{"id":15024,"date":"2020-04-02T07:55:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T11:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/15024\/keeping-busy-when-overdue\/"},"modified":"2025-02-06T14:33:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T19:33:39","slug":"keeping-busy-when-overdue","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/15024\/keeping-busy-when-overdue\/","title":{"rendered":"8 ways to keep busy when you’re overdue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Getting impatient? You\u2019re definitely not alone. Roughly 10 to 15 percent of babies arrive not just past their due date, but after the 41st week of pregnancy. The percentage of the parents-to-be of those babies who end up tired, worn out, and bored by the end of those bonus weeks of pregnancy hasn\u2019t been officially calculated, but it\u2019s definitely high. One of the best ways to stave off that boredom, though, is to keep busy, and there are a few different ways expectant parents can keep busy while making sure they\u2019re totally ready when their little ones decide it\u2019s time to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be a social butterfly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a good chance that once Baby<\/span> comes along, your time to hang out with friends and family will get a lot smaller, be limited to a lot earlier in the day, and get a lot louder as your meet-ups gain another, smaller, non-verbal head. Get your coffee dates – er, herbal tea dates – in while you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read a book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your reading material has been dominated by pregnancy and parenting books lately, maybe this unexpected extra time stuck on the end of your pregnancy is the right time to sneak in a little pleasure reading, in whatever form that takes for you – trashy novel, the latest best-seller, nonfiction about the secret life of bugs, or the episode summaries of that new Netflix series you\u2019re trying to decide whether or not to watch. No one\u2019s judging here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stock up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you\u2019ve already got a stockpile of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that your newly-slightly-larger family can enjoy while you get to know your newborn, but a few more can\u2019t hurt. Even if motherhood somehow sets off a gourmet phase and you don\u2019t end up using them in those first weeks, they\u2019ll keep long enough in the freezer to be there for you when you inevitably have an off-day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoid your phone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sure, it\u2019s possible that you\u2019re one of those people who really enjoys fielding texts asking you if you\u2019ve had the baby yet, but really, is it likely<\/em>? When Baby<\/span> is born, you\u2019ll tell people. That doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re contractually obligated to tell the same people every time they are<\/span> not born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start a betting pool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If it works for the royal baby, why not for your little one, too? If you\u2019re going to be overdue, why not get your partner, family, and friends to put some action on exactly how<\/em> overdue you\u2019re going to be? The day that Baby<\/span> is born will be an exciting one for everyone close to you, but for one lucky person, it could be exciting and<\/em> profitable. If your loved ones get really into it, there\u2019s no reason to stop at the due date, either – there\u2019s also the time of birth, Baby<\/span>\u2019s weight, and, if you haven\u2019t found out yet, the sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name the baby. Again.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you already have the perfect name picked out, but what if they come<\/span> out, and you look deep in their<\/span> eyes and realize they just don’t<\/span> really look like a Reginald Leopold Algernon the third? Maybe it\u2019s safest to have a backup plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name other people\u2019s babies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You never know – as you\u2019re getting wheeled out of the hospital with your little bundle of joy in your arms, you might wheel right past a pair of soon-to-be preemie parents who are caught off-guard enough that they don\u2019t have a name ready, and then you\u2019ll be glad you paired three extra name-middle name combos while you were waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rename your pets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not pretty, but if you\u2019ve already got names on the brain, they\u2019ve got to go somewhere, and surely the newly re-named Zabaglione will adjust quickly – he never really looked like a \u201cSnowball\u201d anyway. For clarity\u2019s sake, though, hopefully you\u2019ll give birth before you get to this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n