Archive for the ‘pregnancy’ tag
Pregnancy progress: Mama’s boy
Eleven days past his due date… of course, he's still all snuggled up inside me. 
I had another NST yesterday evening – all is well. I even had a few contrax during the monitoring. In fact, starting yesterday afternoon, they became little more intense and frequent than they had been. One more level up. This kind of thing goes on for AGES for me, though. I suspected it was not a good sign that labor would be anytime soon when they didn't start up sooner…
If I go into full blown labor before the weekend, I'll be amazed. Also, since I've gone this insanely late (WTF? lol) now I have a stressful date to AVOID. Scott has a very important meeting on Friday that cannot be rescheduled. It would be pretty yucky if I was giving birth at that time and he had to miss it. Not the end of the world, but it would be good if he were there.
Pregnancy progress: He’s an August baby
Well, no July babe for me. Today I'm 41w3d. But I feel in loads better shape mentally after my midwife appointment last night. The appointment was actually scheduled for tonight, but I called her and asked if I could see her a day early.
1. I wanted a cervix check.
2. I badly needed a pep talk.
She came over and hung out with us for 2.5 hours! It was exactly what I needed.
(By the way, at my last OB appointment the doctor spent – at most – 5 minutes with me and didn't even touch me – the physician's assistant in training did all the measuring and checking for fetal heart tones and she didn't even palpate for position or anything. The conversation with various members of the staff was along the lines of "No baby yet? What's taking him so long?? When are you going to have this baby???" Between that and the hospital for NSTs, I was letting myself slide into that way of thinking – that something is so WRONG with me or the baby. And it just feeds my fears.
Don't get me wrong, I like my OB well enough – she's a neat lady and far more granola than most. But the bottom line? The standard of allopathic maternity care SUCKS in this country. At some point we really need to stop putting up with it. I'm glad my girls are witness to the fact that there ARE alternatives.)
I was a little annoyed with myself for caving on the cervix check (this was the first one I requested this pregnancy), but I wanted some idea of favorability well before my OB appointment on Friday. As it turns out, I am 2 cm, 60% effaced. Cervix is anterior and baby is 0 station. I was thinking about starting cohoshes today, but after getting the cervix data… nah. My body still has some work to do before this boy is coming out. And there just doesn't seem to be any valid reason yet to rush this.
With that said, based on my past labors where I have very long early labor stages (12+ hours) just getting to 6 cm and 100% effaced, my midwife suggested that I may just have the type of labors where I go into labor at 2 cm and early labor does the rest of the work. It makes for long labors, which sucks being me, but still it's a perfectly normal, healthy pattern.
She also suggested that one reason for all of this is because I generally have a long cervix and it takes awhile to get prepped for birth. She was like, that is NOT a bad thing. You have healthy uterine tissue! 
I just love her. She's so nurturing without even trying. 
Anyway, I was glad I had the cervix check. It definitely made me stop expecting labor to start any moment which is good for my sanity.
Overall the midwife was so reassuring about my health, about Jake's health – reminding me of all the stuff I KNOW intellectually, but just needed to hear (40 weeks is arbitrary number, readiness for birth is a developmental milestone; not all babies are ready on the exact same day, etc.). He's still pretty darn active – he was rolling around and kicking like crazy when she was measuring me, checking heart tones, etc. She said, I don't need NST graphs to tell me this baby is doing very okay right now. (Yes, I feel the same way!)
Oh, and this is a COOL thing! Every once in awhile in the last month or so, I notice this funny little pulsing movement. It's VERY quick and measured – and you can see it through my belly. Ever notice that with your in utero babes? I've said to DH a couple times, "WHAT is this movement? So weird – it's almost like feeling him breathe."
Well, turns out it IS breathing. Not real breathing of course but practice breath movements. The baby was doing it last night while my midwife was palpating for position. She said that is a REALLY good sign of health/readiness – they look for that on ultrasound when doing BPPs and if he does it, it's like 2 points in his favor kind of thing. 
It's so neat when he's doing that and I can lay my hand on his back and watch it rise and fall with his little practice breaths. I feel very connected to him during those times and can imagine what it will be like when he is (finally) out.
So that's where I'm at. Feeling better mentally than I have in days. Thinking about my blessings and counting them. Happy. After all, Jake's birth day gets closer every day that goes by, right? 
PS: I'm 10 days past my due date, I reserve the right to have a mood swing back into craptastic at any moment…
Another verse, same as the first
Still pregnant.
Just a little note to say…
…still pregnant (41w1d). 
Had a dream last night that the boy was born and I was nursing him. When the alarm went off, I had to pop him off the boob to turn it off. Well, anyway, in reality it was Scott's alarm that went off and when I woke up of course I was disappointed that there was no baby in my arms. Wahhhhhh.
Have another NST sometime today. We tried to get in earlier this morning to get this done, but they were swamped.
I'm tired, annoyed and BEYOND ready.
Thank you ALL so much for your words of encouragement and support!! (((hug)))
A conversation
HM: So, mom, any signs of labor yet.
Me: [Silently: I love you and I forgive you for asking.] Out loud: No.
Mir: Mom, could Jake be borned five minutes from now?
Me. Nope.
Mir: What about 10 minutes from now?
Me: No, not very likely. It takes awhile after labor starts for the baby to be born.
Mir: Well, what about in TWENTY minutes?
Me: No, baby. I suppose it's possible, but not very likely at all for us. It took you and HM two days EACH to be born.
Mir: Oh. Well, what about in THIRTY minutes?
Me: Let's talk about something else now.
Pregnancy: Week 41
Last week at this time, I thought there was a very good chance that I'd be holding my baby and doing the one-handed typing thing by THIS week at this time.
No such luck. On the labor/birth front, I have absolutely nothing to report.
This boy, he sure is getting strong! Even though his activity is becoming somewhat constrained in there, sometimes his movements are so strong that I'm startled by his painful wallops.
Scott's mama gets in today for her extended visit. (It's also her birthday today and everyone here was kind of wondering if Jake would be born today, too. Not looking good.) After my groceries are delivered (have I ever mentioned that Safeway delivers here? Life saver!!), I'm going to make some black bottom cupcakes to celebrate and we have birthday dinner plans early this evening, before settling down and calling it an early night with school starting tomorrow.
I don't think at ALL that I've subconsciously been holding Jake in or anything – in fact, his birth anytime in the past two weeks would have been LOADS more convenient on various levels. However, now that we're about to get back into the school swing, it's a big relief to me that Karen will be here to help with the kids during labor/birth and those earliest newborn days.
So in terms of readiness? I'm ready. R E A D Y. However, I will be MOST ready after the girls have their first successful day of school behind them. To that end, I anticipate labor will probably start late Monday, at the earliest. If it gets much later than that, it gets a little rougher. I have a midwife appointment scheduled for Wednesday and I will probably instigate some mild, home-induction techniques (sweeping membranes, homeopathics, maybe cohoshes) to try and jumpstart this thing if I'm still pregnant at that time. Otherwise I fear I'm facing a lot more pressure from my doctor as I approach 42 weeks. By the way, have I mentioned that my doctor is 36 weeks pregnant? Eek.
Puzzle progress: 40w6d
This puzzle is HARD!!
PS: Had an NST yesterday – all looks good. 
This is shaping up to be my longest pregnancy thus far. With Mir, labor had finally started by this point and she was born the next day (41 weeks). While it's still technically possible, I dunno that Jake's gonna make that same timeframe… 
Pregnancy: 40w5d
Nope, no baby yet!
But:
I did (finally) start having spans of contractions last night. I was soooo tired that I was glad when they spaced out so I could sleep. I needed the sleep badly.
I don't think it will be today, but I'm starting to feel (FINALLY) like there is hope that I WILL eventually give birth glimmering on the horizon.
Full moon coming up! Maybe that will do it. (I've been saying all along he will come on July 30 because that's the first day of school, and I can't imagine a date much more inconvenient LOL.)
I had a midwife appointment last night. Almost caved and had a cervix check, but I just know from past experience that whatever she tells me will just cause unproductive angst anyway, so what's the point. She was funny, she said, most likely with the BH contractions you've been having, it's going to be "softening, 1-2 cm dilated." Yeah. I don't need to have that confirmed. (And if, somehow, I'm 5 cm dilated, I would just be thinking whoa, any day now! And it could STILL be the middle of next week before labor actually starts…)
She also mentioned that she heard a new old wives tale the other day. I'd never heard this one either. Apparently a client of hers who is a Bradley instructor said that if the baby hasn't had the hiccups for three days, birth is imminent. Huh.
I only bring this up because I think it's been a few days since I noticed Jake having any hiccups. I even noticed it actually – thinking that was odd. Hmmm.
Pregnancy progress: Delivery stats
Week Days Chance
28 189-196 1:625
29 196-203 1:625
30 203-210 1:525
31 210-217 1:240
32 217-224 1:240
33 224-231 1:240
34 231-238 1:115
35 238-245 1:58
36 245-252 1:39
37 252-259 1:22
38 259-266 1:11
39 266-273 1:5
40 273-280 1:3½
41 280-287 1:5 2/3
42 287-294 1:12
43 294-301 1:34
44 301-308 1:74
>> Source (click to see data charted)
Perspective…
…eventually, they really do come out… !
B – 39 weeks (induced for cholestasis, ended in cesarean)
HM – spontaneous labor at 40 weeks (on her due date!) – hospital VBAC
Mir – spontaneous labor at 41 weeks (so I should not be shocked that I'm still pregnant) – home waterbirth
Here they are… my living proof that I won't, in fact, be perpetually pregnant. Eventually they become 7-11 year olds.
Mom to 4 kids and 2 stepkids, I work at home in the heart of the chaos. Founder and executive editor of SheKnows.com and various other sites. Homeschooling. Knitter. Family chef. Gadget geek. Wordphreak. LAZY BLOGGER. 