Better in than out – 10 reasons why it’s better to have a late baby

The Baby Photographer

Sympathy Pains

Published on Tuesday, 08 July 2014 14:35

Last Updated on 08 July 2014

Michael Shilling

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So my wife is in her 4th week of maternity leave and there’s no sign of baby. She’s got her favourite daytime TV shows, she’s joined a number of ridiculous Facebook groups where mums try and sell used junk they brought off ebay and she’s even started doing crosswords.

On Sunday the first two of our NCT group gave birth and WhatsApp started buzzing with pictures and birth weights.
Thursday is our due date but statistically there’s only a 5% chance of it happening then. Apparently 80% of women give birth between 37 and 42 weeks but that might have something to do with the fact that most women who haven’t gone into labour are induced before 42 weeks.
We’ve already got our induction date booked in for the 21st.
“I don’t want to wait another 2 weeks!” were my wife’s words so I thought (to make her feel better) it would be nice to compile a list of ten reasons why a baby is better in the belly than out in the world.

1. A baby in the belly doesn’t need it’s nappy changed
2. A baby in the belly only wakes mummy up in the middle of the night kicking not screaming.
3. Before you give birth you can concentrate on buying things for baby you want (because they are pretty) rather than boring things she actually needs like nappies and weird creams.
4. After discovering Korean BBQ only a few weeks ago we can go there anytime without worry about looking after baby or being “that” couple who bring a baby into a non-baby friendly restaurant.
5. In fact we can go out anywhere, anytime and if we leave and get home at 9:30pm it’s through choice not through necessity.
6. We’re not flooding Facebook with daily photos and video of baby.
7. You get to nap in the afternoon, not because you need to but because you want to.
8. You don’t have to go to work and you don’t really have much else to do either. It’ll be another 30 years before you’ll be in the same situation.
9. We can still embrace the idealistic notion of what it is to have a baby for a few more days before experiencing the grim harsh reality.
10. You get to eat for 2 for a few more days before you starting wondering how The Duchess of Cambridge managed to lose her baby belly in 45 minutes.