To the 41+ weeks pregnant mama—you can do this

You are most likely very, very over it.
You might be feeling duped at this point. The doctors, blogs and baby books were all very clear—this pregnancy business lasts 40 weeks. And yet, here you are, a week (or more) going past due date, over this hard and fast deadline, with no end in sight, your belly still painfully swollen as your baby continues to stretch and arch without any seeming interest in ever moving out. You are most likely very, very over it. If you’re like me, you fluctuate (sometimes by the hour) between tears and laughter. Your Google search history alternates exclusively between ” natural ways to induce labor ” and “earliest signs of labor,” the latter tapped out on your keyboard with the hesitant hope that maybe that extra heartburn you had this afternoon is a good sign? Maybe those weird (and extremely uncomfortable) pushes on your cervix are actually early labor? (Spoiler alert: Probably not.)