11/13 - Things we did to try to jumpstart labor Starting with the morning and going to the evening:
Thumper massage by Dr. Lou
Sex :)
Chinese/Japanese food (for the MSG and spices)
Walking around the mall, Wal-Mart, and Kroger (some contractions, but not much)
Relaxing and watching Get Smart while eating chocolate-loaded ice cream sundae
1 mug cinnamon tea Dance concert (tripped outside and fell over, lol. Almost passed out from the heat in the theater and also walked uphill in a major way to get to the car)
Mexican for dinner (some spices)
Meditation/self-hypnosis
Red Rasp. Leaf tea, double strength
Evening primrose oil 3x orally (one at each meal) and once massaged into belly
Giving up and going to bed, but with a feeling that something is going to happen.
Waking several hours later nauseous and with crampy contractions, which continued through the night but were not strong enough to keep me awake.
This morning: Bloody show (woot but kinda icky)
Bath to try to relax (slowed contractions down but they stayed between 5-12 mins apart)
Now I am going to have more tea and see if I feel like eating. The contractions are still not regular but are getting stronger as the morning progresses. Maybe I will meet my son today!!
/edit: I have discovered how to make my blog readable again! Format in Firefox instead of Safari.
2009-11-12 (39 weeks)
40 week checkup. "I think you will have this baby this week." Pregnancy Weight: 171. Ugh, getting up there! I will tell myself it's mostly blood and baby and stuff.
Blood Pressure: 122/eh. I forget. She said it was fine, though.
Baby’s Heartbeat: Fine. Accel through contraction, then decel back to 130s/140s.
Internal Exam: Had a male student nurse in the room this time. Not as awkward as I thought it would be. The weirdest part of it was the Dr. called the nurse in, and she came in all serious with some rolled up TP in her hand, and I was like, I wonder what they're planning to do... But it was just a normal exam and membrane strip, although I think she held my hand and she kept looking at me concernedly... I kept thinking "I hope my water doesn't break all over everyone!" as he stripped my membranes again. I really hardly felt a thing at all, but I guess they expected me to scream or something! I was nervous before the exam but I did some self-hypnosis cues about feeling very little discomfort and being totally relaxed, and I think that really helped. I'm still very confused as to why they thought I was going to be in need of a nurse to hold my hand, but it was sweet of them to offer. They also told me I'd bleed a little... yeah, been bleeding all afternoon. It's odd after nine months of never bleeding at all.
Internal Stats: "A good 1 cm" was what he said, much more than the fingertip he had last time, and he was apparently able to give those membranes a good sweep. No comment on effacement or station, though he felt the baby's head down low when he was checking his position.
Baby’s Momma: Feeling very serene lately. Even when contractions come and I feel him getting lower and pressing on my bones/ligaments uncomfortably, I'm able to relax and let go, which really keeps anything from being painful. Like I said, I am bleeding a good bit, though. Hopefully that means something. I'm also popping the EPO like there's no tomorrow, but I'm out of my raspberry leaf tea. Not a whole lot of contraction action going on, but I have an instinct that this baby is coming soon and I'm feeling very positive about it. Thought my water might have broken this morning, but I think I just peed myself a little, since nothing more has come out since then.
I just realized there's no "baby's Daddy" section in this survey. Maybe I ought to make one. He is more nervous than I am, I think, and he's asked me about 8 times today if we're having the baby today or not. I wish I knew. :) He also has an upset stomach, which I think is coming from being on edge so much. I wish I could help him relax.
Next appointment: Thursday, but hopefully I'll have a Baby Clark in my arms before then!
Big milestones this week: Erm... I guess all the self-hypnosis has been a milestone. Totally changed my outlook on the birth and how it will go, and calmed a lot of my fears. It's such a gift from God that we can direct our emotions and how we experience life through our conscious mind to some extent. I am looking forward to a wonderful, uncomplicated, unmedicated birth, and hope to have a healthy baby and mother at the end of it.
2009-11-06 (39 weeks)
Wk 39 Checkup Pregnancy Weight: 170
Blood Pressure: Normal
Baby’s Heartbeat: A very "green" nursing student took it at first, and then the Dr. had to give it a try. I felt lightheaded from being on my back so long! He had some good accel/decel going, which made Dr. happy.
Internal Exam: This is the first time I've experienced significant discomfort from the internal. Probably because he was actually able to get up in there! But he had to force it a bit. He stripped my membranes a little, which left me very crampy and sore for a while. Once I remembered to consciously relax and not focus on the pain, it wasn't that bad, but by then he was practically done :/. Hopefully it helped.
Internal Stats: 50% effaced, barely 1 cm dilated, baby's head pushing against cervix.
Baby’s Momma: Alternately I'm frightened, excited, frustrated, and contented. To quote JD: "I just feel like I'm on some kind of... emotional... RIDE of some sort." I wake up every night now with painful cramps, and I get them during the day sometimes, too. The contractions are getting hard to breathe through at times; they are so strong and I feel like my veins are being constricted, like not enough blood can get through them, especially in my neck. Sleeping is hard, but I'm managing. And now that most of my big projects for the semester are out of the way, I feel I can relax a lot more and just allow this whole labor thing to happen.
Next appointment: Thursday. Somehow it's my due date (40 wks) but not the one they gave me (Friday)...
Big milestones this week: Besides feeling contractions that are actually uncomfortable (read: need to lean on the shopping cart in WalMart and breathe til they're over)... I don't know. I guess realizing that labor is actually going to hurt and HOW it's going to. And I've been working on relaxing techniques and thinking about pain differently (more as a sensation than actual pain), which helps me feel at least 60% better immediately. Funny how so much is all in your head... I apologize for the wonky spacing. It's not my fault; I keep putting the returns in there, but it takes them out when it posts. Stupid!
2009-10-31 (38 weeks)
Happy Halloween! I am dressing as Juno this year, and attending the annual party held at my old bachelorette pad. This year, of course, I won't be having all those jello-shots early on, passing out from the alcohol on the couch for a few hours, then waking up to find everyone else completely smashed, then videotaping them to laugh at later. I may, however, end up passing out on the couch (because I'm pregnant) for a few hours, waking up to find everyone else completely smashed, then videotaping them to laugh at later. In fact, I've actually been commissioned by the party-throwers to do this. Last year's video was so very popular, providing us with many drunk witticisms that we continued to quote all year long.
I've also been told that I must lick the leg of one of the party-throwers because I did last year, and "it's tradition!". Hmm... But I was drunk at the time! And she needed to shave, so it was kind of nasty! She has promised to shave this year, but I know she slathers herself with lotion every time she showers, so I'm not too keen on getting that in my mouth, either. Oh well. We'll see what happens. I may pull the "I'm married and pregnant and more mature now! I don't really do those weird and vaguely homoerotic things anymore! card" but...
That reminds me, I need to go find the video camera and hopefully that tape as well. The people who were in it want to watch it because they don't remember it.
-Oh my gosh, some people who I thought were the people coming to pick me up for the party (but totally were some adults yelling "trick or treat" just made a huge fuss coming up to my door, and I think one of them emptied my candy bowl. Going out to check.
-Yup, greedy $%&(@#$&s. That was the first trick or treat of the night. He left ONE atomic fireball. That's what I get for putting out half an industrial size candy bag all at once. Good thing I saved some. I'm so mad I could spit. I hope his teeth all rot.
-Wait, what would Jesus think? OK, I gave them my robe, and my tunic as well (since I did just go fill the bowl from my private stash). Calm down. It's just candy.
Which brings me to the reason I was posting this on my preggo blog in the first place... to vent about my costume. Or rather, my boobs. Why does a perfectly acceptable tank top make me look like a slut? I know nursing is good, and pregnant women are beautiful, blah, blah, but I wish I could wear anything other than a T-shirt and not look like I'm trying to get the whole world to stare at my inflated funbags.
"Funbags" got learned by my phone's T9Word dictionary, by the way. How great is that?
