The Stir's CafeMom: How to Make an Overdue Pregnant Mom Crazy

Fun blog post by The Stir's cafe mom blog on the overdue pregnant mom, enjoy!

The Stir: How to Make an Overdue Pregnant Mom Crazy

We've all seen her. Maybe walking down the street or sitting in the OBGYN's office. The overdue mama-to-be. Chances are she's not a happy-camper, as there is no way to get comfortable when you are over 40 weeks pregnant. Near impossible to find a position that is even halfway decent. She is beyond ready to get her baby out of her body and into this world.


Aside from offering a place for her to sit down, what do we, as a society, do when we see an overdue pregnant lady? We ask her a bunch of questions that, really, she doesn't want to answer. We pester her with unwanted advice. Basically, we drive her crazy. And remember, she can't move very fast, so she's trapped.

I was that overdue mama-to-be. I went past my due date by 5 days, in a perpetual state of semi-labor (had minor contractions at night for those days). When people saw me, it was as if my belly had some tractor beam on it, pulling them to me, the whole time yabbering on and on. I know it all came from a good place, from a kind place, from people who cared, but it drove me cra-zy.

If I had to answer when my due date was one more time, I thought I would have pummeled the waitress at the local diner. At least 83 random women offered advice, helpful hints on how to get labor going: eat spicy food, walk around, have sex. Seriously, when you can barely breathe because the kiddo is nestled up under your rib cage, the last thing you want to do is tell the mail lady, yes, I have tried shtupping my hubby twice a day to get this baby out, but it hasn't worked (not that I tried that -- the last thing I felt like doing was the hanky-panky).

The best part about being overdue (yes, that's sarcastic)? Once you are past your due date, it seems that all elements of social etiquette are dropped -- strangers feel it is okay, for some reason beyond comprehension, to ask how much weight you have gained. I knew I was big, I knew I could barely move, but that was still none of their business. I had more folks ask me just how many pounds I had gained in those 5 days I was overdue than in all of the other days combined.

So what should you do if you encounter an overdue pregnant lady? Stop, take a deep breath, tell her to "hang in there" ... and move on. Yup, keep on walking. There's nothing to see there, folks, just move along.

Was your baby overdue?

SOURCE: http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/119826/how_to_make_an_overdue