36 weeks (and chicken update)

No more eggs. Not one for four days, despite 24-hour lighting. The hens are staying up later than me every night partying...eating, scratching, flapping, roosting, perching, chatting. And yet, no eggs. I need to do a little more research and see how long it takes to reverse a daylight-induced dry spell.

As for the baby, all is still progressing normally. He's growing well and moving like a ball of snakes. I get Braxton-Hicks contractions and real contractions every day. Now that we're looking at just 4-5 weeks left, it truly feels imminent, and I'm happier for that.

I met with the midwife named Carissa today. She told me that Advanced Maternal Age comes with yet another recommendation/possibility: induction at 39 or 40 weeks. There's a slight increase in the risk of stillbirth with any woman going past 41 weeks, but being 35+ adds another slight increase to that possibility. At 39-40 weeks, if the baby's head is firmly planted in my pelvis and I'm dilated to at least a 2, we could make an appointment for them to break my water.

My first reaction to this news was two-fold: "Ack! Too much medical intervention!" and "Sweet! I can pick the day this pregnancy ends!"

Each of the other three births started with my water breaking before any notable contractions, so I guess breaking my water isn't that far from my "norm."

Then again, maybe breaking my water won't start any contractions. How scary it seems to prod my body and the baby into something so dangerous as childbirth when either one of them might not be fully "ready."

Maybe it won't be a big deal. No problem at all. How great would it be to walk into the hospital, showered and dressed, after a regular night's sleep, having had plenty of time to arrange childcare and carpools for the older kids, and delivering a healthy baby when it's convenient for me?! Soooooo tempting.

So, at this moment, I'm kinda leaning towards induction at 40 weeks, and it's not because I'm the slightest bit concerned about stillbirth. I've got to think about it more. It feels like a bit of a selfish decision, actually, but considering how many lives and schedules will have to be shuffled on-the-fly to manage a spontaneous birth in the middle of the night...maybe induction is the less selfish option overall?