17th September - Henry's due date

I don't think I'll ever forget the 17th September, it was the date I was obsessed with and focused on for most of last year. A date people constantly asked about and one that we counted down to for weeks. The date our baby was supposed to arrive.

But of course he didn't arrive then, he made us wait for another 4 days. I actually went into labour when I was 2 days overdue so it wasn't too bad at all, I certainly wasn't one of those really fed up  overdue women you hear about who are two full weeks past their due date. 

Being realistic certainly helped, due dates are a guess based on all kinds, mainly your last period or scan measurements. I didn't expect it to be the date I'd give birth on, but I know of some people who never consider that they'll go past that date that they've got set in their heads. It must be especially hard if you've gone right through your pregnancy expecting a baby by a certain date and then you get to that date and all you have is 3 stone of extra weight, hideous heartburn and a 9 pound child trying to punch its way out of your already over-stretched tummy. Like I say, I was pretty realistic about it all and I didn't have too many overdue days to sit and stew about it.

Interestingly, in France a woman's due date would be calculated a whole week later than in England or America. There, they see pregnancy as a 41 week journey, not just 40 weeks like we do. Women of different ethnicities also have differing average pregnancy gestations. Black and Asian women having the shortest (around 39 weeks), with white Caucasian women having an average gestation of around 41 weeks. Totally bizarre. First babies also tend to be later than subsequent babies, yet we are all given a due date based on 40 weeks of pregnancy.  The more you research it, the more you realise how inaccurate it is, it's simply a 'best guess' if you like. Ultimately, only your body will decide when it's ready to deliver your baby, no amazing sonogram technology or ovulation monitoring can give you a perfectly accurate date.

So if you're reading this and you're overdue, the advice I'd give you is to have a long bath, put your feet up and eat some tasty treats and focus on something else if you can. Of course it's frustrating waiting around and the 'not knowing' bit kills you...but just try to enjoy your last few days with your bump and trust your body that it'll know when to get things moving.