Forty-One Weeks, One Day: Castor Oil and Scrubbing Grout

Last belly shot?

Well, I had my [presumably] last prenatal visit this morning. 

All is well with the baby and me.

Weight is unchanged, BP is 100/60, baby's heart rate is in the 150's.

And her position seems a bit improved! The midwife thinks her spine has moved enough that I won't have back labor!

The baby also moved down a little bit, and my cervix seems a tiny bit dilated -- a fingertip. (Of course, the midwife said I was a fingertip dilated two weeks ago also, but when I reminded her of that, she said it is definitely better today.)

She offered me the chance to wait a bit longer... but was also totally supportive of me going ahead with the induction. 

If she really felt strongly that I should wait, I suppose I would consider it. The truth is, I'm not suffering by any stretch. On the other hand, the thought of waiting longer isn't all that appealing. 

She recommended that I try castor oil today.

With some trepidation, I agreed. 

But her recipe isn't bad at all! I really couldn't taste it. Ice cream makes all the difference! (Note to moms out there: ice cream is much better at masking bad tastes, for example childrens' medicines, than sweet things like honey or juice.) 

Ingredients:

1 cup OJ (I substituted mango juice because I hate OJ)

2 oz castor oil

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

1 shot vodka (I substituted coconut rum because I hate vodka... lent the whole thing a taste reminiscent of egg nog)

Blend well and swill down.

I'm feeling fine so far, about one hour post castor oil administration. Perhaps more Braxton-Hicks contractions than usual, but no stomach cramps. I didn't quite finish the contents of the blender, because it didn't fit in my glass, so of course I am now worried that I left all the castor oil behind. But that seems unlikely -- the blender generally does a good job of mixing things up. 

Right?

After I finished, I went and scrubbed the grout. 

The cocktail