My first kiddo was induced, one day after due date. My OB was rather induction happy, started suggesting it at 36 or 38 weeks (can't remember which).. after she suggested my son might be 11 lbs, I was like... OK, let's do this, I do NOT want a C-section.
He turned out to be 9 lbs evenThe induction was awful, but I made it through. I did not want an epidural, I'm sorry.. the thought of a big needle in my back and the idea of losing feeling in my legs sounded worse than anything nature could throw at me. I was right, it really wasn't *that* bad. But, I sadly was a hero on the floor that week
Incredible how American woman are being made to fear childbirth... In Holland epidurals are pretty rare and home childbirth still common.
That said, if the ultrasound actually shows she's a whopper, I am not gonna let her stew too longI gained 3 lbs in the last week and she went from measuring 38 weeks to measuring 40 weeks, in one week time. I wanted to avoid induction at all cost, but I am not going to risk C-section or harm to the baby.. I've got my home remedies lined up through! 3rd trimester tea with raspberry leaf, been eating dates for weeks (supposed to make things smoother), got two big fresh pineapples ready to munch on, brewers yeast and ground flax seed for milk cookies.. pressure point chart.. walking and gardening a lot still and my husband can't wait for the other methods of natural induction (Men...). I really expected to have made some progress the last week, but no change in dilation.... figures.
If she's really not all that big, my happy self is going to wait it all out and be patient. I much prefer natural over intervention.
*phew* that was a much longer story than intended.
ANYHOO.
I did the math on our eggs, between the bedding and food and upkeep I spend $25 a month on 9 hens.. on average I get 7 eggs a day in summer, 4 eggs in winter. So eggs cost me $0.12-$0.20 a piece, which is a bargain for freerange antibiotic free eggs. A few pennies per egg for the cost of coop and run... and ofcourse they pay in fertilizer, and meat.. at some point. I think we're doing well
My ex-husband fishes for crappy a lot, pretty decent eating, when fried up. He shares his haul every once in a while. I think occasionally he gets some bass or breem. It's all fish to me once it's fried
When I lived in Holland we had an abundance of cheap fish.. Mmmm. Cod, herring, mackerel, trout, flounder, salmon... you name it.
Yes, Lacy, that puts a whole new outlook on the idea of shipping hatching eggs. I never thought that it would impact the reputation of the breeder. Good to know. I had the opportunity to buy Lt Sussex fairly close to me but they were $175 shipped for 6 babies. I think I would do better to buy a trio. I've decided to go with White Rocks. A better fit for me. Have to be later down the road. I've spent too much money on coop, fencing, store house. etc.
Bee, be patient. During my last hatch, a day or two before they were supposed to hatch, my dopey incubator spiked to 102 and I had no idea how long it was like that because it happened during the night. I did something drastic to try to minimize the loss and I don't know if I should have done it or not but I ran cold water over the eggs, just for a few seconds and then dried them off. When I candled again, the veins looked markedly different than they had the night before on my scheduled candling and I was pretty upset. Ronott1 told me that 102 would not kill my chicks so that helped my emotional state. The eggs had been put back in the incubator and I was watching them like a hawk. I was sure I would have a bad hatch. The veins just looked like they had been fried and I couldn't see the chicks moving at all. Maybe the 102 caused it and maybe its a normal process. I don't generally candle on day 19. Anyway, out of 16 eggs that batch, 14 of them hatched. I would have expected it to be those numbers perhaps but in the other direction.
Kassaundra, I don't know if you have tried this or not but when your eggs appear to be shrink wrapping, you could take one of those half sheets of paper towel (you know the ones) and get it wet with warm water. Then wrap it around the egg but leave the air cell portion uncovered. I have started doing my hatching with the eggs in egg cartons that have the bottoms of the cups removed for air circulation. It was recommended to me that I don't wrap the egg completely so then what I would do is just wrap it around the center portion of the egg. I had 4 in a recent hatch that looked like they might be shrink wrapped (the same as the 102 hatch). I had pipped the top of the egg just to take a peek inside and I could see that they had pipped internally but I couldn't see much movement at all so I wrapped them up individually. I put them back in their carton and also put wet paper towels between and around all four of them together. All four of them hatched on their own without any further intervention from me.
