As someone who was 10 days overdue (12, actually, on my first baby) on both my pregnancies, let me assure you of this: Those last few days (weeks, really) are loooong.
You are huge. You feel like an elephant. You can't sleep properly, not even eat much, as it feels like your organs have been pushed so far back into your ribs at this stage, if you actually eat anything, you'll burst. Oh, and as for if you happen to drop something on the floor? Forget about it. Unless someone else picks it up, it stays there.
I remember trying pretty much
everything to get those babies to want to come out. I cooked the spiciest Thai green curry ever. I walked and walked and walked. I cleaned the house, I drank raspberry tea, I ate chunk after chunk of pineapple – heck, I even contemplated doing that other thing they tell you to do to get labour going, but in the end, I just couldn't muster up the energy to even try to be seductive, so we let that one go.
However, if I had been living near L.A., I could have simply taken my very pregnant self out for a salad – then apparently just sat back and waited for its magic to work.
In Studio City, California patrons of
Caioti’s Pizza Cafe swear the secret to kickstarting labour is a dish known simply as “The Salad.”
Owner Carrie LaDou told
Buzzfeed Bring Me 'The Salad' has been helping pregnant ladies go into labour for a while now.
“28 years ago a pregnant lady came in and ate the salad and started having contractions,” LaDou explains. "That was enough to spark an urban legend with some serious staying power. Now, we have anywhere from five to twenty pregnant ladies a day come in and order The Salad. And we have lots of tired-looking men come in and get it to go.”
And while the cafe doesn’t make any official claims that The Salad
will cause your labour to get going, the proof kind of speaks for itself. In fact, on their wall, Caioti's have a plaque filled with the names of babies who made their debut right after their mums ordered The Salad.
In fact, so successful is The Salad, apparently, it has now become somewhat of a tradition for local women, and even has gynecologists send their patients to the restaurant, according to owner LaDou.
As for what the heck they put in the famous dish to make it do what it does, LaDou explains the salad is made up of watercress, romaine lettuce, walnuts and pasteurized Gorgonzola cheese. As well as the famous dressing many credits for actually being what gets labour going, of which the ingredients are kept a secret.
The restaurant also has a chalkboard on the wall that records all the ‘salad babies’ of the month, those who were delivered after mum ate the salad.
What do you think, mamas? Would YOU try this?
