39 weeks pregnant

Let it begin

| thedarwinsgirl

Or so I thought…
I woke at 12:30am to pee.  I usually wake 2-4 times a night to see.  I went back to sleep but felt cramps and low back pain that weren’t allowing me to rest comfortably.  I ccouldn’t really fall back asleep, and thought I was feeling a minor contraction like pain in my cervix area.

At 1:30am I was still laying in bed, and thought I felt a tiny, tiny wetness.  At 1:45am I got up and walked around, feeling simply horrible.  Trying to breathe and relax.  I used the sink to lean on and a gush of fluid was released. I soaked it into pad and bagged it up.  Then I got into shower, just in case this was the real deal.

I was already exhausted from my little running ordeal the days before, plus I had a headache that wouldn’t go away, and I was so so tired of being pregnant.

At 2:20am there were still no contractions, so I waited 40 more minutes, and then decided to wake Jeff up.  Rather than wake the kids and our friends for something that may take hours I decided to head to labor and delivery myself and have them test the fluid to be certain.  My water broke with both boys, so it wasn’t out of the question that it happened with this pregnancy.  I left around 3:30am.

by 4am, the pad had tested positive and I advised Jeff.  I was so nervous and scared of labor starting and the eminent pain that would be involved.  My body was so tired, my head was killing me, and I had been in pain for long that I was super sensitive to everything.

The OB came in to do a speculum exam around 4:30am, one where she checks for amniotic fluid near the cervix, and checks any progress I have made.  She tested 2 strips and both were negative for fluid.  She was perplexed since the original one was positive.  And decided to take a look under the microscope to be certain.  At 5am, she confirmed that I had pee’ed my pants, and that the slides were negative for amniotic fluid.

Needless to say, I was super embarrassed!  I have never pee’d my pants and felt so silly!  But, I think i was wanting to be in labor so badly that I wasn’t paying attention to my body the way I should.

In any case, I went home exhausted and defeated.

Advertisement

Dense

| thedarwinsgirl
Sometimes I am so dense and unaware…especially when it comes to my own health and discomfort.
I have been thinking that the last several months worth of pelvic pain and pressure were the result of the baby and a casualty of being hugely pregnant.  I even went so far in my head to assume that because I was older and on my 3rd kid that my body was just worn out (partially true…).  When, in fact, this is classic pelvic girdle pain. 

Today, I finally realized that the cramps and my inability to walk, get out of the car quickly, put my pants on easily, bend down, climb the stairs, or get up from a sitting position – that this was not a normal part of being pregnant.  Neither is the pain I have been feeling in my groin.

Today, the pain is so bad that I can barely walk.  Each step causes me to wince and grimace.  While at the park today, Spencer feel off a high area, did a mid air flip and landed on his head and back on the ground.  I witnessed the entire fall, and was close enough that I decided to attempt to run over so I could comfort him quicker.  That was a noble idea–but a huge mistake.  He is OK, and not hurt seriously, luckily.  But, I am in tremendous pain. 

I hope that some rest this evening remedies my woes.  Tomorrow’s agenda is to research how to make the waiting game easier, and my birth as comfortable as it can be. 

4.2.13. 9:30pm

Finally, some progress

| thedarwinsgirl
After an entire day of cramps, major BH, and some minor contractions…I just lost part of my mucous plug.  It has been dry as a bone down yonder so far.  That was a lot of pain and discomfort for a little plug!  I was sure I was going to go into labor overnight, or my water would break. 

I felt an energy surge yesterday, perhaps because my housekeeper cancelled and someone needed to clean the house or perhaps a flash nesting moment.  But no contractions overnight so far. 
More details to come!

4.2.13 4:05am

39 weeks 3 days

| thedarwinsgirl

Nothing yet. The baby is doing awesome, plenty of fluid, good heartbeats and fetal movement, still at 2 cm, 80% effaced, he is weighing in at 7-7 3/4 lbs.  And with all of the digestive clearing I lost 3 pounds since last week.  She also wrote me a RX for lidocaine for my hemorrhoids–yippee!!!

She swept my membranes again which while uncomfortable was not nearly as painful as the first time. And there wasn’t any cramping this go round.

His head isn’t engaged which isn’t ideal as that was part of the problem with Elliott, but she thought labor would fix that. She will let me go to 41 weeks and then suggests breaking my water so that I don’t end up in OB care (42 wks) where they give pitocin straightaway…and with pitocin the risk of uterine rupture for VBAC candidates increases from one to four percent.

More waiting. I hope the kid holds off till Friday now that we are so close to Thanksgiving as I have a yummy dinner planned.

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Nothing to report

| thedarwinsgirl

39 weeks and 3 days tomorrow. 8am Non-stress test and Midwife appt. tomorrow.

Nothing new to report. Pressure, heaviness, light cramps, more digestive track emptying, the bloody show is more like mucous again and of course hemi’s… The sucky part of all of this is that my lady parts are sore and I haven’t even pushed a kid out yet. Epidural please!

Do I get my membranes swept again tomorrow or just let nature take its course?

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Please dont ask, there is nothing to report

| thedarwinsgirl

Nope, nothing to report.  More show.  No Contractions.  No broken water bag.  Pelvic pressure, fatigue, irritation.  But no baby.

We are trying to enjoy our family of  3 during these last few hours or days.  All of my commitments and obligations have been fulfilled.  There is nothing left but to welcome this baby into the world.  I even got a good night of sleep last in preparation.

I promise to text everyone when it happens.  And, I am updating the blog regularly with details.

It was a movie kind of night

| thedarwinsgirl
I skipped the social part of the evening last night, and ended up meeting everyone at the movie theatre.  I was nervous the whole time thinking my water was going to break.  But, alas nothing happened and the movie was enjoyable.  I didn’t get home until after 1am and Elliott wakes at 5:30am so I am tired.  

The hubby and Elliott are at Sea World for some last minute one on one time.  I was glad to have them leave the house, but envious that I couldn’t join them.  So, here I am — home alone for what will likely be the last time for a while.  And all I can think to do is walk around the house in circles moving things from one place to another.  

I hate the waiting game.  More bloody show this morning, more digestive track clearing, more pelvic pressure and BH,  But, no contractions and no amniotic fluid.  I am stuck between wanting to just carry on with my life and go grocery shopping and the like.  Or just sit on the couch with my heating pad and do as little as possible.  I don’t want my water to break while I am shopping  or at the park with the kiddo…that would be super embarrassing….but I feel unproductive not doing anything.  And then inversely I am tired, and I know what lies ahead as far as work and sleeplessness so I think I should rest…but resting isn’t helping the labor come on any faster.  It’s a vicious mental cycle.  ARRRGGHHH.

What did you do?  What would you do?

Am I having a baby or going to the movies tonight…?

| thedarwinsgirl
No contractions yet.  My bag of water is still in tact.  But more bloody show and some crazy pelvic pressure right along with it.  My lower back is sore and I have been sitting on a heating pad all day.  My appetite ranges from feeling nauseated to feeling intermittently hungry.  The baby is moving around like normal.  And I am having BH with regularity.  The midwife said to expect my labor to start in 24-48 hours.  So, the irritating, anxious waiting game begins.
Now the only question is do I still go see the New Moon movie tonight at 10pm or not?  The evenings events begin at 6pm with appetizers and wine, then a showing of Twilight, then off to the movie at 10pm.  It might take my mind off the fact that I will be going into labor soon.  Or, I might die of embarrassment if my water breaks during any of these events.
Not to sound crazy or anything, but I have been saying for a while now that this baby will come right after I see the New Moon movie.  So, maybe seeing the movie is just the thing I need to get labor started…?