10 things you do when you’re pregnant and overdue

Overdue mommas I feel your pain! Brielle finally came at 5 days overdue and while they say baby #2 tends to come quicker, Hailey was just as stubborn and arrived at 4 days overdue!

If you ever find yourself in this same situation, here are 10 things you’ll find yourself doing when you’re overdue!

Taking that “last bumpie shot” everyday. Now you have a collection of 40+1 through 40+5.
Filling the car up with gas even though it’s barely empty. We live in a great town that has a lot of shopping nearby so I don’t put many miles on the car even when doing an afternoon’s worth of errands. But for that overdue week I would fill up with only ¼ tank gone just as a paranoia that I wouldn’t leave my mom with a full tank of gas if “tonight was the night!”
You’ll think your water will break at every or any moment. This is actually true of the last few weeks of pregnancy but when overdue, I found myself always sitting on towels or waterproof mattress pads EVERY spot I sat in the house or car. Meanwhile my water didn’t break with either girl until I was literally in labor at the hospital.
You check the clock with every Braxton Hicks contraction. As a second time mom I figured I could tell the difference between real contractions and the BHs I had been getting for the last few months. But sometimes they say BHs build up into real labor. I’d find myself checking a clock each time one started just to make sure I wasn’t going crazy and missing a pattern of pressure that was really the real thing.

Making a trip to the grocery store several times a week. With a two year old at home, I was always worried that we wouldn’t have food for her when my mom came to watch her. (Even though I already left her a suggested shopping list in my babysitting guide). Some days we’d make a quick trip and get as little as a gallon of milk and pack of napkins, as seen above when I was 40+4!
Answer a ton of emails, texts, calls and social media shout outs from friends near and far. You did the cute thing and announced your pregnancy and when it was due to be complete and now everyone’s waiting for the announcement about the baby’s arrival. Not sure why everyone thinks (including immediate family and those who are WATCHING MY OTHER DAUGHTER) that I’d mysteriously have a baby without telling them it occurred, but that’s what they think.
Giving lots of kisses and hugs to your other kid(s) in case you went to the hospital that night. Before going to bed or when dropping her off at daycare, I was just always worried that I didn’t give enough kisses and she’d wake up and I would’ve been swept off to the hospital to deliver without giving her that last mom of one kiss.
You’ll contemplate and/or try all those crazy self-inducing methods. Sure I’ll try having Chinese tonight since it put my sister into labor. Oh go for a nice walk in the air conditioned mall even though my feet are all swollen? Ok! Find a bumpy road and take a ride, you got it! Yes I did avoid a pedicure my entire pregnancy since pressure points were rumored to start labor but you bet I got one when overdue!
Filling your freezer with premade meals and ready to cook foods. I didn’t do this enough the first time around so when overdue with number 2, I focused on making a stock of easy to heat up and prepare meals (meatballs, stuffed shells etc) and stocked my pantry with other basics I’d need so I wouldn’t have to go out and buy them in an emergency. My grocery bill was higher than usual that last month/overdue week but man, my ibotta earnings were on the rise! (Side note: Interested in joining my Ibotta team and earning money back on items you already buy? Check out this post!)
Nap. I rarely napped this whole pregnancy (mostly because I had a toddler in tow and used her naptime to work) but when overdue and on “maternity leave” from work, I did use that time to catch a little shut eye for myself. PS why does the Fed Ex guy or neighbor’s landscaper always know when I’m trying to nap and decide that’s the time to deliver a package to our house or mow the grass?