I saw the OB/GYN today and set our official date for the c-section finally. Through the last couple of weeks, we waffled around a little, and finally agreed on Saturday, April 9 at 9:30 am. I check in at 7:30 am, so I don't have to go all day without eating, which is a plus! That is, unless she finally decides to get with the program and come out on her own!
As of today, her monitoring is looking good still. It is making my doctor nervous to wait so long to get her out, but I really want to give her the time to make it on her own. Comparing Abby's delivery with this one, tonight would be the night I begin contractions at midnight, followed by a failed induction tomorrow and a c-section on Saturday. So, I think waiting until NEXT Saturday for this all to happen on its own is still reasonable.
When she checked me today, I was still at 1 cm, 50% effaced, and in -3 station. I had some contractions during lunch yesterday, but then nothing happened after that. We were hoping that would be the start of something after she's been SO active this week, but no such luck.
Today after coming home from the doctor's office, I just took a nap and pretty much just got up!!!
TMI warning!!!!!!!!!!
Marti has been ordered to help get things started! The doctor said there are prostaglandins in semen that can soften the cervix and get things started. I told the doctor we had been refraining from that part of "the act" since we wanted to try to keep things tidy down there for her. She just giggled and shrugged.
So, for now, we have our orders, and we'll see how that works out.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Still Cooking
Not much is going on. We're still just waiting.
I've had a LOT of movement and I think she's trying to find a way out. We recently watched Jurasic Park on TV and they were talking about the velociraptors testing a different part of the electric fence every single time to try to find a weakness. Well, that is my baby right now. She is poking me EVERYWHERE! I swear, she's methodically checking every single square centimeter of space in there looking for the way out at this point.
I've had minimal discomfort and no real contractions to speak of. Of course, some still show up on the monitor on Mondays and Thursdays when they check me, but it's nothing I can really feel, and it's certainly not painful like a couple weeks ago.
The c-section date was moved to the 7th because the 8th was booked up already. I'm not quite content with that, so I'm going to ask my doctor tomorrow if she will change it to the 11th. That way I can give this baby 2 solid weeks of post-due date time to work out the bugs and come out on her own still. Two weeks late is not really late, technically.
And the 11th would be exactly the day after 2 weeks, so I feel that is fair enough.
People keep asking, so I'll say it again. No, we are not inducing. I do not want another pitocin fiasco like I had with Abby. She didn't respond well to that and they said my contractions were right on top of one another instead of spaced regularly. It sounds like neither of us responded well to it, actually!
So, she can come naturally, or we will evict her. But, pitocin will hopefully not be part of this equation.
I'm off work now and just spending time with family. Marti's dad and his wife are in town from New York and it's been nice not having to worry about work while they are here. Abby has really enjoyed swimming at their hotel with them, and we have one more day with them before they have to head home. Looks like they will be back this summer since the baby has not arrived yet.
I've had a LOT of movement and I think she's trying to find a way out. We recently watched Jurasic Park on TV and they were talking about the velociraptors testing a different part of the electric fence every single time to try to find a weakness. Well, that is my baby right now. She is poking me EVERYWHERE! I swear, she's methodically checking every single square centimeter of space in there looking for the way out at this point.
I've had minimal discomfort and no real contractions to speak of. Of course, some still show up on the monitor on Mondays and Thursdays when they check me, but it's nothing I can really feel, and it's certainly not painful like a couple weeks ago.
The c-section date was moved to the 7th because the 8th was booked up already. I'm not quite content with that, so I'm going to ask my doctor tomorrow if she will change it to the 11th. That way I can give this baby 2 solid weeks of post-due date time to work out the bugs and come out on her own still. Two weeks late is not really late, technically.
And the 11th would be exactly the day after 2 weeks, so I feel that is fair enough.
People keep asking, so I'll say it again. No, we are not inducing. I do not want another pitocin fiasco like I had with Abby. She didn't respond well to that and they said my contractions were right on top of one another instead of spaced regularly. It sounds like neither of us responded well to it, actually!
So, she can come naturally, or we will evict her. But, pitocin will hopefully not be part of this equation.
I'm off work now and just spending time with family. Marti's dad and his wife are in town from New York and it's been nice not having to worry about work while they are here. Abby has really enjoyed swimming at their hotel with them, and we have one more day with them before they have to head home. Looks like they will be back this summer since the baby has not arrived yet.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Belly Cast
I kind of had some fun and made a belly cast this time around. It came out pretty lumpy from the gauze bunching up a bit as I made it. Jess said get some help while doing it, but I was impatient and made it myself, so now I deal with that.
Since it wsn't sanding down, I decided to put some spackle on it to smooth it down a different way.
I've been sanding away at it between coats and I think it's finally smooth enough to paint. Abby wants to help and every time she sees me sanding, she asks if she can paint it yet. That should be fun, but I keep making her wait until it's dry and sanded -- and every time I think I'm done, I see one last thing I want to fix on it.
It was a bit odd taking a sanding block to my boobs but that part of the cast also needed to be just as smooth as the rest or it would have looked REALLY odd. Ha ha!!!
Marti jokes that I have to paint it realistic colors after all this work. I joke that I'm going to paint the boob part in a black and white cow print and then let Abby paint the belly whatever she wants to do it as.
Either way, I don't really know what it will look like or why I made it. It was just for kicks, so no matter how it turns out, it will have been fun.
Oh, I forgot one little detail. When I was making it, I put a clear plastic tarp down in the bathroom to catch any slop. Marti came home right after I'd finished, and although it was only white plaster slop, he still said it looked like a crime scene in our bathroom. I have to admit, it did make quite a drippy, plastery mess!
Since it wsn't sanding down, I decided to put some spackle on it to smooth it down a different way.
I've been sanding away at it between coats and I think it's finally smooth enough to paint. Abby wants to help and every time she sees me sanding, she asks if she can paint it yet. That should be fun, but I keep making her wait until it's dry and sanded -- and every time I think I'm done, I see one last thing I want to fix on it.
It was a bit odd taking a sanding block to my boobs but that part of the cast also needed to be just as smooth as the rest or it would have looked REALLY odd. Ha ha!!!
Marti jokes that I have to paint it realistic colors after all this work. I joke that I'm going to paint the boob part in a black and white cow print and then let Abby paint the belly whatever she wants to do it as.
Either way, I don't really know what it will look like or why I made it. It was just for kicks, so no matter how it turns out, it will have been fun.
Oh, I forgot one little detail. When I was making it, I put a clear plastic tarp down in the bathroom to catch any slop. Marti came home right after I'd finished, and although it was only white plaster slop, he still said it looked like a crime scene in our bathroom. I have to admit, it did make quite a drippy, plastery mess!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
To Hospital or Not To Hospital
I got a lot of questions as to if and when I was going to go to the hospital last Monday when I was having contractions. I forgot to address that in the original post, so I'll do that now.
First of all, I've said for a while now that my doctor said to labor at home as long as I can before heading in if I want to do a VBAC. The reason for this is that once I go in, they will want to hook me up to a monitor and I will no longer be able to move around. They will want to monitor me because I had a previous c-section.
Second, once you check in, they do not permit you to eat. 'Nuff said! And in case it's not enough, just know that I have low blood sugar and if I don't eat, I pass out. I need strength if I'm going to be able to do this.
Finally, I was told that once I get contractions every 3-5 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each, for about 2 hours sustained, and I'm not smiling through them anymore, then go ahead and head in. None of that happened, so I stayed home.
Of course, the nurses in the office asked about the usual leaking of amniotic fluid, blood, and the mysterious mucus plug. None of those had made an appearance either, so I never went to the hospital.
And, it turned out to be the right choice. Go figure.
It was a sucky day full of pain, but that's all it was. For those of you following along with all the details, here is an image of the paper we wrote down all the contractions on as they happened.
First of all, I've said for a while now that my doctor said to labor at home as long as I can before heading in if I want to do a VBAC. The reason for this is that once I go in, they will want to hook me up to a monitor and I will no longer be able to move around. They will want to monitor me because I had a previous c-section.
Second, once you check in, they do not permit you to eat. 'Nuff said! And in case it's not enough, just know that I have low blood sugar and if I don't eat, I pass out. I need strength if I'm going to be able to do this.
Finally, I was told that once I get contractions every 3-5 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each, for about 2 hours sustained, and I'm not smiling through them anymore, then go ahead and head in. None of that happened, so I stayed home.
Of course, the nurses in the office asked about the usual leaking of amniotic fluid, blood, and the mysterious mucus plug. None of those had made an appearance either, so I never went to the hospital.
And, it turned out to be the right choice. Go figure.
It was a sucky day full of pain, but that's all it was. For those of you following along with all the details, here is an image of the paper we wrote down all the contractions on as they happened.
Mah Belleh...
Call me crazy, but I love my belly right now! Maybe because I can hope/know it's temporary. Maybe because I know it's the last time FOR SURE that I will be pregnant. But I am embracing everything about this pregnancy as best as I can. It doesn't hurt that I get lots of comments on how NOT huge and bloated I am this time. I got a little big when I was pregnant with Abby, but this is ridiculous! (And pardon me for loving it!!!!!) I don't feel bad about it because I'm not staying small on purpose, but here, as I wind down this pregnancy, I am still just amazed at how well it's gone. And that I weigh less now than I did at the start of last year when I wasn't even pregnant!!!! Woo hoo for dumb luck!!!!!!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Update from 3/17 Ob/Gyn appointment
Nothing to report, really.
Doc thought I would have "ripened" from Monday's activities, but there are NO changes down there yet. So, we head into the weekend just playing it by ear again.
Luckily, after taking it easy on Tuesday, I regained my energy by Wednesday, so I'm doing well in that sense again. I went crazy nesting on Wednesday after work with some random tasks around the house that have been bugging me for quite a while.
I even made my belly cast finally while I waited for Marti to come home from work. I'm not sure what I'll actually DO with it now, but I have it. It's not something I could do later after the baby comes, so I wanted to make sure to get it while I still can. Maybe Abby and I can paint it later and then put it away to laugh at someday.
The "Super Moon" came and went with no reaction from my belly, so that was all a lot of hype. Whatever. I'm just glad Monday did not keep up all week like the nurse said could happen. It's nice to be rested for a fresh start if/when labor does start back up this week! I can't imagine going through that all week and THEN having to push a baby out!
My hips REALLY hurt right now, and my EARS hurt when I wake up in the morning! I spend all night flipping from one side to the other in hopes of giving my hips and ears a little break.
I hurt a little when I go to bed, so I guess I just move the pain around, depending on what time of day it is.
Doc thought I would have "ripened" from Monday's activities, but there are NO changes down there yet. So, we head into the weekend just playing it by ear again.
Luckily, after taking it easy on Tuesday, I regained my energy by Wednesday, so I'm doing well in that sense again. I went crazy nesting on Wednesday after work with some random tasks around the house that have been bugging me for quite a while.
I even made my belly cast finally while I waited for Marti to come home from work. I'm not sure what I'll actually DO with it now, but I have it. It's not something I could do later after the baby comes, so I wanted to make sure to get it while I still can. Maybe Abby and I can paint it later and then put it away to laugh at someday.
The "Super Moon" came and went with no reaction from my belly, so that was all a lot of hype. Whatever. I'm just glad Monday did not keep up all week like the nurse said could happen. It's nice to be rested for a fresh start if/when labor does start back up this week! I can't imagine going through that all week and THEN having to push a baby out!
My hips REALLY hurt right now, and my EARS hurt when I wake up in the morning! I spend all night flipping from one side to the other in hopes of giving my hips and ears a little break.
I hurt a little when I go to bed, so I guess I just move the pain around, depending on what time of day it is.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
False Labor
Monday morning I went in for my usual fetal monitoring and Vicky informed me that I was having contractions every 5 minutes! I could feel some of them and others went unnoticed by me, but they registered clearly on the monitor strip.
She checked the baby and said she is taking the contractions well, so just hang tight and see how it goes. Of course, she had the nurse practitioner check me out before I left and I had changed from 1 cm to 1.5 cm from Thursday before, and from 0% effaced to 50% effaced from the Thursday before. I had to mentally get ready for delivery after hearing all that! I was NOT ready to do this, and kept thinking to myself, "Not today. Not today!!!!"
I went home, and finally packed a bag. Then the contractions REALLY started in!!! Marti had me start writing them down so we could time them and the 10:00 hour was probably the worst. I could feel MANY contractions and had to remind myself to breathe through the pain. It was fine though, and they started and stopped fairly quickly instead of piling one on the other like when I had Abby. It was nice to get a break between contractions so I could recover a little!
As the day went on, I didn't want to be alone in case things picked up, so Marti sat with me and then my parents came over to stay with me. They picked up Abby and brought me some food since I hadn't eaten and was feeling weak. That thought scared me because I need strength to pull this off, but if I'm going to throw up, how am I going to eat? It was a catch-22! Luckily, Mom thought of cream of potato soup, and that hit the spot with no fall out!
Eventually, the contractions eased up and around 5pm, they were not nearly as severe and less frequent. Up until then, I could probably count on at least 6 per hour, so about every 10 minutes all day long.
I went to bed around 11pm when they had pretty much stopped, and the next day was completely uneventful except that I had to go back to work! It felt like I had gone through labor and SHOULD have delivered a baby, and then went to work the next day! SO UNFAIR!!! I joked that it felt like I had gotten mugged while running a marathon. I was sore and exhausted! I mean, how would you feel if someone spent about a minute punching you in the gut, EVERY ten minutes at least, for an entire day? I was SPENT!
She checked the baby and said she is taking the contractions well, so just hang tight and see how it goes. Of course, she had the nurse practitioner check me out before I left and I had changed from 1 cm to 1.5 cm from Thursday before, and from 0% effaced to 50% effaced from the Thursday before. I had to mentally get ready for delivery after hearing all that! I was NOT ready to do this, and kept thinking to myself, "Not today. Not today!!!!"
I went home, and finally packed a bag. Then the contractions REALLY started in!!! Marti had me start writing them down so we could time them and the 10:00 hour was probably the worst. I could feel MANY contractions and had to remind myself to breathe through the pain. It was fine though, and they started and stopped fairly quickly instead of piling one on the other like when I had Abby. It was nice to get a break between contractions so I could recover a little!
As the day went on, I didn't want to be alone in case things picked up, so Marti sat with me and then my parents came over to stay with me. They picked up Abby and brought me some food since I hadn't eaten and was feeling weak. That thought scared me because I need strength to pull this off, but if I'm going to throw up, how am I going to eat? It was a catch-22! Luckily, Mom thought of cream of potato soup, and that hit the spot with no fall out!
Eventually, the contractions eased up and around 5pm, they were not nearly as severe and less frequent. Up until then, I could probably count on at least 6 per hour, so about every 10 minutes all day long.
I went to bed around 11pm when they had pretty much stopped, and the next day was completely uneventful except that I had to go back to work! It felt like I had gone through labor and SHOULD have delivered a baby, and then went to work the next day! SO UNFAIR!!! I joked that it felt like I had gotten mugged while running a marathon. I was sore and exhausted! I mean, how would you feel if someone spent about a minute punching you in the gut, EVERY ten minutes at least, for an entire day? I was SPENT!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Big Sunday Agenda
1. Pack a bag for the hospital
2. Fill out pre-registration paperwork
3. Convince Marti I will absolutely DIE if we don't do cord blood banking for this baby, too
4. Clean up and organize nursery
5. BELLY CAST!!!! (Jess tells me every single strip is COLD!!!!)
2. Fill out pre-registration paperwork
3. Convince Marti I will absolutely DIE if we don't do cord blood banking for this baby, too
4. Clean up and organize nursery
5. BELLY CAST!!!! (Jess tells me every single strip is COLD!!!!)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
General Update
In general, I am starting to get very uncomfortable, but it's not unbearable yet.
I did have to get out of bed and sleep in a chair last night! It turns out that right about now, certain muscles and tissues in my body are loosening up to prepare for birth. Unfortunately, my cervix's sister -- the muscle or tissue that keeps my stomach closed -- is also loosening up! It leads to liquids in my belly leaking up into my throat at night when I sleep and it feels like I'm choking!
Not a good way to wake up -- over, and over, and over!
So, I resorted to the rocker last night. Let me tell you, it SUCKED! I did sleep, but at 3 am I woke up in so much pain! My joints were so stiff and I couldn't even turn my head to see what time it was.
At that point, I figured I had been upright long enough and crawled back into bed to lie down. That was great, except I still don't feel like I got enough sleep and there is a lot to do this weekend, so I'm up and trying to be awake now.
I feel a LOT of movement still and pressure down "south" now. I'm sure she's moving down lower as she gets ready to come out!
I still haven't packed my bag, but that's the big plan for this weekend. That, and organizing the nursery.
Other than that, it's same old, same old around the house.
Stay tuned!!!
I did have to get out of bed and sleep in a chair last night! It turns out that right about now, certain muscles and tissues in my body are loosening up to prepare for birth. Unfortunately, my cervix's sister -- the muscle or tissue that keeps my stomach closed -- is also loosening up! It leads to liquids in my belly leaking up into my throat at night when I sleep and it feels like I'm choking!
Not a good way to wake up -- over, and over, and over!
So, I resorted to the rocker last night. Let me tell you, it SUCKED! I did sleep, but at 3 am I woke up in so much pain! My joints were so stiff and I couldn't even turn my head to see what time it was.
At that point, I figured I had been upright long enough and crawled back into bed to lie down. That was great, except I still don't feel like I got enough sleep and there is a lot to do this weekend, so I'm up and trying to be awake now.
I feel a LOT of movement still and pressure down "south" now. I'm sure she's moving down lower as she gets ready to come out!
I still haven't packed my bag, but that's the big plan for this weekend. That, and organizing the nursery.
Other than that, it's same old, same old around the house.
Stay tuned!!!
Updates From 2/10/11 OB/GYN Appointment
Everything is coming along great!
I got the results from my Group B Strep test, and that is NEGATIVE! WOO HOO!!! I believe the positive test I had when I was pregnant with Abby was the beginning of the end for any hope of a successful labor with her.
Basically, this time:
I DON'T have to get to the hospital the instant I think my water breaks.
I DON'T have to get hooked up to monitors and sit still now! Moving around is MUCH better for labor, right!?!?!
I DON'T have to get IV antibiotics the instant I check into the hospital.
I DON'T have to subject myself to many needless interventions when my labor doesn't go EXACTLY as the hospital would like. (Interventions that, while intended to speed up labor, actually drag it out and essentially STOP it, leading to the need for a c-section.)
So, the plan is to stay home and labor as long as I can on my own and then head to the hospital when it's closer to "go" time. Last time I think we went too soon because we were not sure if my water broke or not. Because of the CHANCE it could have broken, I HAD to stay, and everything went downhill from there. My doctor even said recently that when they gave me the pitocin with Abby, they induced too soon, and that's why she didn't come out on her own.
This time, if it turns out I'm not ready, they can send me home to wait it out. There is not the need to immediately hook me up to IVs. Can I tell you how excited I am just about THAT?!?!?!
She also measured my belly and it's right on target still. After a quick check of my cervix, she told me that while it was closed, long and high last week, this week it is 1 cm open, but still long and high. While this does not mean I'm having a baby today, it does show that my body is progressing towards the goal and that also makes me happy. I don't remember ANY of that progress with Abby until we were in the hospital. This, too, is a good sign.
The NST (monitoring session they do twice a week on me and the baby) went well. Vicky said the baby looks great and I'm getting a little "irritation" which is causing uterine activity. Last week it was a flat line for the most part with a few contractions here and there. This week the line was a little jiggly along the bottom of the graph with a few spikes indicating contractions again. So, once again, more activity = good, right? : )
In the event that this baby refuses to come out, we scheduled a c-section date, so we know the latest date she will arrive now! At first the doctor offered April 4, but I really, really, really want to give the baby as close to 2 full weeks of "overtime" to get her act together before we resort to just cutting her out. I was 2 weeks late, so I figure that can be considered normal for this one, too. We moved it to April 8, and that's pretty darn close to 2 weeks.
So, I'm still due on March 27, there's this "super moon" thing happening on the 19th that has a bunch of superstitious mommies thinking we're all going to pop on that day, and there's always the scheduled April 8 end date. One way or another, this baby is coming out in the next few weeks.
I got the results from my Group B Strep test, and that is NEGATIVE! WOO HOO!!! I believe the positive test I had when I was pregnant with Abby was the beginning of the end for any hope of a successful labor with her.
Basically, this time:
I DON'T have to get to the hospital the instant I think my water breaks.
I DON'T have to get hooked up to monitors and sit still now! Moving around is MUCH better for labor, right!?!?!
I DON'T have to get IV antibiotics the instant I check into the hospital.
I DON'T have to subject myself to many needless interventions when my labor doesn't go EXACTLY as the hospital would like. (Interventions that, while intended to speed up labor, actually drag it out and essentially STOP it, leading to the need for a c-section.)
So, the plan is to stay home and labor as long as I can on my own and then head to the hospital when it's closer to "go" time. Last time I think we went too soon because we were not sure if my water broke or not. Because of the CHANCE it could have broken, I HAD to stay, and everything went downhill from there. My doctor even said recently that when they gave me the pitocin with Abby, they induced too soon, and that's why she didn't come out on her own.
This time, if it turns out I'm not ready, they can send me home to wait it out. There is not the need to immediately hook me up to IVs. Can I tell you how excited I am just about THAT?!?!?!
She also measured my belly and it's right on target still. After a quick check of my cervix, she told me that while it was closed, long and high last week, this week it is 1 cm open, but still long and high. While this does not mean I'm having a baby today, it does show that my body is progressing towards the goal and that also makes me happy. I don't remember ANY of that progress with Abby until we were in the hospital. This, too, is a good sign.
The NST (monitoring session they do twice a week on me and the baby) went well. Vicky said the baby looks great and I'm getting a little "irritation" which is causing uterine activity. Last week it was a flat line for the most part with a few contractions here and there. This week the line was a little jiggly along the bottom of the graph with a few spikes indicating contractions again. So, once again, more activity = good, right? : )
In the event that this baby refuses to come out, we scheduled a c-section date, so we know the latest date she will arrive now! At first the doctor offered April 4, but I really, really, really want to give the baby as close to 2 full weeks of "overtime" to get her act together before we resort to just cutting her out. I was 2 weeks late, so I figure that can be considered normal for this one, too. We moved it to April 8, and that's pretty darn close to 2 weeks.
So, I'm still due on March 27, there's this "super moon" thing happening on the 19th that has a bunch of superstitious mommies thinking we're all going to pop on that day, and there's always the scheduled April 8 end date. One way or another, this baby is coming out in the next few weeks.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Showers
Traditionally, with a second child, there is no shower, especially if the child is the same sex as the first. So, I didn't think there would be a shower this time and didn't think much more about it.
It turns out the girls at work decided to throw a shower! Huge thanks to Tara and Cheryl for putting that together!
We got a ton of cute and useful stuff, which is GREAT, since, as I've kicked myself about before, we got rid of SO MUCH stuff last year before deciding on one last try. I just felt weird even thinking about a shower until it happened since WE were the ones that got rid of all that stuff. It felt like it was all our fault for even needing to replace any of it in the first place.
Then, the weekend after the shower at work, my mom threw a little shower for family at her house. It was nice to see the family before I pop this baby out, and, once again, we got lots more cute and useful stuff. Thanks Mom!
And, in addition to thanks to the shower organizers, THANKS ALSO to those that showered us with presents! I can't believe I already got out all the thank you notes for the first shower! This weekend I'll write the ones for the second shower.
Funny to think I went from thinking "no shower" to actually having two! I feel special. : )
It turns out the girls at work decided to throw a shower! Huge thanks to Tara and Cheryl for putting that together!
We got a ton of cute and useful stuff, which is GREAT, since, as I've kicked myself about before, we got rid of SO MUCH stuff last year before deciding on one last try. I just felt weird even thinking about a shower until it happened since WE were the ones that got rid of all that stuff. It felt like it was all our fault for even needing to replace any of it in the first place.
Then, the weekend after the shower at work, my mom threw a little shower for family at her house. It was nice to see the family before I pop this baby out, and, once again, we got lots more cute and useful stuff. Thanks Mom!
And, in addition to thanks to the shower organizers, THANKS ALSO to those that showered us with presents! I can't believe I already got out all the thank you notes for the first shower! This weekend I'll write the ones for the second shower.
Funny to think I went from thinking "no shower" to actually having two! I feel special. : )
Monday, March 7, 2011
It Just SOUNDS Like TMI, Really...
Warning: This post will sound MUCH more disturbing if you only read the first part. SO, if you're going to read it, you have to promise to stick to the end or don't read it at all if you're the squeemish type.
This morning I was drying off after my shower and noticed a slight, yet pretty significant bloody streak across the bottom half of my towel. Of course, my first thought was that I was bleeding "down there" and things were going to get started soon.
To verify this thought, I took the towel and wiped myself down there again, but came up clean.
??????
Oh well. I move on by folding the towel strategically to cover the dirty part and I continue drying myself with the rest so I can get on with my day.
I felt the need to wipe my face, and when I did, I noticed the towel was bloody again!
DUH!!!! I had a bloody NOSE!!!!
Not one to miss an opportunity, I went back to our bedroom and told Marti I was bleeding. He suddenly looked VERY awake! I didn't let him fret too long and spilled the beans that it was just my nose.
This morning I was drying off after my shower and noticed a slight, yet pretty significant bloody streak across the bottom half of my towel. Of course, my first thought was that I was bleeding "down there" and things were going to get started soon.
To verify this thought, I took the towel and wiped myself down there again, but came up clean.
??????
Oh well. I move on by folding the towel strategically to cover the dirty part and I continue drying myself with the rest so I can get on with my day.
I felt the need to wipe my face, and when I did, I noticed the towel was bloody again!
DUH!!!! I had a bloody NOSE!!!!
Not one to miss an opportunity, I went back to our bedroom and told Marti I was bleeding. He suddenly looked VERY awake! I didn't let him fret too long and spilled the beans that it was just my nose.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Update from 3/3/11 ob/gyn appt.
Everything looks good to go still. Her head is not quite as low as it was in previous weeks, but it still seems to be down, which is a good thing. I hope she doesn’t get up and moving around in there and throw a “breech” into the mix! That would NOT be good!!!
She’s still measuring good and growing, but when I asked about my weight for Marti, the doc said I still need to gain some more weight. I’m doing what I can without just packing on FAT for the sake of gaining weight. It’s hard because eating after work leads to acid reflux at night, so it’s a trade off. As long as she’s still growing and I’m eating pretty healthy food, I’m not too concerned. Marti says I look like I’ve personally lost a little weight, so I figure the baby is getting it from me one way or another.
Yesterday was my 36 week check up and I start going in every week now. I also started the twice weekly monitoring sessions which is just them tracking the baby’s heartbeat and checking me for contractions for about a half hour. To me, while I’m sitting there, it’s just a LOUD broadcast of my baby’s heartbeat combined with a record scratching sound every time she moves around and the machine gets way too much sound out of there! A little slip of paper comes out with a graph on it and I guess that is the accelerations of the heart, so they get not only the rate, but additional info as well.
They also check for my personal activity, but so far they didn’t pick any up. No contractions, in other words. I know my belly gets hard, but I told the doc I think that’s me bracing against her moving around because it hurts. I figured if I can relax my belly if I TRY, then it’s NOT a contraction. I just choose not to relax. If I do, it feels like she’s going to split some of my muscles pry her way out my abdomen wall.
For the record, the nurse that took the paper strip away then came back to unhook me said my baby looks beautiful, so everything read well there.
I also mentioned that I am short of breath a lot and it feels like someone is sitting on my chest or even my throat sometimes. She said short of breath is somewhat normal, but pressure on my chest is not. She said go see my regular doctor and he may want to refer me to a cardiologist just to have it checked out and be safe. I’m thinking it’s probably just the way the baby is pushing up into my lungs and the pressure on my wind pipe from everything getting dislodged from its regular position. It’s most likely nothing, but the word “cardiologist” was said in passing.
I put in my notice at work today that I will work 3/25/11 and that will be my last day until I return from maternity leave. I’m starting to get a little uncomfortable, and I can’t imagine it gets any better in the next 3 weeks. I read back on some of the stuff I wrote when I was pregnant with Abby and I think I was downright miserable during the last couple of weeks. No sense in punishing myself and going in to work after my due date. I don’t need to be a hero. Ha ha!
As much as Marti wants to know when she’s coming and plan his leave out, I am still going to try for a VBAC this time and let her decide when she’s going to come. Doc said if she’s not here by her due date, they like to have a c-section planned for a week after (although I can go a LITTLE longer if I want), so I’ll schedule that next time I see her on Thursday. I want to talk to Marti and choose a date first, so I didn’t schedule that yet. Plus, I do think just one week past the due date is still pushing it a little too soon based on what happened with Abby. The doc did say last time that she believes Abby was induced too soon. She was due on the 9th or 10th and they started inducing me on the 13th after the epidural stalled out my natural labor process. We all know how well that (didn’t) work, so as the 14th was coming to a close, I finally agreed to the c-section because after all that, I was physically spent and she wasn’t budging once I finally got to the magical 10 cm.
So, I’d like to see if I go a little bit further past the arbitrary due date, if it makes things kick into gear automatically without all the pitocin and whatnot. Don’t get me wrong – I’m ALL about the epidural when the time comes. But the reason I had the epidural wasn’t because of the contractions last time. I could have held out longer if it were just the contractions – and that is my goal this time.
I guess that’s about it for now. I have Abby’s best friend over for a sleep over tonight before I won’t be able to or want to deal with squeaky 5-year-olds having a blast. I can’t see putting that off much longer, and I can’t see pulling it off until quite a while after the baby comes!
I have a few presents for Abby for the big day and made a list, but haven’t actually packed a bag yet. Marti got the car seat installed in his car. It’s right next to Abby, so they are sort of facing each other, and it leaves room for another adult on one side as well in that configuration.
What else are we forgetting? It still doesn’t seem real to me that we will actually get to have this baby at home in about a month!!!! I’m still waiting for someone to pinch me!
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