term is 38 weeks

i think limiting your self to 40 weeks may limit your chances for the vbac. be open (in mind and body) to going in to labour when your baby is ready and you might feel at ease with the whole vbac. labour is as much a phsycological event as a physical one and we all know time frames dont help anyone

many women use pumps for nipple stimulation, the only problem i see with it is it may not produce the hormones you want (just like when expressing milk its harder then when a baby is attached) so i would be doing it by hand. from what i have read( study wise) it is more for when your having contractions to ramp them up some more (like clary sage).