>Eggplant. Glorious Eggplant.
>The first time I was pregnant, my due date came and went without so much as a Braxton Hicks contraction. I tried to remain calm, but as someone who hates being late, missing my due date was humiliating. And so resolutely, I took action, trying:
-Car rides on bumpy dirt roads
-Sex
-Spicy foods
-Sex
-Long walks
-Sex
-Shaking my fist at the sky and crying
-Sex
Despite my heroic efforts, Baby didn’t come out until she was good and ready; by the time I finally started having contractions on April 7th, I had stopped doing anything but complaining. Even in the act of being born, she took her time, not making an appearance until April 9th. But a few years after she was born, I learned I could have had her on time, after all.
“You should have tried the Scalini’s Eggplant Parmesan recipe,” a friend of mine told me. “I had the cook make it for me at the restaurant where I was working when I was pregnant with Julia. I went into labor the next day.”
Scalinis is a restaurant in Smyrna, Georgia where the Eggplant Parmesan is guaranteed to start labor within 48 hours. It’s worked for hundreds of women- so many that Scallinis has an entire wall dedicated to pictures of its “Eggplant Babies.”
I had been planning to make it this week and when I read that one of the news anchors here in town and his morning anchor wife had made it past her due date and were basically freaking out (in the way that only first time parents can), I went ahead and looked up the recipe and sent it to them. Heather made it Tuesday night.
She had the baby yesterday afternoon.
It was the eggplant!!!
I’m making it tonight, so wish me luck. I went to my OB yesterday and had progressed another centimeter. Given that and the irregular contractions I’ve begun having all day long, she said I could go into labor at any minute.
Then again, it could be another week and a half.
I’ve just got to trust the eggplant, I guess… I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, I’d love to know what made you go into labor. Another of my friends, for example, went to a Mexican restaurant, ordered a plateful of jalapenos, ate them and went into labor that night. I’m not that brave.
And lest you tell me to let nature take its course, I’m being induced late next week if I don’t have the baby spontaneously- That’s why I’d like to go ahead and get things started now.
>Thursday before my son was born I wasn’t even dialated, was told I was having a very small baby and needed to go at least to term (Two plus weeks away)My husband and I went away that Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary (which was that Monday) we walked around downtown for a few hours, had spicy Mexican food and of course a little romantic action.I started having contractions that night, but they went away by Sunday morning.Late Sunday night (after a long day of walking, eating and some more romantic action) I went into full blown labor.He was born Monday. (also our anniversary)Two weeks early.Weighing in at 8 lbs 12 oz.
>I lived in Augusta, GA…it’s a good thing I didn’t know about that place when I was pregnant with my son, he’d have been 2 months early (I am telling you, I was HUGE). As it was, he was 2 weeks early, almost born on Feb 29th, and was 8 lbs 2 oz.
>Alright, what happens if you eat that eggplant and you’re NOT pregnant? HMMMMM…will I automatically lose the weight of a baby I wonder? maybe I should give it a try. 🙂
>wait! does baby have a new online nick name picked out for after the new baby is born?what about slow poke for Baby and eggplant for the Wee Baby?
>A pharmacist told us to have “vigorous sex.” We figured we were about to have a forced celibacy after the baby was born, so we very enthusiastically followed his advice and I went into labor that night.Of course, I was already due so who knows if the sex helped or not.Good luck with the eggplant!
>Eggplant?!?! I never heard of such a thing happening from eating eggplant.Hmm…. I’ll keep that in mind in July!!Hope you go into labor soon and have a short, relatively painless delivery!! Good luck!!
>I know, scientifically, that this is not necessarily the cause, but romantic action worked for us. My first was born at 37 weeks. I have told the husband that at 37 weeks this time, we will be getting busy every day. If he doesn’t want to, tough. He’ll just have to take one for the team.
>Not to discourage you, but I looked up and tried many things once the OB threatened (ok brought up) inducing. No luck with any of them. I read that the prostoglandins in semen (the stuff that supposedly ripens up the cervix and sends you into labor) are actually more effective if they are digested rather than applied directly. *resists obvious jokes* I made unbearably spicy curries and Latin dishes. I read one woman’s account of how listening to Holst’s The Planets (Mars, Bringer of War in particular) sent her into labor. I immediately downloaded it and violently danced around, to no avail. I endured endless questions about why I wasn’t having the baby yet, along with the endless comments about how huge I was (isn’t extreme stress supposed to send women into labor?). I did not try the eggplant however; I had purchased the ingredients and was planning to make it that night. That morning, I had a weekly checkup and was sent to the hospital. So good luck!
>I have heard pedicures where they touch a certain part of your foot can make you go into labor. I had a pedicure on Saturday afternoon, Saturday in the middle of the night my water broke. I was a week early, I did not dialate or anything…
>Both of my children were late. I tried running the stairs. Didn’t work. I tried jumping jacks. Didn’t work. I carried laundry baskets… nothing… Basically – babies come when babies are ready, but not when Mommmy is ready… Bummer!LBC
>Waiting patiently for results. Um, your result, not mine. I have no results to have, oh, nevermind…
>My grandmother of all people told me in her demure way, “The best way to get them out is the same way you get them in.”I never looked at my grandpa the same way again! They had 9 kids and so I’m sure she knew what she was talking about.
>How about going to the nearest drug dealing corner and ordering up a pitocin drip. That’s the only thing that worked for me, twice. And, sadly, the usual avenues for black market narcotics were not able to provide my fix. Had to get that one at the hospital.Good luck. Hope the eggplant works, it’s easier than dealing with the crack suppliers.
>My doc told me to drink prune juice. Gah! So, I did. Blech. It didn’t help me, but then again, I didn’t drink it with EGGPLANT!You realize that if we don’t hear from you tomorrow, we’ll all be busy pacing… all the BlogAunties out here!Good luck!!
>I tried everything I could think of and every quacky idea friends and family supplied to no avail. All 4 of my natural children were forced to leave my oh-so-cozy womb after overstaying their welcome from as much as 4 weeks (Army hospital policy in 1985) to as little as 1 week (my policy in 1998). Good Luck.
>A huge serving of carmelized onions! I’m serious. Don’t know why it worked, but it did. My little guy was already six days late by that point, but he was born less than 18 hours after the onions, despite the fact that I was only 1 cm dilated at the doctor the day I ate them…
>Not being pregnant or anything I can only tell you what my mother did . . . CASTER OIL! She mixed two tablespoons with a can of Diet Coke and went into labor four hours later — a week early. My baby brother was due Christmas Eve and she was determined not to let that happen.I also know lots of women this didn’t work for . . . but it worked for my mom!
>Next Friday is my birthday! So, I am biased! I think you should have your baby on Friday!
>I make some AMAZING eggplant parmesean. Even my Husband likes it!
>tomorrow is my baby’s due date and I’m already at that “I want him out now stage.” Maybe it was because I thought what were signs weren’t and now I hear that I was dilated last week and am no longer. UGH! This is baby number four, going backwards has never happened. I’ll probably end up going two weeks past the due date, I did with the last two but was so hoping he’d be like his older brother and come early. Time put me in labor, that’s it, nothing special.
>I tried EVERYTHING. The egglplant. Caster oil. Lots of it. Sex. Lots of it. Nothing worked. My son was born two weeks late after I had given up trying. They were supposed to induce me the morning after I went into labor. He was born just after midnight, on the day scheduled for the induction.GOOD LUCK!
>My sister, sister in law and I all did the castor oil thing and it worked. Only my husband put mine in a HUGE glass of egg nog…talk about gagging! As a doula I have tried the pressure points to stimulate labor and they work. They are on the insides of your calves, about 3-4 finger widths above the inside ankle bone. Once you locate them, you’ll know! Good luck with the eggplant. If the restaurant allows you, please post the recipe…I love that dish!
>Being a natural born Georgian, I went to Scalini’s when my first child was late and ate the eggplant hoping to induce labor. They have a book for pregnant women to sign and if you go into labor within 48 hours you can come back for a free meal. Cracked me up. Anyway, its not the eggplant that induces labor, its the herbs Oregano and Basil that do it.
>Trauma is what brought me in – I don’t recommend it. I don’t have any advice for you, but I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately – not in a weird way – just that I hope the birth goes really well. And I hope you have him soon.I was wondering what you were gonna “e-call” the new one, too. I supposed you’d have to get to know him a little first.
>First kid: jumped over a five foot fence in an effort to show off for the hubs, and forgot about my shifted center of gravity. Lost my balance and landed on my ass. Eight hours later, baby girl (who was seven days late) was in my arms.Second kid: tried EVERYTHING, including falling on my ass and the little bugger wouldn’t come out. Took a pitocin drip and some hard work to get him to pry loose.Third kid: After the trauma of the second birth still running through my mind, I sternly told him to get. out. of. my. uterus. He listened. Four days late, but better than never. True story. The hubs still talks about how I willed the kid to get out and he did.Good luck. May it be a quick, painless delivery with no tearing, hemmorhoids or embarrassing shit flying anywhere. And may the babe be healthy and beautiful.
>I had the nice people at Carrabas make the eggplant parmesan for me. I had tried all those other things too but the eggplant finally did it.
>Good luck with the magic aubergine!
>Sorry to rain on the parade, but I tried the Scallini’s eggplant TWICE w/second child…NO DICE. I only got sick as a goat & vomited til I cried.
>What a super fun blog you have! I have really enjoyed reading it!! Well sishes for the arrival of your baby! Hope all goes well!
>When I went into labor, I was at work, sitting at desk, on the phone with a customer. I had said customer’s credit application in my hand and was reviewing it with this guy, but somehow managed to drop it on the floor. When I bent over to pick it up, my water broke. It was then I knew what a balloon must feel like when someone lets its air out. That water kept coming and coming and I really felt like I was deflating. So weird. I sat quietly until it was over and then called my boss in her office and told her I was going home to have my son. What’s funny is that all throughout my pregnancy, I kept telling my son we were NOT going to be late, and asked him to please please come out on April 5th, even though those midwives said it would be the 11th or later. Well, he surprised us all and came out on the 4th! I was one happy mommy.
>Nipple stimulation. Seriously.Nipple stimulation causes the release of the hormones which cause the uterus to contract. With my first, when I was given Pitocin to jumpstart labor, the nurses also told me to start nipple stimulation.
>Let’s see. I went into labor after putting a hefty portion of wasabi onto every one of my california rolls, and then going home to let my husband bang it out doggy-style. But, I was also 11 (11!!!) days late, so who knows if the horseradish/sex combo worked? And then because I wasn’t really dilating after actually going into labor, my midwife made me do the castor oil thing. Oh, not pretty. Not pretty. Ugh. (And I still had a c-section!)
>Hope the eggplant works! I never heard of that before. Me; I went to East Side Mario’s on my due date for dinner. I had Hell’s Kitchen and went into labour at 4 o’clock in the morning.
>Hmm. Pitocin did it for me, baby. ;^) Still trying to imagine what resolute sex must be like…
>I’ve heard Thai food is the key!
>I ate Indian food so spicy, I could barely choke it down. didn’t work. What did work was walking about 5 miles. Seriously. I went into labor at Walmart. Glamorous? Yeah.
>What made me go into labor? My water being “accidently” broken while I was getting a weekly checkup. Unfortunately, no amount of pitocin helped, and 26 hours of hard -labor -with- no -drugs later, I had a c-section. I wish I woulda known about that eggplant!
>There are TWO parts to the “sex” theory…One is that the semen has hormones in it that cause you to contract.The other is ORGASM!!!! How fun for us! Hubs and I did the deed FOUR times one day, all concluding with my “reward”- shortly after #4, my water broke.I can’t believe I just told ya’ll that!!!!! It’s been my dirty little secret.Good luck!! Can’t wait to meet the new bambino!
>My OB stripped my membrane (whatever that means), which they say usually leads to labor within 48 hours. In my case, it lead to my water breaking, in a slow steady stream ALL DAY LONG, but no contractions, no dilation, no nothing. I won’t be doing that again because the fact that my water broke meant they had to induce labor and I was not even 2 cm dilated when I got to the hospital, thus the long, long day I described in my response to your delivery stories post! Good times. Good times.
>I had heard about eggplant – but I had heard NOT to eat it! I grew up in an Italian and Portuguese enclave in Northern California. You spend enough time sitting around with those wonderful old grandma’s – and you hear all sorts of odd and interesting things. Isn’t it funny how different cultures can come up with competing ideas? Down here in the south – eggplant is the king when it comes to babies being born on time. Well – I hope the eggplant works for ya, honey! May your sweet little one end up in your arms this time tomorrow!
>If you’re looking for the recipe, it’s linked in the post. Just click on the words “Eggplant Parmesan.”You’ve all got some great ideas. Seems like eggplant and sex are the way to go…
>Hey, Lindsey! Good luck! I live in the ATL and know a ton of people who have done the Scalini’s thing. It works!When I was pregnant with #1, I ate Thai curry and went for a long walk and got all romantic with Mr. Belle of the Blog on Friday. On Sunday morning at 3 a.m., my water broke. Two weeks early.My little guy was born 14 hours after my water broke.With Deuce, I tried eggplant parmesan made by a friend who is a chef, sex, curry, aggressive housecleaning, walking, raspberry leaf tea. I ended up in labor, but my contractions were never consistent. I was scheduled to be induced the Wednesday before my due date because they predicted the little guy was 9 lbs. and didn’t want him to get any bigger. So, on Wed. morning, I thought my water had broken, but wasn’t sure. When I saw my midwife, she confirmed that it had and I was dilated to 4 cm. She sent me straight to the hospital, I was hooked up to Pitocin and 3 hours later I had my son. No drugs, either. It was awesome in the truest sense of that word. Of course, when Deuce arrived, he only weighed 7 lbs., 12 oz.I hope you have a fast and easy labor! Best wishes.
>Is it too late to get in a word for beef heart?(I don’t know if that works; it’s just that it’s not eggplant.)
>I had my membranes stripped with my first, and she was born 3 or 4 days later on her due date. With the second I did the same thing, and within 48 hours he was born. I could tell with the second after they stripped my membranes I was all crampy and could barely walk while grocery shopping the next day I was having so many Braxton Hicks contractions. I think it’s just how well they do the “stripping”. Who knows. It’s a mystery how those little babies decide when they are coming out. Good Luck!!
>Can’t help you here. I dropped my kids 3 weeks early each no problem (a friend of mine says it’s my sturdy peasant lineage…)Good Luck!!
>ack! how did I know you were talking about Neil…I used to date him EONS ago..hehe I didn’t even know she was pregnant…I bet they are so happy..she is just adorable!!! I’ve been following your blog for a few months now (I’m here in Nashville) and girl I had twins last year and thought I was going to KILL someone. You don’t have much longer!! Congrats to you and I wish you the best!! Dena
>The castor oil or none of the other stuff will work unless Junior is ready to come. I tried castor oil when pregnant with the the third kid and apparently was not ready cause all I got out of the whole thing was the worst stomach cramps and misery one could ever imagine. Kinda like having dry heaves. It was horrible. I was induced all three times, however, the morning I got to the hospital to be induced the second time, my water started seeping and I was contracting (couldn’t feel them) really regular anyway. I think you should attach a camera to your head and live video blog the whole thing. Or maybe get Hubs to bring Terry Bolger in to narrate the whole thing in his downhome, folksy way.
>Come on people….IT IS NOT the eggplant that sends people into labor. Feel free to google it…there is nothing in eggplant….If anything its from the seasoning that goes into it. Also if the eggplant really does work for someone that is over due….dont you think it was just time for them to go in labor and not the eggplant? I remember I went over a few days with my oldest and I had toast that morning….Oh it must have been the toast that did it. Anyway I swear by evening primrose oil. Helped soooo much with my 2nd and she came at 37 weeks I am now expecting #3 and will use it again.
>OK, then, I’ll pass off your crankiness to pregnancy hormones.
>My first was 12 days late. Nothing worked…tried them all. I did have pizza the night before, so maybe it is the spices?? Then again, even my twins were almost 40 weekers, short by just 5 days. The day I went into labor with them, I had just been told they were almost 10 lbs each (!!) so I walked about 5 miles, determined to get them out. What a sight I was! (They were almost 7 and 7.5 lbs, so they were off a bit.) Best wishes to you!
>With my first I was 10 days late and so uncomfortable I threw whatever was handy at anyone who dared to look at me. I think maybe my yelling at her that if she didn’t get out and get out right now I was going to eat some jalepeno’s again did it. My son was early. I think I sneezed and then suddenly my water broke. I’m hoping for somewhere in between with this one.
>Rachael- that reminds me of someone I know (and am not very fond of) who said that she wanted to have as little sex as possible in order to get pg. She heard that ingesting your husband’s sperm would help get you pg faster (ok, if you say so) so she would make him do… something… in a cup and she would turn it into a milkshake (ice cream and all) to disguise the taste. It took a lot of self-restraint to walk away and not yell “Different pipes!”We call her Spoogeshake now.
>#1 – nothing#2 – sex#3 – being fat#4 – sex#5 – she was 4 weeks premature. Not sure if it was all the nesting I did, or the spicy chicken sandwich my husband made for me for dinner.#6 – the P.A. checking my progress internally. I was not dialated at all. Within 4 hours, we were on our way to the hospital and I was 6 cm when we arrived. Good luck, Lindsay. I’m thinking of you. And I know 4 people who had that eggplant dinner and went into labor – one of them ate at the restaurant. 🙂
>I beleive wife.imp went into labor the day she was supposed to be scheduled for a C-Section, as she was waaaaay ‘overdue’so, fear would be the cause of the first labor
>A week past my due date my husband and I went to the Cincinnati Zoo (very hilly) and spent the day walking around and imploring our daughter to “come out and see the monkeys.” I’d heard a long walk can get labor started. All it did for me was make my feet swell.Three days later my obstetrician offered to induce labor and it sounded like a good idea. I wouldn’t recommend it though. Induced labor is excruciating. I’ve talked to women who’ve had both induced and naturally occuring labor, and they tell me they’d take naturally occuring labor every time.Childbirth is the only time you can endure five hours of the worst pain in your life, and people will tell you what an easy time you’re having.
>with you all the way, I’ll try anything once and somethings more than once…in the end of it all only breaking my water put me in good labor – 3 times! By the third I walked into the hospital two days past my date and asked my midwife to break my water – and she did. The nurses on the floor were skeptical and thought I was basically signing up for a C-section, but I felt like I was ready and needed a push. Best of luck and enjoy the eggplant.
>Wishing you all the best! Happy eggplanting.
>These are so funny! I was induced all three times, but that’s because I had high-risk pregnancies and my babies were all delivered early. The first induced delivery was miserable, but the other two were pretty good, even though #3 was induced three weeks early. I never tried any of those “potions” but I had friends who did. Some of them work sometimes. It’s always worth a try. 🙂
>First two times, great sex. Last time, I had a cold and every time I coughed it brought on a contraction, less fun.
>There’s something about the sex that just wasn’t right. Can’t do the pregnant sex thing, Just wiered fetishiy for me.Mexican worked with baby 1.Baby 2 – born early (38 wks) after two bouts of preterm (pre 36 week) labor.
>I have a LONG 4 weeks left and am near needing to file for my own zip code. Here are some comments I have resently heard..1) Haven’t you been pregnant for like 17 months now?2) You’re about to pop.3) Are you working on twins in there?4) I don’t think you can get much bigger.5)When are you going to pop?They were funny when they began weeks ago, but now I’m just annoyed that I have another 4 weeks to endure. I want my baby to be healthy and the sonogram last week showed that I’m measuring two weeks ahead of schedule and that he weighs 6lb 4oz. I’d be happy if he came in two weeks instead of four. I think I’ll print off this eggplant recipe and make a run for the grocery store in two weeks. I’ll write back and let you know how it goes! 🙂
>A friend of mine drnks an orange juice and castor oil concoction that puts her into labor about four hours after she drinks it. she’s done it twice!Good luck!~Amalia~
>Oh, I’m dying to find out if it worked for you.I’m hopeful that with your Thursday posting and it now being 4 days later…that you have now been blessed with the arrival of your baby!”
>I know how you all feel. I was almost two weeks late with my son…and I tried EVERYTHING!1. eggplant parmesan (though it wasn’t the scalini’s recipe)2. Balsamic Vinegarette dressing3. Papaya juice4. Blue Cohosh5. Sex (not so fun when you are the size of an elephant)6. Walking7. Spicy food8. Washing the kitchen floor …..and I’m sure many more. NOTHING worked. I then realized that nothing is going to work unless your body is ready.Now here I go with round two and I’m trying it all over again. This time with the evening primrose oil, red raspberry leaf tea, and the Scalini’s eggplant recipe. Also this time around I have a woman Doctor….who was kind enough to inform me that it is NOT the act of having sex….it’s just the Semen that makes you dilate. Thank God! (Get to work honey and leave me a sample) Anyways, good luck to all of you! Keep thinking, Mind over Matter. If you believe it enough, maybe all of these tricks will work! That’s what I’m going on!
>you guys gave me some good ideas! i’ll try some. although the eggplant doesn’t sound appealing to me at all. it really sounds gross. so does the castor oil thing… think i’ll stay away from those two.