"Why is it that babies only get 1 week overdue now? There must be a reason."
my guess? lawsuits. I've read reports now where women are lying to their obs about their last cycle dates before pregnancy, so that their 'due date' is later, to offset the tendency to practice defensive obstetrics...;if I were an OB, I know I'd do the same thing. The numbers are evidently very, very stark: damaged babies cost a lot more than anything, and few moms sue if the baby is just fine. The longer a woman waits, the more and more certain intervention will usually occur if it is a standard OB practice.
I've been reading alot...
She is about a week overdue, but also, they think our son is big, but not 'too big'.
Forget the castor oil. My OB had delivered several thousand babies (he started in practice before WWII) and he said it just made you miserable. He thought the idea originated in the practice of sympathetic magic, because when you really do go into labor your bowels empty quite thoroughly - clearing the decks as it were. So folks were artifically producing the consequence in hopes of also producing the cause . . .
I kind of figured that must be the difference between then and now. I'm 27 weeks with our third and an "older" mom (37 years) so I had to have a special ultrasound and blood tests done. My OB probably would have refused to see me if I didn't have it done--not because he's a dictator but to protect himself. So I consented because I like him as my doctor and all the tests came back fine but it caused some worry for me and extra expense for me and the insurance company.
Best wishes to you and your wife and baby. I know you'll let us know when the big event happens.