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I have one too. I will be 38 weeks on thursday and have been using it since I was 36 weeks. You should be able to plant your feet flat on the floor. I bought a 65cm ball and it is not nearly inflated all the way. You want the ball to have bounce and be soft under your b___t. The best things to do on the ball are swaying from side to side and rotating in a circular motion. I bounce too, but my little man is so low that it gets to be uncomfortable. I love my ball. At my 36 week check I was 0cm and 0% effaced still very long and firm, and I still had my mucous plug. One week later, at my 37 week check, my plug was gone, I was 2cm and very, very soft but not effaced at all yet. The baby had also dropped considerably. I really believe the ball had a lot to do with it. My goal by this thursday is to be 4cm and atleast 50% effaced.

How long do you usually stay on the ball? And what about your legs, how far apart are they? I really really want to try to help the baby drop. She has not dropped one bit! She's still reallyhigh.

I stay on the ball for about an hour a day. I spread my legs apart as far as is comfortable, maybe a bit more than 45* from center. I also do squats in the shower, usually 20 at a time. Other than that, walk your b___t off. What is your due date? I am due July 24th, however, I am going to be induced on the 17th.

I'm due on the 26th. If you don't mind me asking, why are they inducing you?

I don't mind at all. My husband works about an hour and half away, and all my other family and support system is a bit further than that. I have one girlfriend out here that lives across the street, but she is going to be gone for two weeks camping right over the time I am due. We have a 2 and a half year old daughter, and the possibility is there that I could end up at home, in labor, alone with a toddler, for three hours if traffic were bad. After talking to my OB about it, it was decided that this would be the better option for us. Ofcourse I could go in to labor before my induction, but Julie and her family aren't leaving to go camping until the 17th, so I would be covered for childcare if I needed it. However, I could still potentially be at the hospital alone for a couple hours while my hubby raced home. I was induced 12 days early with our daughter because my OB was going on vacation, good thing was I was already having contractions on my own when they hooked me up to the monitors, so I wouldn't have made it more that another day or so if that if left on my own. Have you been on your ball? Is this your first child?

Yeah, this is my first child. I'm having a girl, we're naming her Lilah. After I read your posts yesterday I was on the ball for about 45 minutes and I also got down on all 4's for about 10 minutes and curled my back up, and then back down. I think it's some type of yoga move...I don't really remember where I read about it. Well anyway, I ended up having contractions and really bad cramping last night for about an hour or so....I'm guessing it was maybe coincidence, because that was the first time I had used the ball, but I don't know. I just can't wait to have this baby! I wish she would get here already. I keep praying for my water to break or to start having contractions. I can't wait anymore. It seems like these last few weeks are going by sooooo soooo slow! :(

Thanks! Yeah we're going with Lilah Aralen. Nathan was actually one of the names I was thinking of going with if I had a boy! What a coincidence! We picked out basically the same names. lol I never really post much on the July Mommies Thread. When I first found this sight...maybe about 2 months ago...I was really excited because I really liked the site, but it seemed like everyone was already well acquainted....like they had known each other since First Trimester and Second Trimester so everytime I posted I kind of felt like I was b___ting in. lol I know it sounds silly, but I think it's mostly my hormones making me feel like that. So I really basically post when I have a question to ask. The reason I'm really hoping that my water breaks is because I'm about an hour from my hospital. There's one here in the town that I live in, but I really don't trust it. So I'm kind of nervous about going to the hospital driving an hour out only to find out it's false labor! That's one of the things I'm really really nervous about. So that's why I'm hoping for my water breaking instead of having contractions, just to be sure. Also, I've been meaning to ask but I forget to everytime I see my doctor, do you know how to time the contractions? Do you do it from the start of one to the start of the next? Or is it the end of one to the start of the next? I really have no clue.

They are timed from start to start. If you live that far from the hospital it really would suck to go in for false labor and be sent home, but there are worse things that could happen. Have you spoken to your OB about your situation? If you have made good progress by 38 weeks and are prime for induction, maybe that would be an option for you? Hey, and you should come over to the July Mommies thread. I just invited myself and started posting. I've been in there everyday, I'll include you. One girl is being induced in the morning and another on wednesday, then there is one more that is due on the 31st, then me, and you. The mommies that have already had their babies are there too, just not as much anymore. Come join the fun!

Oh and a good rule of thumb before you head to the hospital is to make sure they are painful enough that you are getting to the point that you don't want to walk around anymore, they should also be very regular. I'm sure everything will work out fine.

Oh, I'm in Washinton State, just south of Seattle in a city called Puyallup. Where do you live?

My name is Mandi... there, I think that is everything. LOL