I personally have never been pregnant, but my mother is a labor & delivery nurse. She talks a lot about keeping her patients up and walking if they're able to help move things along, maybe try a warm shower/bath, might help relax things and dilate more? Good luck and congrats!

I have no good advice..just a congrats on your new bundle of joy and I hope you have a safe and speedy delivery

Walk Walk Walk!!! Right before my water broke when I was preggo with BS5, I had this insane urge to move around. I was super restless and felt the need to walk..A little while later my water broke and was in labor

Breathe and enjoy the epidural as much as possible. Congrats!

Sex. LOTS of sex.

1) seminal fluid helps soften the cervix so it can dilate faster
2) During orgasm the uterus contracts, same type (but non painful) contraction as in labor.

Feed your hubby a sammich, drag him to the bed room and demand multiples... drain him dry and as a reward you both end up with a bundle of joy!

I was in labor with my 3rd child for 35 hours. Those contraction meter belt things were not reading any contractions. But I was having back labor. They sent me home 2 times. At 4am the second day of labor- they again tried to send me home
By now I feel like I am about to crap a watermelon. I was crying, and they are telling me I am not in labor. My DH went ballistic, he made them examine me, instead of relying on the machine. Guess what? I was dilated 8cm and the baby was a coming. Finally after 28 hours they gave me an epidural. By then I was so tense from the pain and aggravation of being told I wasn't in labor that it took another 7 hours to give birth. I know what having a baby feels like I knew I was in labor. Make certain they are not just relying on the machine make them check.

dupe

When I first started getting contractions, it was every 10 minutes or so for about a minute - so not enough to 'count' as real labour. But each contraction was WAY worse than my worst cramps, no way I could have walked around much lol! That kept up for about 12 hours, then they came a bit faster. Midwife came and said I was only 1 cm dilated and she'd be back in 4 hours. She left, I went to the bathroom and not only did my water break but the baby had pooped in the amnio fluid. So 15 minutes later the midwife was back and escorting me to the hospital.

At the hospital - this is now 6 more hours later - I was still 1 cm dilated but vomiting and shivering from the pain. I had contractions that had me panicking. Still only every 5 minutes and only for a minute or so... unless I got two in a row.

Another two hours later and I got an epi (they were disorganized, I'd already been begging since I arrived). One side of my body was numb, the other I still felt pain, but much reduced. Like a bad cramp, but not nauseating. So another 8 hours later the push contractions started... and 45 minutes my darling daughter joined the world and made it a better place.

Now, 10 months later, I can say that the discomfort of pregnancy and insane pain of labour and delivery does fade a bit with time.

I'm still never having another kid.

Thanks for bringing up these memories, I feel such joy remembering. And I wish you a safe delivery and a lifetime of joy with your new baby!