Waiting Game

I think one of the toughest parts about the 9th month of pregnancy is the waiting game of when the baby will come. What makes it even harder is suffering from so many pre-labor contractions that fool me into thinking maybe this is the real thing! My time of day to get contractions seems to be between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. (really weird since it's a time when I'm laying on my side and doing absolutely nothing)! I usually find myself tossing and turning for those few hours, going to the bathroom numerous times (because pretty much every time I have a contraction I have to go to the bathroom) and eventually taking a bath so I can actually relax. It's really hard to go through these painful contractions only to find that they eventually go away and I'm not in real labor.

I have been incredibly emotional lately. I feel like I cry myself to sleep every night because today wasn't the day that baby decided to come. I am currently only 5 days away from my due date and it's frustrating for me to hear that it's normal for first time moms to go late. I was just so sure I would have this baby early since I went into early labor at 34 weeks. Now I am thinking I am going to be pregnant until mid-November! I have returned to work part-time which seems to help the days go faster, but it definitely doesn't make life any easier. I go to work and play with babies all afternoon and all I can think about is how I don't have my little guy yet. Then I go to church and see TONS of new little babies that have been born in the past month and it makes me so upset because I have so anxiously been waiting for mine to come. It's also hard when I see the same people every day/week and they always say "why hasn't that baby come yet!" or asking "how are you feeling?" Well, I'm not feeling that great because I have contractions every day and have been waiting weeks for my baby to come and I cry myself to sleep all the time because he's not here yet and all I want is for my little boy to be here! I understand their concern, it's just hard to hear it all the time.

I have decided to talk to my midwife about being induced at 41 weeks if the baby hasn't come by then. It's definitely not my first choice, but I have been so incredibly uncomfortable that I think I have a right to say that I'm not going to keep being pregnant after 41 weeks!

One thing I have enjoyed about this month is getting to spend more time with my husband. Since we have kept our schedule so open in case the baby comes, we have had several evenings to spend together. It's not always easy when I come home from work and have Braxton Hicks, but my "Lovey" will rub my back, make me a good meal and make me laugh a lot. He has also put up with my tossing and turning every night (and with that getting smacked in the face with my 3rd pillow that I keep under my belly), and even comforting me at 4:30 a.m. when I am crying because I can't sleep. He's awesome :)

Nursery Pictures

Here is the latest picture of me and my belly! Just about 38 weeks now! Hooray for making it to full term! With the early labor scare and all of the pre-labor contractions I am thankful to have made it this far. Now, I just want him to come! When I was checked about a week ago I was 2 c.m. dilated, 80% effaced and the baby was at stage 0. I chose not to get checked at this week's appointment because I'm pretty sure it stirred things up last time and made me have 15 hours of pre-labor contractions and put me in the hospital. All we want now is for real labor to come! I started Evening Primrose Oil earlier this week, been drinking Loose-Leaf Red Raspberry Tea, sitting on my birthing ball a lot (helps keep the baby low), and I went to the chiro and had all sorts of adjustments to help move things along. Our hope is that the baby will come early next week. With Andrew being so busy at work on the weekends it would be good for the baby to come early on in the week. Below are some pictures of the nursery! Enjoy!

Labor Lesson

I spent half of Tuesday night in the hospital thinking I was in labor. I had been having regular contractions (also very painful, much different than my normal braxton hicks) for 7 hours and they were getting longer/stronger and closer together. So, the doctor recommended I come in to get checked. I was 2cm, 80% effaced and baby was at stage 0. This was no different than what I was at my doctor's appointment earlier that day. I stayed at the hospital overnight, YET AGAIN, so they could monitor my contractions. I begged them not to give me an IV and thankfully they agreed, but they did give me a shot to help me sleep. It literally made me feel like I had a hangover because I could barely move my tongue to talk. I had contractions 5-7 minutes apart all night long and in the morning when they checked me my cervix was exactly the same! That was 15 hours of regular labor contractions with no changes!! Their diagnosis: Preterm Contractions-which is what I've been suffering from since I went into early labor, only this time they seemed real! They sent me home and said "Enjoy having preterm contractions! Take Tylenol PM to sleep and let us know when you're in real labor!" Ok...they didn't actually say that, but in my head that's how I took it.

My labor lesson in all of this: Even though you may have consistent contractions that feel like real labor contractions, unless your cervix changes you are NOT in labor.

So, who wants to come teach me how to check my cervix? That way when I think I'm in labor again I can check myself and tell those doctors "I'm in LABOR!"

Bed Rest

Weeks ago if someone had mentioned "bed rest" to me I probably would have jumped up and down in joy to think that I would be given so much time to lie around and do absolutely nothing. But let me just say that after a week and a half of "lying around" and doing "absolutely nothing" I would much rather be working full time! And, I still have another week and a half to go of bed rest-that is, unless the baby decides to come before then!

First I went into preterm labor and spent the night in the hospital so they could stop my labor. Then, only a week later their talking about inducing me because I might have preeclampsia (thankfully I don't!). And now I am suffering from high blood pressure (causing me to have dizzy spells, see stars, and have headaches). So my days of bed rest typically consist of:

-Sleeping in
-Showering
-Watching TV (quite surprisingly I'll watch hours of A Baby Story or I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant)
-Eating (probably not the best foods for me, but the doctor told me I need to gain 1 lb. or more every week. Despite my poor diet of onion rings, pizza, brownies, and lots of cheese I have managed to gain only 1 lb. this last month).
-Organizing the baby room (I will get pictures up soon!)
-Knitting burp rags
-And doing some light housework

I finally broke down and told Andrew I needed to get out of the house for just a little bit and he took me on a walk around the block earlier this week and my sister took me to Target so I could spend my gift cards on some final things I needed for the baby. The doctor said I am allowed to choose 1 thing/day to do that is on feet, so today I choose vacuuming!!

I am really hoping that the baby will come sooner than later. I got checked at the doctor today and she told me I was 2 cm and that the baby is very low. She said I could go into labor at any time, but there was no guarantee that I wouldn't make it to my due date on the 31st. Some days I will go the whole day without any contractions. And then there are other days where I lay around on the couch for 3 hours having contractions. All I can say is that I am trying my best to not be impatient and wait on the Lord for when He chooses for baby to come!