what can you due?

Filed Under Pregnancy and Birthing, Tips & Tricks | August 6, 2009

Due dates are a funny thing.  Despite knowing, rationally, that our baby is likely to be born anytime in the month around our due date, we look forward to the big day with anticipation hoping that our baby will be “on time.”

Only five percent of babies arrive on their actual due date, however, and the rest of us may be surprised a week or two before, or find ourselves still pregnant a week or two later.  Even though your due date is meant to serve as a guide rather than a prediction, you still plan your life around it. So here are a few ideas to help you enjoy your final weeks of pregnancy:

Shhhh: It may be hard to resist the entreaties, but take the pressure off by not sharing your due date.  Use “mid-November” rather than November 15th, or even more vague, “sometime in November.”

Arrival Dates: Instead of having guests arrive on or before your due date, consider asking them to wait until one to two weeks after. Or even wait to plan their trip ’til your baby arrives.  If your baby is born earlier, then you will have some quiet time together as a new family before your home is filled with loving relatives. And if it’s born later (we were a full two weeks “late”) then you won’t be stressed by thoughts of visitors and baby arriving at the same time.

Enjoy: By 38 weeks try your best to have everything on your list in place.  Birth supplies ready, newborn gear, freezer stocked.  Allow yourself to enjoy the final days or weeks before your baby is born with nature walks, live music and theatre, favourite dinners out and of course a massage or two.

Patience: If your pregnancy is more than 40 weeks you may feel like you’re “overdue.”  It is perfectly normal for babies to be born after their due date.  If you’re getting lots of less-than- thoughtful comments, you’re not alone.

The final weeks of pregnancy can be stressful.  It’s hard to be nine months pregnant, but try and enjoy this time, cherish the quiet and know that only a few days from now you’ll be holding your sweet baby in your arms.