Last month, I stopped by our local Vitamin Shoppe and picked up a couple of items to help prepare my body for labor.

The first up is red raspberry leaf tea (RRLT). RRLT is proven to strengthen the uterine and pelvic muscles, and is said to “focus” and improve your contractions when labor starts and help shrink the uterus after giving birth. RRLT is rich in various vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, and vitamin C so many claim that taking it regularly can also help increase milk production, decrease nausea, and ease labor pains.

There is some debate as to when RRLT can be safely taken during pregnancy. Some say that it should not be taken during the first trimester while others argue that it’s perfectly safe. Since I didn’t know about it until well into my third trimester, and because I wanted to play it safe, I started drinking it starting my 34th week, at the recommended 2-3 cups per day.

I have read that some women find the tea too bitter and prefer to add honey to the drink, but I personally didn’t find it bitter at all and found it to taste a lot like plain black tea. (And just in care you are wondering, the brand that is linked to above and pictured on the left is the one I am taking.)

The second item on my list was evening primrose oil (EPO). EPO is an excellent source of prostaglandins, which helps to soften and “ripen” your cervix, thus readying it for labor.

As with most natural methods, the effectiveness of EPO cannot be seen overnight. The oil needs to be used for a few weeks to gradually ripen the cervix. At the same time, there are some concerns that using it prematurely can adversely affect pregnancy — mainly, that you might go into pre-term labor — so it is recommended that you should not take EPO before 34 weeks.

Although EPO can be taken orally, it is most effective if applied directly to the cervix or used in conjunction with perineal massages.

I started taking EPO along with RRLT at 34 weeks. After doing some research, decided that the following schedule would work best for me:

• 34-35 weeks: take one 500mg capsule orally in the morning, take another 500mg at night.
• 36-37 weeks: take one 500mg capsule orally in the morning, take another 500mg at night. Before going to bed, take a sterilized needle and pierce one 500mg capsule. Insert the capsule vaginally and leave it there overnight (pantyliners recommended).
• 38 weeks onward: take two 500mg capsules orally in the morning and another two at night. Before going to bed, break apart a capsule or two to use in perineal massages.

Luckily, J has no qualms about helping my body along so he has agreed to perform my perineal massages. He will also “help” in another way, as semen is said to be a natural (and easy) source of prostaglandins.

I want to make it a point to say that RRLT and EPO are not ways to induce labor. These methods will only help with labor when the time comes. Because as much as I want this baby out NOW, I want her to stay in there as long as possible until she is fully healthy and ready to survive in the outside world.

As for preparing myself mentally for labor? Bring it on! At 36.5 weeks, I am still not scared to go into labor…at all! If anything, I’m excited for it! I think my high tolerance for physical pain has a lot to do with the fact — I have never really been scared of pain my entire life. I figure that this is something that women have been doing since the existence of mankind and if they can do it, I can.

I also have an additional arsenal in my mental armor in that I have already gone through some excruciating pain from this pregnancy. Severe round ligament pain, as was the case with me, can be more painful than labor pains so I figure that I already know what to expect, or that the pain will actually be less. (It can’t be any worse, because if it is I would just pass out.)

I fully trust my OB, I love the hospital where I will be delivering, and I have faith in God that He will provide what is best for the baby and our expanding family.

So with my mind fully prepared and my body slowly getting there, all we can do now is wait. The next few weeks can’t come fast enough.

I am now officially in my 9th month of pregnancy. Only ~4 weeks left to go!

I have a friend who gave birth at 36 weeks and I keep thinking back to visiting her and the baby at the hospital. Sure, the baby was tiny (about 5¾ lbs) but he was still pretty darn cute with chubby rosy cheeks, and was able to breathe on his own with no complications. All I can do is smile, knowing that at this point, our baby is at a similar stage and that even if I were to give birth right now there would most likely be no complications to her health.

I also learned something new yesterday while reading Baby 411 — if the baby were to be born right now, she would not be considered a premie, but a late pre-term baby. The label “pre-term” is designated for those who are born before 34 weeks; 34-36 weeks is considered late pre-term, and 37 weeks onwards is full term. Which means that I only have a week to go before I’m full-term!!!

I continue to become more and more uncomfortable as the days go by. Here is a run-down of my current condition…

Breathing
Breathing has become especially difficult in the past couple of weeks as the baby continues to grow and presses up against my lungs. I’m actually looking forward to her dropping so that I will have more room to breathe…but then again, I know that my hip pains will worsen when this happens.

Hip/Crotch Pains
Still there, and growing worse with each day. My right hip especially likes to act up and it feels like my hip joints are about to disconnect with each step that I take. And I like to compare the crotch pain to getting repeatedly kicked in the groin. Sometimes I like to massage the area because it helps with the swelling and pain; I know that I look ridiculously pervy in the process but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Innie or Outie?
My belly button has stretched out considerably over the past 9 months, but it still clearly remains an innie and shows no signs of inverting. I’m actually a bit disappointed, because I used to joke at the beginning of the pregnancy that my belly button will “pop” like a pop-up timer on a turkey when the baby is “cooked” and ready to come out.

Snoring
J told me that I have started snoring pretty loudly in the past week or so. Pre-pregnancy, I hardly ever snored. When I did, it was only after an especially long/difficult day so I’m a bit embarrassed and feel bad for my husband who has to put up with the noise. However, I do know that snoring is a common side effect of pregnancy and that I can probably attribute it to my weight gain and increased fatigue. I can only hope that it will disappear soon after the baby is born.

Peeing
I have always been proud to have a large, strong bladder. I have not had any accidents during this pregnancy and hope to keep it that way. And up until just a week ago, I have still had pretty good bladder control, especially during the night. Then all of a sudden, I had to wake up in the middle of the night for the sole purpose of needing to pee. This started about a week ago and I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since then. It was horrible timing to say the least, because my insomnia was finally starting to let up.

Pooping
Remember how as the third trimester started, my first trimester symptoms began sprouting back up? And one of those symptoms included constipation? Well, we can cross that off the list because I’ve been pooping like no other in the past couple of weeks. Pre-pregnancy I only pooped every 2-3 days. Now I poop 3-4 times a day! I’ve read that loose bowels is a sign of impending labor. But seeing as how I still have a month to go, I can only imagine the explosions (“When you’re sliding into first, and your pants begin to burst…”) that will arrive as I go into labor.

Bloating/Swelling
They’ve gotten worse…a lot worse. Remember the replacement wedding ring I bought? I had gotten that in a full 1.5 larger size and it was a bit loose when I first received it. Well even that won’t fit anymore. My feet, ankles, and calves get so swollen by the end of the day that the skin in the area actually hurts from the stretching. I put up my feet every night, been drinking lots of water and limiting my salt intake with not much success. I guess I’ll just have to wait.

Wrist/Finger Joint Pain
Starting at about a week ago, I noticed pains in my wrist and finger joints whenever I woke up. Luckily they disappear after a few minutes of doing hand and wrist exercises (stretching, flexing, etc) but they have slowly grown more intense and painful with each day. I’m still not sure if it’s carpal tunnel syndrome (another common side effect of pregnancy) or just joint pains from extra fluid retention. But I will be sure to ask my doctor about it at my next visit.

* * * * *

According to most sources, the baby now weighs about 6 lbs and is 19 inches long. She is getting so strong — my belly regularly performs jiggles, wiggles, and Alien-esque protrusions. Sometimes I can swear that she is playing xylophone with my ribs, or that she has found a new favorite squeeze toy with my bladder.

Last night I had a dream that the baby was born, and I was dismayed to see how ugly she was. A true-life conehead, vernix everywhere, purple and brown birthmarks all over her body, only the worst features from both her parents, etc. I felt horrible about myself when I woke up — how superficial am I?