Cervix" at dinner last night. It got too late. I just went to bed.

The exciting results so far?

Nada.

At my doctor's appointment yesterday I had a "nonstress test" done to make sure nobaby was doing okay in there. Turns out she's not just okay, she's perfectly fine - strong heartbeat, good movements, etc., etc. It was pretty cool to see the little readouts from the external monitor. Did you know baby's heartbeat skyrockets every time she moves? I didn't know that either. What else don't I know about you, baby? Oh yeah, when I'll get to meet you.

I would love any comments and/or suggestions you may have regarding induction, other ways to occupy my mind, and probably a good dose of Just-Relax-And-Stop-Worrying-Soon-You'll-Have-This-Baby-In-Your-Arms- And-Wonder-What-All-The-Fuss-Was-About.

Until then (when?),
Shemmy