If your baby is fully-baked and you want to help nature take its course, there are some home remedies for kicking labor into gear that folks are talking about.*
I’m not telling you which of these I tried with Holden-to-be, but I will say that last year we were
gunning awfully hard for a 05/05/05 birthdate:
Sex - what got ‘em in will get ‘em out
Nipple stimulation - trust me, whatever you do is nothing compared to nursing a real baby
Spicy food - Ruen Pair’s medium spicy makes my head sweat! (Berkeley, CA)
Ride on a tractor - my grandma said it worked for her
Jumping jacks - as recommended by my own doctor
Pizza - eating a fully loaded Prego Pizza at Skipolini’s in Walnut Creek, CA
Castor oil omelette - blech
Long walks - up hills or on the beach is even better
Chocolate - I believe my mom recommended a full pound in one sitting
Aggressive pedicure where they hit all the acupressure hotspots
I will also say that once labor really started and we got our precious baby home, I wondered why I was in such a hurry… does anyone else have any unusual labor-inducing ideas?
* I'm no doctor, so call your doc about your own situation if any of these ideas thrill and concern you.